Getting Started
this page gets a .nd file running on your
machine in a few minutes — installing the ndr
runtime, writing a first room, and running it from the terminal.
1. Install ndr
ndr is the lightweight, headless C++
runtime for netdust — the fastest way to run a
.nd file with no GUI involved.
macOS
Linux
Windows
# install with paxon paxon -S ndr # verify ndr --version
note
requires paxon (ni package manager) to be installed first —
see the paxon docs for setup. there's currently no supported way to
build ndr from source.
2. Write your first room
every netdust program is built from rooms — there is no
bare global scope, so even the entry point is a room called
main. create a file named
main.nd:
code start bring : std.io room main(): call std.io.println("hello, world") end;
bring : std.io pulls in the io module
from the standard library, and call
invokes a function from it. end; closes
the room block.
3. Run it
ndr main.nd
you should see:
hello, netdust
4. Next steps
-
learn the language rooms, variables, if/while/for, bring & alias — see the Language Guide.
-
browse the standard library array, convert, io, math, random, string, time — all under std/.
-
go beyond headless run the same .nd source inside noctura, the GUI application host runtime.
-
syntax highlighting install the netdust VS Code extension for .nd files.