Targets · Zig · Reserved words

Reserved words

Zig keeps a set of words for its own syntax, so a program cannot use them as names. When a Program name collides with one, the renderer appends a single underscore — fn becomes fn_ — so the program keeps the name it chose and the output still compiles. Because _ is illegal in a Program identifier, the escape can never collide with a name a program actually chose.

How a Program becomes Zig, in parts. Start with the introduction, then follow each part into the rendered output and the runtime it links against.

Introduction — what the Zig target is, and how to read the rest of this section.
Capabilities — which high-level features are possible, built in or through a library.
Example — a full program using every keyword, and the Zig it renders to.
Naming considerations — how Program's dotted names are carried into Zig.
Entry point — starting a program from main with its drivers.
Drivers — the native drivers that provide the interface, console and network.
Runtime — the Reactive and Context machinery the rendered code links against.
Native modules — the hand-written Zig behind NATIVE functions.
Keywords — how each of Program's keywords renders to Zig.
Project setup — the files and commands to build and run the rendered program.
Reserved words — the words Zig keeps for itself, and how a colliding name is escaped.

The full list

Every word Zig reserves, with the identifier a colliding Program name is escaped to. The rule is uniform — append a single _:

Reserved word	Rendered identifier
`addrspace`	`addrspace_`
`align`	`align_`
`allowzero`	`allowzero_`
`and`	`and_`
`anyframe`	`anyframe_`
`anytype`	`anytype_`
`asm`	`asm_`
`async`	`async_`
`await`	`await_`
`break`	`break_`
`callconv`	`callconv_`
`catch`	`catch_`
`comptime`	`comptime_`
`const`	`const_`
`continue`	`continue_`
`defer`	`defer_`
`else`	`else_`
`enum`	`enum_`
`errdefer`	`errdefer_`
`error`	`error_`
`export`	`export_`
`extern`	`extern_`
`fn`	`fn_`
`for`	`for_`
`if`	`if_`
`inline`	`inline_`
`noalias`	`noalias_`
`noinline`	`noinline_`
`nosuspend`	`nosuspend_`
`opaque`	`opaque_`
`or`	`or_`
`orelse`	`orelse_`
`packed`	`packed_`
`pub`	`pub_`
`resume`	`resume_`
`return`	`return_`
`linksection`	`linksection_`
`struct`	`struct_`
`suspend`	`suspend_`
`switch`	`switch_`
`test`	`test_`
`threadlocal`	`threadlocal_`
`try`	`try_`
`union`	`union_`
`unreachable`	`unreachable_`
`usingnamespace`	`usingnamespace_`
`var`	`var_`
`volatile`	`volatile_`
`while`	`while_`

Reserved words

Contents

The full list