_index.html

---
title: Medley Interlisp Project
aliases:
 - /hugo
---

{{<blocks/cover title="The Medley Interlisp Project" subtitle="a retrofuturistic software system" image_anchor="smart" color="primary" height="min">}}
<divclass="top-summary">
 What did we leave behind on the path to developing today's computer systems? Could there be lessons for the future of computing hidden in the past? Enter the Medley software environment to explore these questions.
</div>
<divclass="mx-auto mt-5">
 {{<blocks/link-down color="white" >}}
</div>
{{< /blocks/cover >}}

{{<blocks/section color="white" >}}

<header>
<h1>The Interlisp Revival</h1>
</header>

<div>
<p>Welcome to the start of a new chapter in software preservation and computing. We're a group of researchers, software developers, and friends working to make the Medley Interlisp system available for use on modern computer systems.</p>

<p>The Medley system was created at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). PARC was the cradle of the modern graphical user interface and its design thinking continued with the development of Medley Interlisp, an extensible graphical operating system with nearly limitless possibilities for customization. Whatever the task, using Medley you can design a custom workflow to help accomplish it.</p>

<p>Interlisp had its beginnings as a DARPA sponsored Lisp environment for researchers. Interlisp was then ported and expanded into Interlisp-D, first released by Xerox and distributed commercially until its development tapered off in the 1990s. Now this classic software system is running again on your favorite operating system. The project is more than a trip down memory lane: our mission is to expand the scope of what Medley can do, fulfilling its promise of software tools limited only by the user's imagination. Dive in and explore the language, the tools, and the myriad applications, experiments, and playful creations that were crafted in and for Interlisp.</p>

<p>The <ahref="project/status/2024medleyannualreport">2024 Medley Interlisp Annual Report</a> describes our recent activities.</p>

<p>Feeling confused by the jargon? Don't worry, we've got you covered. <ahref="history/glossary">Check out our glossary</a> to learn the terms associated with our project.</p>

<p>Most software in this project is licensed under the terms of the <ahref="https://github.com/Interlisp/medley/blob/master/LICENSE">MIT license</a>.</p>

</div>
<!--
<p>Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) is remembered mainly as the birthplace of the modern graphical user interface, influencing the development of the graphical operating systems we know today. At the same time PARC did pioneering work in the field of AI using a language called Interlisp. This powerful programmable language became the basis of Medley, a graphical software environment that carried on the design thinking of PARC's original Alto interface.</p>

<p>Medley's life as a commercial product ended in the 1990s, and until 2009 its source code only remained in the hands of the development team. Now the system is running again on modern computer systems, thanks to the combined efforts of original developers and interested newcomers. Our goal is to revive Interlisp in language, environment and spirit through the Medley Interlisp Project.</p>


<div class="col">
<h3>What do all these terms mean?</h3>
<p>With over five decades of history and many design iterations, there are a lot of names and other vocabulary associated with the project. <a href="project/glossary">Visit the glossary</a> to learn more.
</p>
<h3>Have other questions?</h3>
<p><a href="/project/faqs">Our FAQs page</a> addresses other common queries about the project.</p>
</div>

<!-- >{{< carousel items="1" height="500" unit="px" duration="7000" >}} -->

{{< /blocks/section >}}

{{<blocks/section color="primary" type="row" >}}

{{% blocks/feature icon="fas fa-feather" title="History of Interlisp" %}}
<p>
 The history of Interlisp and Medley development, and applications written in
 and for it.
</p>

<divclass="mx-auto">
<aclass="btn btn-lg btn-danger mr-3 mb-4" href="{{< relref "history" >}}">
 History <iclass="fas fa-arrow-alt-circle-right ml-2"></i>
</a>
</div>

{{% /blocks/feature %}}

{{% blocks/feature icon="fas fa-globe-asia" title="The Project" %}}
<p>
 Who we are, what we've done, our plans for the future, ways you can
 get involved.
</p>
<divclass="mx-auto">
<aclass="btn btn-lg btn-danger mr-3 mb-4" href="{{< relref "project" >}}">
 Get Involved <iclass="fas fa-arrow-alt-circle-right ml-2"></i>
</a>
</div>

{{% /blocks/feature %}}

{{% blocks/feature icon="fas fa-medal" title="Try Medley" %}}
<p>
 How to run Medley "in the cloud" (on our servers), install
 it on popular platforms or build it for new ones.
</p>
<divclass="mx-auto">
<aclass="btn btn-lg btn-danger mr-3 mb-4" href="{{< relref "software/install-and-run" >}}">
 Running Medley <iclass="fas fa-arrow-alt-circle-right ml-2"></i>
</a>
</div>

{{% /blocks/feature %}}

 {{< /blocks/section >}}