15. Compiling & Distributing

Run vs. compile

Interpret (full language): stencil app.st — supports everything in these tutorials.
Compile to native exe: stencil build app.st -o app.exe — produces a standalone Windows executable that runs without STencil installed.

stencil build app.st -o app.exe
app.exe

What native build supports

Numbers, strings, bools, arithmetic, comparison, logic, if/elif/else, while/for/for..in, functions + recursion, ternary, lists, dicts, indexing & their methods, classes/models, in.

What native build does NOT support (use the interpreter for these)

import, try/catch, stencil stamping, and the library builtins (file/JSON/regex/http/graphics/db/...). For programs that use those, ship the .st file and have users run it with the interpreter.

Distributing your program

As a .st script — share the file; users need STencil installed (pip install stencil-lang or the installer). Simple and works with the full language.
As a native .exe — stencil build (subset only). No dependency for the user.
Bundle in an installer — put your .st (or exe) plus stencil.exe in an installer (e.g. Inno Setup) so users get a double-click install.

Distributing STencil itself

pip: the language is published — pip install stencil-lang.
Windows installer: STencil-Setup.exe (per-user; adds PATH, .st association, Start Menu, examples).

Hosting a web app (e.g. Railway)

A web server written with serve(...) (lesson 12) can be deployed in a container. Read $PORT from the environment and serve on it:

serve(int(env("PORT")), route);

A Dockerfile that builds STencil from source and runs your app.st lets platforms like Railway build and host it on Linux.

Where to go next

Re-read Stencils — the feature that makes STencil yours.
Build something: a CLI tool (lesson 11), a web API (lesson 12), or a game (lesson 13).