Kaitai Struct is a declarative language for generating binary data parsers across multiple programming languages.
The tool addresses the problem of writing repetitive, error-prone code to parse binary file formats and network protocols. Instead of implementing parsers separately in each language, developers describe a binary format once in a `.ksy` file using Kaitai Struct's declarative syntax. The compiler then generates parser source code in the target language, complete with an API for accessing the parsed data structure. The project includes a growing collection of pre-written format descriptions and provides visualization tools to debug format definitions before compilation.
Kaitai Struct suits projects that need to work with binary data across multiple programming languages or platforms. It eliminates the need to rewrite parsing logic for each language and reduces bugs from manual binary data handling. The tool generates parsers for C++, C#, Go, Java, JavaScript, Lua, Nim, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, and Rust. Adoption requires describing your format in the declarative language, using the Web IDE or console visualizer to validate the format definition, compiling the description to your target language, and including the small runtime library for that language in your project.
The project is structured as an umbrella repository using submodules for individual components, with contributors directed to fork and modify specific component repositories rather than the main repository. Development activity shows ongoing maintenance of the compiler and runtime libraries across supported languages, with format descriptions being added to the collection over time.
