Software
A curated list of awesome application software built with Common Lisp, spanning audio, games, development tools, and more.
What is Software?
Awesome Common Lisp Application Software is a curated collection of application software developed in Common Lisp, showcasing the language's versatility across domains like audio composition, game development, productivity tools, and operating systems. It highlights both historical and modern projects, demonstrating Common Lisp's practical use in real-world applications beyond libraries. The list emphasizes curated quality over quantity to highlight relevant and active projects.
Common Lisp developers and enthusiasts seeking real-world examples of Lisp applications, as well as software engineers curious about the language's capabilities in building full-featured software across diverse domains.
Developers choose this list for its comprehensive curation of high-quality Common Lisp applications, organized into clear categories with license transparency and indicators for prominent/active projects. It serves as a trusted reference separate from uncurated lists, helping users discover practical Lisp software efficiently.
Overview
List of awesome application software built with Common Lisp
Use Cases
Best For
- Finding production-ready Common Lisp applications across categories like audio, games, and development tools
- Discovering historical and modern Lisp software with clear licensing information
- Identifying active Common Lisp projects through star and rocket indicators
- Exploring Common Lisp's versatility in building operating systems and desktop environments
- Researching Lisp success stories and commercial applications
- Comparing curated vs. uncurated lists of Lisp software via the separate complete-list branch
Not Ideal For
- Developers seeking comprehensive Common Lisp libraries and frameworks (this list focuses on standalone applications)
- Teams needing detailed reviews, installation guides, or community support metrics for each software
- Projects requiring only modern, actively maintained software, as the list includes historical and 'stalling' entries
- Users looking for cross-language software comparisons or non-Lisp alternatives
Pros & Cons
Pros
Maintains a separate master list from an uncurated complete branch, ensuring only relevant and high-quality applications are featured, as per the README's philosophy of quality over quantity.
Organized into clear sections like Audio, Games, and Operating Systems, with specific examples such as OpusModus for music composition, demonstrating Lisp's versatility across domains.
Uses star (⭐) and rocket (🚀) symbols to denote prominent and active projects, helping users quickly identify notable software like Nyxt browser or Kandria game.
Each entry includes its software license, from open source (e.g., MIT, GPL) to proprietary, providing legal clarity for users, as seen in entries like ScoreCloud (Proprietary) or Coleslaw (MIT).
Cons
Includes historical or 'stalling' projects without clear warnings, such as Shuffletron or deprecated browsers, which may mislead users seeking current, maintained software.
Provides only brief descriptions and links, with no user reviews, ratings, or assessments of usability, performance, or community support, limiting decision-making insights.
Relies on the maintainer's judgment for what's 'awesome' or relevant, potentially omitting lesser-known applications and making the list less comprehensive for niche needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
LibrariesA curated list of awesome Common Lisp frameworks, libraries and other shiny stuff.
Roswellintended to be a launcher for a major lisp environment that just works.
awesome-lisp-companiesAwesome Lisp Companies
ociclAn OCI-based ASDF system distribution and management tool for Common Lisp
Found a gem we're missing?
Open-Awesome is built by the community, for the community. Submit a project, suggest an awesome list, or help improve the catalog on GitHub.