Introduction to Hoot 0.9.0
On May 13, 2026, the Spritely Institute announced the release of Hoot 0.9.0, a major update to its Scheme to WebAssembly compiler for Guile. This version includes new features and bug fixes compared to the 0.8.0 release from last February. Hoot presents itself as a versatile WebAssembly toolchain, making it possible to run Scheme directly in the browser.
Scheme in the Browser: A Revolution for Developers
With Hoot, developing web applications in Scheme has never been more accessible. This release is particularly exciting for developers participating in the spring Lisp Game Jam starting on May 15, 2026. This 10-day contest encourages the creation of games in Lisp, and Hoot now offers a game project template to get started quickly.
New Features and Improvements
Among the notable changes, Hoot 0.9.0 introduces the concept of host-provided types, enabling better support for Wastrel. The adoption of standard Wasm exceptions, officially adopted in July 2025, improves error handling. Support for the DWARF custom section allows better interaction with debugging tools.
Compiler and Runtime Changes
The compiler has undergone significant adjustments, including replacing function name/source metadata with DWARF and raising the default debug level to 1. This retains essential debugging information while offering the ability to create optimized production builds.
Use Case: Game Development with Hoot
The game project template provided with Hoot includes everything needed to create an HTML5 game. Thanks to contributions from Gonzalo Delgado, it now supports gamepad input. Examples of games developed with Hoot in previous jams include Cirkoban and Shields TYVM, illustrating the flexibility and power of this tool.
Conclusion
Hoot 0.9.0 marks a significant step for developers looking to leverage Scheme in modern web environments. With its new features and improvements, Hoot is poised to transform how Lisp developers approach game and web application development.
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