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Lurk

Lurk is a Turing-complete, statically scoped Lisp dialect and Rust implementation designed for recursive zk-SNARK programming. It lets developers express computations whose correct execution can be proved, with succinct proofs that reveal only information included in the statement being proved. This repository contains the prior elliptic-curve-based Lurk Beta implementation and is in maintenance mode.

Explore the practical guide ↓

Independent OpenViST project profile, based on linked sources.

Lurk — OpenViST project profile in ZK & Privacy.
OpenViST project illustration. See the linked sources for product details.
Understand the project

Practical overview

When it fits

Use this repository when you specifically need to inspect, build, or experiment with the prior Lurk Beta implementation. For ongoing development, follow the newer repository linked in its README.

Who it is for

  • Developers exploring programs whose execution needs to be proved with zk-SNARKs.
  • Rust developers studying or extending the Lurk Beta compiler and language implementation.
  • Researchers examining recursive proving approaches built around Nova or the in-development SuperNova backend.

Documented uses

  • Write and evaluate Lurk programs for computational claims intended to be proved with zk-SNARKs.
  • Explore a statically scoped Lisp model in which code is also data.
  • Study the Beta implementation’s proving-backend integration and content-addressable data representation.
Before you choose

Requirements & limits

The repository is public and identifies its license as Apache-2.0. A Rust toolchain is needed for the documented local builds; WebAssembly compilation additionally requires clang.

  • Correct execution of Lurk programs can be proved with zk-SNARKs; the README describes the resulting proofs as succinct and limited to information in the statement.
  • Nova is listed as the officially supported IVC backend; SuperNova is described as in development, and future Halo2 or other backend work is only prospective.
  • The README says proof tooling and backend integration are early and performance is not representative.
  • The repository is in maintenance mode, with development moved to argumentcomputer/lurk; low-level representations and the evaluation model were anticipated to change.

Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.

Source-based practical guide

Start the Lurk Beta REPL

Build and open the documented command-line REPL to evaluate a Lurk expression.

Before you start

  • Rust toolchain; the repository specifies rustc 1.70 or later.

Steps

  1. Run the command below from the repository, or invoke the bin/lurk wrapper script.

    Documented command
    cargo run --release

  2. Enter a Lurk expression at the REPL prompt and inspect the displayed result.

Expected outcome

An interactive prompt for evaluating Lurk expressions; the README illustrates a square-function expression returning 64.

Guide limitations

  • This guide covers the REPL only, not proof generation.
  • The repository is in maintenance mode and development has moved to https://github.com/argumentcomputer/lurk.
  • The README says proving-system integration remains early.
Documentation 1 ↗
Source-based practical guide

Build Lurk for WebAssembly

Compile the repository for the `wasm32-unknown-unknown` target.

Before you start

  • Rust toolchain; the repository specifies rustc 1.70 or later.
  • clang.

Steps

  1. Install or make clang available to the build environment.

  2. Run the command below from the repository.

    Documented command
    cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown

  3. On Nix without system-wide clang, set CC=clang for the build command.

Expected outcome

A WebAssembly-target build of the Lurk Beta repository.

Guide limitations

  • The README documents compilation, not running or deploying the resulting Wasm artifact.
  • This is the prior implementation, whose development has moved to a newer repository.
Documentation 1 ↗
Evidence and transparency

Sources & review

Official repository ↗
Source record details
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Sources checked
17 October 2026
Original website title
lurk-lab/lurk-beta · Official homepage title · retained in its source language
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