frugal ☆

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Description:
Cross language code generator for creating scalable microservices

Type: Formula | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: rpc thrift microservices code-generation idls

Install: brew install frugal

About:
Frugal is a code generator that extends the Thrift IDL to support user-defined types and generate service handlers. It compiles Frugal IDL definitions into optimized client and server code for multiple languages including Go, Java, Python, and Dart. This enables developers to build scalable, high-performance microservices with a consistent, type-safe API across different technology stacks.

Key Features:

Multi-language code generation for Go, Java, Python, Dart, and more
Extends Apache Thrift with first-class support for user-defined types
Generates both client stubs and server-side service handlers
Optimized for high-throughput, low-latency microservice communication

Use Cases:

Generating type-safe client and server code for cross-language microservices
Building high-performance APIs that leverage existing Thrift transports
Standardizing service contracts across polyglot engineering teams

Alternatives:

Apache Thrift – Frugal adds user-defined types and generates service handlers; Thrift focuses on protocol and transport.
Protocol Buffers – Protobuf is language-agnostic but uses a different IDL; Frugal is Thrift-compatible and adds codegen features.

Version History

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