← Back to Topics

WASM Garbage Collection

Discussions focus on the current lack of native garbage collection support in WebAssembly, proposals and progress toward WasmGC, and implications for compiling GC-based languages to WASM.

📉 Falling 0.5x Web Development
1,419
Comments
15
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#2891
Topic ID

Activity Over Time

2012
3
2013
22
2014
11
2015
42
2016
73
2017
192
2018
176
2019
66
2020
49
2021
78
2022
171
2023
208
2024
139
2025
172
2026
17

Top Contributors

azakai (33) pjmlp (31) amelius (30) davexunit (29) titzer (28)

Keywords

e.g CPU JS translate.goog ASM WAVM WebAssembly WASM JVM TinyGo gc wasm webassembly garbage memory language collector js compiler garbage collector

Sample Comments

pjmlp • Nov 9, 2021 • View on HN

WASM isn't on the same league until it offers GC support.

ed_balls • Mar 16, 2017 • View on HN

How come? I thought WebAssembly was designed with GC in mind.

csjh • Feb 29, 2024 • View on HN

A GC language would be more fit to use Wasm-GC

aussieguy123 • Sep 7, 2017 • View on HN

I thought WebAssembly didn't have a garbage collector yet.

vsskanth • Feb 28, 2021 • View on HN

Can someone educate me why GC based languages aren't supported in wasm ?

woah • Oct 24, 2018 • View on HN

Are they really trying to put a GC into wasm? Sounds like a monstrosity.

merb • Jun 6, 2016 • View on HN

Without GC WebAssembly will still hold a shit load of languages away.

amelius • Jan 19, 2025 • View on HN

Shouldn't it be possible to implement your own GC in WASM? Why does WASM try to be everything?

runeks • Mar 16, 2017 • View on HN

I don't get it. Why not just write the GC in WebAssembly?

slimsag • Mar 3, 2018 • View on HN

It's also worth mentioning WASM has no GC today.