Chicory

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Chicory is a JVM native WebAssembly runtime. It allows you to run WebAssembly programs with zero native dependencies or JNI. Chicory can run Wasm anywhere that the JVM can go. It is designed with simplicity and safety in mind.

Reach out to us: let us know what you are building with Chicory. Join our team Zulip chat with this invite link.

Get started now with the official documentation

Why?

There are a number of mature Wasm runtimes to choose from to execute a Wasm module. To name a few v8, wasmtime, wasmer, wasmedge, wazero etc.

Although these can be great choices for running a Wasm application, embedding them into your existing Java application has some downsides. Because these runtimes are written in C/C++/Rust/etc, they must be distributed and run as native code. This causes two main friction points:

1. Distribution

If you're distributing a Java library (jar, war, etc), you must now distribute along with it a native object targeting the correct architecture and operating system. This matrix can become quite large. This eliminates a lot of the simplicity and original benefit of shipping Java code.

2. Runtime

At runtime, you must use FFI to execute the module. While there might be performance benefits to doing this for some modules, when you do, you're effectively escaping the safety and observability of the JVM. Having a pure JVM runtime means all your security and memory guarantees, and your tools, can stay in place.

Goals

• Be as safe as possible
  • In that we are willing to sacrifice things like performance for safety and simplicity
• Make it easy to run Wasm in any JVM environment without native code, including very restrictive environments.
• Fully support the core Wasm spec
• Make integration with Java (and other host languages) easy and idiomatic.

Non-Goals:

• Be a standalone runtime
• Be the fastest runtime
• Be the right choice for every JVM project

Roadmap

Chicory development was started in September 2023. The following are the milestones we're aiming for. These are subject to change but represent our best guesses with current information. These are not necessarily sequential and some may be happening in parallel. Unless specified, any unchecked box is still not planned or started. If you have an interest in working on any of these please reach out in Zulip!

2023

• Wasm binary parser
• Simple bytecode interpreter
• Establish basic coding and testing patterns
• Generate JUnit tests from wasm test suite

2024

• Make all tests green with the interpreter (important for correctness)
• Implement validation logic (important for safety)
• Draft of the v1.0 API (important for stability and dx)
• Decouple interpreter and create separate compiler and interpreter "engines"
• Proof of concept AOT compiler (run some subset of modules)
• AOT engine passes all the same specs as interpreter (stretch goal)
• WASIp1 Support (including test gen)
  • Read more details in the documentation

2025

• SIMD Support
  • in the interpreter
• Tail Call
  • in the interpreter(and compiler**)
• Compiler out of experimental
• Exception Handling
• Threads Support
• Extended Constant Expressions

2026

• GC support
• Multi-Memory Support
• Performance

On the press

• Chicory: A Zero Dependency Wasm Runtime for the JVM on Java Advent 2023
• Chicory - a WebAssembly Interpreter Written Purely in Java with Zero Native Dependencies on InfoQ
• Chicory: Write to WebAssembly, Overcome JVM Shortcomings on The New Stack
• Meet Chicory, exploit the power of WebAssembly on the server side! by Andrea Peruffo (Devoxx BE 2024)
• WebAssembly, the Safer Alternative to Integrating Native Code in Java on InfoQ
• Chicory: Creating a Language-Native Wasm Runtime by Benjamin Eckel / Andrea Peruffo (Wasm I/O 2024)
• Chicory, a JVM Native WebAssembly Runtime by Benjamin Eckel (Dylibso Insiders)
• WebAssembly the ace up the sleeve of your Java and Quarkus apps (Quarkus Insights 206)
• The Chicory Photo Album: Celebrating 1.0.0 and a Year of Wasm on Java Advent 2024
• Wazero vs Chicory: An In-Depth Comparison Between Two Language-Native Wasm Runtimes by Edoardo Vacchi (FOSDEM 2025)
• WASM in the Enterprise: Secure, Portable, and Ready for Business by Andrea Peruffo (QCon London 2025)
• A Go CEL Policy Engine in Java, with Quarkus Chicory on Quarkus Blog
• Introduction to the Chicory Native JVM WebAssembly Runtime on Baeldung
• Bring WebAssembly to the JVM. How Chicory Is Powering a New Generation of Java Libraries on Java Advent 2025

Prior Art

• asmble
• kwasm
• wazero

Who uses Chicory?

• sqlite4j - Pure Java SQLite JDBC driver
• pglite4j - Embedded PostgreSQL 17 in pure Java
• Quickjs4J - Sandboxed runtime for JavaScript (used by Microcks and Apicurio Registry)
• jq4j - jq JSON processor as pure Java bytecode
• protobuf4j - protoc compiler as pure Java bytecode
• lumis4j - Pure Java syntax highlighter powered by Tree-sitter
• Proxy-Wasm - Java Host
• Quarkus extensions: quarkus-chicory, quarkus-proxy-wasm, quarkus-quickjs4j, quarkus-grpc-zero
• Apache Camel - Wasm component
• JRuby - Ruby Prism parser
• Debezium - Pluggable Go Single Message Transformations
• OPA - Open Policy Agent - WebAssembly Java SDK
• Trino - Python user-defined functions (Trino plugin source) (Python host source)
• Extism Chicory SDK
• OpenFeature Go Feature Flag provider - local feature flag evaluation
• Spotify Confidence resolver - local feature flag evaluation
• Bazel - WebAssembly execution in repo rules
• WildFly - AI Feature Pack

Meet the Team

📅 Chicory Office Hours, every Tuesdays, 16:00–16:30 UTC (09:00–09:30 PT · 12:00–12:30 ET · 18:00–18:30 CET). The link will be shared in the Zulip chat each week. Let’s talk Chicory!