# Compiler Explorer

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/compiler-explorer/

20 people recommended Compiler Explorer in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 12 months, in 15 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free website that shows the assembly a compiler produces from code snippets, so people can check optimizations and learn.

Summary written by Claude from 22 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 21 of those comments still count.

## Why people recommend it

- Quick experiments with code snippets (4 comments in the sample): "go to godbolt and load the rust aligned sum and play around with types" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45833120)) "I normally start by typing a few lines of C into godbolt" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50233920)) "can easily be solved by a minute or two on godbolt" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48206355))
- Checks compiled assembly and optimizations (4 comments in the sample): "I always recommend people interested in optimization experiment running snippets of code through the compiler using godbolt with optimization turned on." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48872494)) "I think using Godbolt to disassemble things myself is the right approach." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48873193)) "You should always check the compiled assembly with Compiler Explorer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50300326))
- Good for learning compilers (4 comments in the sample): "Matt Godbolt's tool lets your reader play with your examples and learn more about what's going on." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46686600)) "Feel like godbolt or an online compiler might be a reasonable starting place these days." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47536783)) "Godbolt taught me more than the compilers class itself" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46176209))
- Works without local setup (1 comment in the sample): "It lets you have that without the pain of hosting compilers server side." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45783968))

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Compiler Explorer", https://hackerapproved.com/p/compiler-explorer/ (20 recommend, 2 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.