Zig Comptime — Compile-Time Computation and Metaprogramming

DodaTech Updated 2026-06-29 1 min read

In this tutorial, you will learn about Zig Comptime. We cover key concepts, practical examples, and best practices to help you master this topic.

Zig's comptime mechanism executes code at compile time, enabling generics, type Reflection, and compile-time configuration without macros or templates.

Comptime Basics

const std = @import("std");

comptime {
    // This runs at compile time
    const x = 42;
    if (x > 10) {
        @compileLog("x is greater than 10");
    }
}

// Comptime parameters
fn max(comptime T: type, a: T, b: T) T {
    return if (a > b) a else b;
}

const result = max(i32, 10, 20);  // T = i32

Comptime Type Reflection

fn describeType(comptime T: type) void {
    const info = @typeInfo(T);
    comptime {
        @compileLog("Type info:", info);
    }
}

describeType(i32);
describeType(struct { x: i32, y: f32 });

← Previous Zig Error Handling — Error Sets, Error Union Types, try, and catch Next → Zig Allocators — Memory Management Strategies

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