Implementations
TOON has official and community implementations across multiple programming languages. All implementations are intended to conform to the same Specification to ensure compatibility and interoperability.
The code examples throughout this documentation site use the TypeScript implementation by default, but the format and concepts apply equally to all languages.
Official Implementations
| Language | Repository | Spec | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| .NET | toon-dotnet | 3.0 | In Development |
| Dart | toon-dart | 1.4 | In Development |
| Go | toon-go | – | In Development |
| Java | toon-java | 4.1 | ✅ Stable |
| Julia | ToonFormat.jl | 3.0 | ✅ Stable |
| Python | toon-python | – | Beta |
| Rust | toon-rust | 3.0 | ✅ Stable |
| Swift | toon-swift | 4.1 | ✅ Stable |
| TypeScript/JavaScript | toon | 4.1 | ✅ Stable |
Community Implementations
Community members have created implementations in additional languages:
| Language | Repository | Spec | Maintainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apex | ApexToon | – | @Eacaw |
| C | TOONc | – | @UsboKirishima |
| C (bindings for C++, Go, Julia, MATLAB, Python, Rust, Zig) | ctoon | 4.1 | @MohammadRaziei |
| C# | ToonEncoder | – | @Cysharp |
| C# | Corvus.JsonSchema | – | @mwadams |
| Clojure | toon | 3.0 | @vadelabs |
| Crystal | toon-crystal | 4.1 | @mamantoha |
| Delphi | delphi-toon | – | @ernestoalconada |
| Elixir | toon_ex | 1.3 | @kentaro |
| Gleam | toon_codec | 1.2 | @axelbellec |
| Go | gotoon | – | @alpkeskin |
| Java | json-io | 3.3 | @jdereg |
| Kotlin | ktoon | 4.1 | @lukelast |
| Laravel Framework | laravel-toon | 3.0 | @mischasigtermans |
| Lua/Neovim | toon.nvim | 1.3 | @thalesgelinger |
| OCaml | ocaml-toon | – | @davesnx |
| Perl | Data::TOON | 1.0 | @ytnobody |
| PHP | toon-php | 3.3 | @HelgeSverre |
| PHP / TYPO3 | t3-toon | 3.3 | @therohanparmar |
| Python (Rust backend) | toons | 4.1 | @alesanfra |
| R | toon | – | @laresbernardo |
| Ruby | toon-fu | 4.1 | @hoblin |
| Scala | toon4s | 3.0 | @vim89 |
| Zig | toon-zig | 3.0 | @montanaflynn |
Contributing an Implementation
Building a TOON implementation for a new language? Here are the steps:
- Follow the spec: Implement the latest specification.
- Add tests: Run the reference test suite from a spec release tag in CI – its language-agnostic fixtures validate compatibility across implementations.
- Declare the spec version: State the version you target in your README, e.g.
toon-spec: 4.2(§13). - Document usage: Provide a clear README with installation and usage examples.
- Share it: Open a PR that adds one row for your project to this page.
