kotlinc

kotlinc [options] files

kotlinc is the command-line Kotlin compiler that translates Kotlin source files (.kt) into JVM bytecode. It can produce either standalone JAR files with the Kotlin runtime bundled via the `-include-runtime` flag, or output class files to a directory for integration with existing build pipelines.The compiler supports full interoperability with Java, allowing Kotlin code to call Java libraries and vice versa. It accepts a target JVM version through the `-jvm-target` option, supports adding external dependencies via the classpath, and can compile multiple source files together. For larger projects, build tools like Gradle or Maven are typically preferred, but kotlinc is useful for quick compilation tasks, learning, and scripting workflows.

FILES

Kotlin source files (.kt).

Output JAR or directory.

Include Kotlin runtime.

Classpath.

Target JVM version.

Don't automatically include kotlin-stdlib.jar and kotlin-reflect.jar in the classpath.

Don't automatically include kotlin-reflect.jar in the classpath.

Use a custom JDK home directory instead of the default JAVA_HOME.

Compile against the specified Kotlin language version (e.g. `2.0`).

Evaluate a Kotlin script file (.kts).

Suppress all compiler warnings.

Treat all warnings as compilation errors.

Enable verbose logging output with compilation details.

Display the compiler version.

Display usage information.

Requires JVM. Slow startup. Consider Gradle for projects.

kotlinc is the official compiler for Kotlin, created by JetBrains as a modern JVM language.

kotlin(1), javac(1), gradle(1)