# The language, section by section.

This page is the contents list of the Voxlang language reference. It is generated from LANGUAGE.md in the Voxlang compiler's own repository, so it says what the specification says and nothing more.

A URL is the heading, lowercased, with punctuation dropped and spaces turned into hyphens. Each "##" section of the spec is a page under /docs/, and every heading inside it is a fragment on that page, so "File I/O" is /docs/file-io/ and "Reading a whole file" inside it is /docs/file-io/#reading-a-whole-file.

As data: https://vox-lang.dev/docs/index.json lists every section and every heading with its URL, https://vox-lang.dev/docs/search.json carries one entry per heading with its first sentence and keywords, and https://vox-lang.dev/docs/anchors.json maps every slug to the page it lives on. Search is also a JSON endpoint: https://vox-lang.dev/docs/search?q=<words> returns ranked results as JSON, no page load.

Source: LANGUAGE.md at bf2cba0, 2026-08-22. https://github.com/Vox-lang/vox/blob/bf2cba037976586c30d22a48e7b7246d347f54a1/LANGUAGE.md

This is the Voxlang specification as it stands in the compiler's own repository. The site reads LANGUAGE.md at build time and splits it into one page per section, so there is no second copy to fall out of date.

## Contents

- [Basics](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/)
  - [Statements](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/#statements)
  - [Case Sensitivity](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/#case-sensitivity)
  - [Comments](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/#comments)
  - [Paragraph Breaks (Blank Lines)](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/#paragraph-breaks-blank-lines)
  - [Sentence Consumption](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/#sentence-consumption)
  - [The termination rule](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/#the-termination-rule)
  - [Closing more than one level](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/#closing-more-than-one-level)
  - [Ranges](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/#ranges)
  - [Loop Expansion](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/#loop-expansion)
  - [Conditional Branching with but if](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/#conditional-branching-with-but-if)
  - [Inline Substitution with treating](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/basics/#inline-substitution-with-treating)
- [Types](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/types/)
- [Variables](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/variables/)
  - [Declaration with Type](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/variables/#declaration-with-type)
  - [Declaration with Set/Create](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/variables/#declaration-with-setcreate)
  - [Two Canonical Forms](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/variables/#two-canonical-forms)
  - [Declaration Order](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/variables/#declaration-order)
  - [Assignment (Existing Variable)](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/variables/#assignment-existing-variable)
  - [Type Immutability](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/variables/#type-immutability)
  - [Naming Rules](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/variables/#naming-rules)
- [Names and strings](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/names-and-strings/)
- [Functions](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/functions/)
  - [Definition](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/functions/#definition)
  - [Function Scope](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/functions/#function-scope)
  - [Parameter and Local Types](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/functions/#parameter-and-local-types)
  - [Function Calls](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/functions/#function-calls)
  - [Calling as Statement](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/functions/#calling-as-statement)
  - [Reading a result](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/functions/#reading-a-result)
- [Things](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/)
  - [Defining a thing](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#defining-a-thing)
  - [Declarations and field access](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#declarations-and-field-access)
  - [Nesting](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#nesting)
  - [Value copy semantics](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#value-copy-semantics)
  - [Printing](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#printing)
  - [Equality](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#equality)
  - [The manifest](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#the-manifest)
  - [The three call forms](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#the-three-call-forms)
  - [One identifier space](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#one-identifier-space)
  - [Definitions are top-level only](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#definitions-are-top-level-only)
  - [Cross-file definitions](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#cross-file-definitions)
  - [.lib export of a thing is not yet supported](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#lib-export-of-a-thing-is-not-yet-supported)
  - [Sentence consumption and multi-line definitions](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#sentence-consumption-and-multi-line-definitions)
  - [Definition diagnostics](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#definition-diagnostics)
  - [Type predicates and the runtime tag](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/things/#type-predicates-and-the-runtime-tag)
- [Expressions](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/expressions/)
  - [Literals](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/expressions/#literals)
  - [Variable Reference](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/expressions/#variable-reference)
  - [Arithmetic](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/expressions/#arithmetic)
  - [Comparisons](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/expressions/#comparisons)
  - [Property Checks](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/expressions/#property-checks)
  - [Logical Operators](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/expressions/#logical-operators)
  - [Plural Comparisons with are](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/expressions/#plural-comparisons-with-are)
  - [Type Casting](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/expressions/#type-casting)
- [Control Flow](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/control-flow/)
  - [If Statement](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/control-flow/#if-statement)
  - [While Loop](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/control-flow/#while-loop)
  - [For Each Loop](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/control-flow/#for-each-loop)
  - [Repeat](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/control-flow/#repeat)
  - [Loop Control](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/control-flow/#loop-control)
  - [Program Termination](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/control-flow/#program-termination)
  - [Increment/Decrement](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/control-flow/#incrementdecrement)
- [Lists and Collections](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/)
  - [List Literals](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#list-literals)
  - [Mixed-Type Lists](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#mixed-type-lists)
  - [Nested Lists](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#nested-lists)
  - [Maps](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#maps)
  - [Type Predicates](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#type-predicates)
  - [Dynamic Values (value)](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#dynamic-values-value)
  - [Nothing (the absent value)](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#nothing-the-absent-value)
  - [Printing a List](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#printing-a-list)
  - [List Properties](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#list-properties)
  - [List Element Access](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#list-element-access)
