Vix IO

The io module provides a simple, modern, and cross-platform API for working with input and output streams in C++.

It is designed to be:

• simple to use
• lightweight
• consistent
• familiar for developers coming from Node.js, Deno, or Bun

Philosophy

I/O in Vix follows strict principles:

• simple functions, no boilerplate
• explicit error handling (Result<T>)
• stream-first design
• no unnecessary abstractions
• composable APIs

The goal is to bring a modern developer experience to C++ I/O.

Install

Using Vix:

vix add @vix/io

Quick Start

#include <vix/io/Io.hpp>

int main()
{
  auto out = vix::io::stdout_stream();

  vix::io::write_line(out, "Hello Vix IO");
}

Standard Streams

auto in  = vix::io::stdin_stream();
auto out = vix::io::stdout_stream();
auto err = vix::io::stderr_stream();

Reading

Read a line

auto line = vix::io::read_line(in);

if (line)
{
  vix::io::write_line(out, line.value());
}

Read all input

auto data = vix::io::read_all(in);

if (data)
{
  vix::io::write(out, data.value());
}

Read bytes

auto chunk = vix::io::read(in, 1024);

Writing

Write text

vix::io::write(out, "Hello");
vix::io::write_line(out, " world");

Write bytes

vix::io::Bytes bytes{65, 66, 67};
vix::io::write(out, bytes);

Flush

vix::io::flush(out);

Copy Streams

auto result = vix::io::copy(in, out);

if (!result)
{
  vix::io::write_line(err, "copy failed");
}

Buffer

vix::io::Buffer buffer;

buffer.append("Hello ");
buffer.append("Buffer");

vix::io::write_line(out, buffer.to_string());

Options

vix::io::IoOptions options;
options.chunk_size = 8192;
options.auto_flush = true;

Used in:

• read_all()
• write_line()
• copy()

Error Handling

All operations return a Result<T>.

auto result = vix::io::read_line(in);

if (!result)
{
  std::cerr << result.error().message() << "\n";
  return;
}

Types

Bytes

using Bytes = std::vector<std::uint8_t>;

Buffer

vix::io::Buffer buffer;
buffer.append("data");

Examples

See the examples/ directory:

• basic.cpp
• stdin.cpp
• stdout.cpp
• read_all.cpp
• buffer.cpp
• copy_stream.cpp
• advanced.cpp

Design Notes

• io is stream-oriented
• fs handles filesystem (files, directories)
• io handles streams (stdin, stdout, buffers)
• no exceptions required
• simple and composable API

Why Vix IO?

Traditional C++ I/O:

• verbose
• inconsistent
• hard to compose

Vix IO provides:

• simple APIs
• predictable behavior
• structured errors
• modern developer experience

License

MIT License