# ReasonML

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/reasonml/

7 people recommended ReasonML in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 12 months, in 8 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Developers recommend ReasonML as an OCaml variant with C-style curly-brace syntax and Rust-like feel; critics call it impractical for productive use and cite poor error messages.

Summary written by Claude from 12 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Curly-brace syntax, familiar to C and Rust users (2 comments in the sample): "There's also ReasonML if you want an OCaml with curly braces like C." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46154307)) "if you want a slightly more Rustic syntax" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47306772))

## What people warn about

- Poor error messages and developer experience (2 comments in the sample): "I just found the error messages not to correspond to the correct line, and/or be nondescript" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45813071)) "I've found like OP that the DX is too poor" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45809978))
- Impractical for productive use (1 comment in the sample): "I loved Elm or Reason, but they are not realistic nor productive choices" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45986737))

## Other programming languages people recommend

- [Rust](https://hackerapproved.com/p/rust/): 1346 recommend, 468 mixed, 715 criticize
- [Go](https://hackerapproved.com/p/go-programming-language/): 855 recommend, 270 mixed, 513 criticize
- [Python](https://hackerapproved.com/p/python/): 683 recommend, 261 mixed, 719 criticize
- [Zig](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zig/): 454 recommend, 181 mixed, 358 criticize

## 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, "ReasonML", https://hackerapproved.com/p/reasonml/ (7 recommend, 1 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.