  - [Appending to Lists](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#appending-to-lists)
  - [Loop Expansion with Collections](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#loop-expansion-with-collections)
  - [Conditional Branching with but if (Lists and Collections)](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#conditional-branching-with-but-if-lists-and-collections)
  - [Inline Value Substitution with treating](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/lists-and-collections/#inline-value-substitution-with-treating)
- [Input/Output](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/inputoutput/)
  - [Print](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/inputoutput/#print)
  - [Format Strings](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/inputoutput/#format-strings)
  - [Conditional Print](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/inputoutput/#conditional-print)
- [File I/O](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/file-io/)
  - [Buffers](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/file-io/#buffers)
  - [Object Properties](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/file-io/#object-properties)
  - [Opening Files](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/file-io/#opening-files)
  - [Reading](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/file-io/#reading)
  - [Seeking](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/file-io/#seeking)
  - [Writing](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/file-io/#writing)
  - [Closing Files](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/file-io/#closing-files)
  - [File Operations](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/file-io/#file-operations)
  - [Error Handling](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/file-io/#error-handling)
  - [Resource Safety](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/file-io/#resource-safety)
- [Directories, Mounting, and Process Control](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/directories-mounting-and-process-control/)
  - [Directories](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/directories-mounting-and-process-control/#directories)
  - [Mounting Filesystems](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/directories-mounting-and-process-control/#mounting-filesystems)
  - [Device Nodes](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/directories-mounting-and-process-control/#device-nodes)
  - [Symbolic Links](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/directories-mounting-and-process-control/#symbolic-links)
  - [Switching the Root Filesystem](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/directories-mounting-and-process-control/#switching-the-root-filesystem)
  - [Executing Programs](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/directories-mounting-and-process-control/#executing-programs)
  - [Process Control: fork and reap](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/directories-mounting-and-process-control/#process-control-fork-and-reap)
  - [System Control: Shutdown, Reboot, Halt](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/directories-mounting-and-process-control/#system-control-shutdown-reboot-halt)
- [Time and Timers](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/time-and-timers/)
  - [Getting Current Time](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/time-and-timers/#getting-current-time)
  - [Time Properties](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/time-and-timers/#time-properties)
  - [Inline Time Access](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/time-and-timers/#inline-time-access)
  - [Sleep / Wait](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/time-and-timers/#sleep-wait)
  - [Timers](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/time-and-timers/#timers)
- [Command-Line Arguments](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/command-line-arguments/)
  - [Arguments Properties](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/command-line-arguments/#arguments-properties)
  - [Basic Usage](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/command-line-arguments/#basic-usage)
  - [Accessing User Arguments](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/command-line-arguments/#accessing-user-arguments)
  - [Checking if Arguments Were Provided](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/command-line-arguments/#checking-if-arguments-were-provided)
  - [Dynamic Index Access](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/command-line-arguments/#dynamic-index-access)
  - [Declarative Flag Parsing](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/command-line-arguments/#declarative-flag-parsing)
- [Environment Variables](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/environment-variables/)
  - [Environment Properties](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/environment-variables/#environment-properties)
  - [Reading Environment Variables](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/environment-variables/#reading-environment-variables)
  - [Environment Variable Count](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/environment-variables/#environment-variable-count)
  - [Iterating Environment Variables](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/environment-variables/#iterating-environment-variables)
  - [Checking if Variable Exists](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/environment-variables/#checking-if-variable-exists)
  - [Complete Example](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/environment-variables/#complete-example)
- [Operators](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/operators/)
  - [Arithmetic Operators](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/operators/#arithmetic-operators)
  - [Comparison Operators](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/operators/#comparison-operators)
  - [Logical Operators (table)](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/operators/#logical-operators-table)
  - [Bitwise Operators](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/operators/#bitwise-operators)
- [Keywords](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/keywords/)
  - [Articles (Context-Dependent)](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/keywords/#articles-context-dependent)
  - [Statement Starters](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/keywords/#statement-starters)
  - [Flag Schema](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/keywords/#flag-schema)
  - [Connectors](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/keywords/#connectors)
  - [The and Keyword](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/keywords/#the-and-keyword)
  - [Reserved Aliases](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/keywords/#reserved-aliases)
  - [Two classes of special word](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/keywords/#two-classes-of-special-word)
  - [Contextual Keywords (Things)](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/keywords/#contextual-keywords-things)
- [Examples](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/examples/)
  - [Hello World](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/examples/#hello-world)
  - [Variables and Arithmetic](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/examples/#variables-and-arithmetic)
  - [Function Definition and Call](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/examples/#function-definition-and-call)
  - [Counting Loop](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/examples/#counting-loop)
  - [FizzBuzz](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/examples/#fizzbuzz)
- [Libraries and Imports](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/libraries-and-imports/)
  - [The see Keyword](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/libraries-and-imports/#the-see-keyword)
  - [Shared libraries](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/libraries-and-imports/#shared-libraries)
- [Compiler Usage](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/compiler-usage/)
  - [Basic Usage (Compiler Invocation)](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/compiler-usage/#basic-usage-compiler-invocation)
  - [Options](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/compiler-usage/#options)
  - [Examples](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/compiler-usage/#examples)
- [Grammar Summary](https://vox-lang.dev/docs/grammar-summary/)