A Lua distribution for Windows, OSX and Linux based on LuaJIT:
| OS | Architecture | Version |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | x86/x64 | from Windows 7 onward |
| OSX | x86/x64 | from 10.5 (Leopard) onward |
| Linux | x86/x64 | all common distributions from 2009 onward |
- binary distribution: no need for a C/C++ compiler, adding new packages is quick and painless
- portable: it's self-contained in a single folder which can be safely relocated, even to a different OS
- no installer is needed and all required dynamic libraries are included
- includes a package manager to install new packages and to keep ULua up to date (LuaJIT binaries and package manager itself included)
Download and unzip ulua~latest.zip into an arbitrary folder. This will create a single sub-folder named ulua which contains the ULua distribution.
ulua
├── lua.cmd # LuaJIT executable for Windows.
├── lua # LuaJIT executable for OSX and Linux.
├── host
│ ├── config.lua # Global configuration (see PKG).
│ ├── init # Initialization scripts folder.
│ ├── tmp # Temporary files folder.
│ └── pkg # Downloaded packages cache folder.
├── bin
│ ├── upkg.cmd # Package manager executable for Windows.
│ ├── upkg # Package manager executable for OSX and Linux.
│ └── ... # Other executables depending on installed packages.
├── pkg # Package manager package.
└── ... # Other installed packages.
The lua executable starts LuaJIT, the Lua manual and the LuaJIT manual document its usage:
# On Windows:
> cd folder_containing_ulua/ulua
> lua [options] [script [args]]
# On OSX and Linux:
> cd folder_containing_ulua/ulua
> ./lua [options] [script [args]]
By default LuaJIT runs in 32-bit mode, to run it in 64-bit mode set the environment variable BIT=64:
# On Windows:
> set BIT=64
# On OSX and Linux:
> export BIT=64
On Linux, if LuaJIT 32-bit is executed on a distribution lacking the 32-bit C runtime, this will result in a meaningless error such as luajit: command not found. Either launch LuaJIT in 64-bit mode or install the required Linux libraries.
The upkg executable provides a convenient way of managing ULua:
# On Windows:
> cd folder_containing_ulua/ulua/bin
> upkg available # List all available packages.
> upkg add socket # Download and install the socket package (LuaSocket library).
> upkg add pl # Download and install the pl package (PenLight library).
> upkg update # Update all packages to the latest version.
# On OSX and Linux:
> cd folder_containing_ulua/ulua/bin
> ./upkg available # List all available packages.
> ./upkg add socket # