IONIAN Labs

Things we built for ourselves.

Languages, runtimes, games, and tools nobody paid us to build — published with the measurements, including the ones that went against us.

IONIAN Labs is where we build the things nobody paid us to build. Every experiment here is a real, running artifact — a language, a runtime, a playable game, a product — not a concept deck. We publish what we measured, including the claims our own tests refuted.

Project Diell — A language small enough for an AI to verify before it emits.

Language & runtime · Active research · v0.9.1 · 2026

Diell is a tiny language an AI writes under a formal grammar, and a deterministic engine verifies before anything renders. Grammar-constrained generation makes invalid programs impossible to emit; a simulator then checks behaviour, so the failure mode is a caught error instead of confident nonsense. The whole machine spec fits in one file a model can load in a single shot.

  • Formal grammar + deterministic simulator — invalid programs cannot be emitted
  • Measured 18/27 structural vs 9/27 semantic seam, published with the method
  • A tokenizer audit that refuted our own headline claim — kept in the ledger anyway
  • Byte-compatible parity gate: every build is hash-verified against the reference

Read more about Project Diell · Open the docs portal

Embertide — Strike the light back into the dark.

Game · Playable · v5.0 · 2026

A free, hand-drawn billiards puzzle you play with one finger. Pull back, let go, and knock the loose light into the lanterns — each orb sunk sends current up a cable to the lamp above the table, and the dark recedes as the lamp comes up. 300 levels, a daily board everyone shares, and two collectible notebooks. No ads, no pay-to-win, nothing to install.

  • Real billiards physics: the cue strikes, momentum transfers, orbs collide and drop
  • 300 hand-authored levels across 18 chapters, plus Endless and a shared Daily board
  • Two collectible sticker notebooks: proverbs from 15 cultures, and 108 fact-checked science cards for younger players
  • Drawn two ways — warm ink on paper, or chalk on a dark board
  • Installs to your home screen and plays full screen offline
  • Photosensitivity warning and reduced-motion built in from day one, not patched in later

Read more about Embertide · Play Embertide

Schematly — Win the ranking. Win the answer.

SaaS product · Private beta · v1.0 · 2026

An AEO and SEO structured-data engine. Paste a URL, and it returns SEO meta tags, valid schema.org JSON-LD across 15 types, and an answer-engine pack — then tracks whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini actually cite you. It runs on your own AI key, so there is no usage bill on top of the plan.

  • Free, no-signup AI visibility audit that scores any live page in seconds
  • BYOK on every plan — free Gemini and Groq keys work, so the AI costs nothing
  • Offline demo engine generates real output with no API key at all
  • Plan limits enforced server-side, not just hidden in the UI
  • 160 automated tests covering auth, licensing, tiers, and the browser client

Read more about Schematly · Request early access

In progress

  • Diell v0.10 (Language) — Deferred items from the v0.9 Sovereign release — broader effect surface and a wider conformance suite.
  • Constrained-decoding run (Experiment) — The one unrun experiment in the Diell thesis: a local open model generating Diell under the GBNF grammar, measuring parse rate and compile lift against unconstrained generation.

Frequently asked questions

What is IONIAN Labs?

IONIAN Labs is the research and products arm of IONIAN Digital. It is where we build languages, runtimes, games, and software that are not client work, then publish what we measured — including results that contradict what we hoped to find.

Is Project Diell a real, usable language?

It is a working research language, not a production dependency. It has a formal grammar, a deterministic engine, a language reference, a live playground, and a parity gate that hash-verifies every build. It is stable enough to write and run real programs, and we publish an honest ledger of which claims are measured versus cited.

Can I play Embertide in the browser for free?

Yes. Embertide runs in the browser at embertide.ionian.co with nothing to install and no sign-up to start playing. It includes sound controls and a reduced-motion option.

What is Schematly?

Schematly is an AEO and SEO structured-data engine built by IONIAN. It generates SEO meta tags, valid schema.org JSON-LD across 15 types, and an answer-engine pack from any URL, then tracks whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini cite the page. It runs on your own AI key, so there is no usage charge on top of the subscription.

Why does an agency publish its own research?

Because shipped artifacts are better evidence than claims. The same engineering that makes a language verify itself before it renders is what makes a client product predictable under load. Labs is where that work is visible and checkable.

Can IONIAN build something like this for my company?

Yes. IONIAN Digital builds AI-powered products, custom runtimes, developer tooling, websites, and MVPs for companies in the New York City and New Jersey area and worldwide. Labs work is the deep end of the same practice.

IONIAN Digital builds AI-powered products, websites, and MVPs for companies in NYC, New Jersey, and worldwide. Start a project or see the client work.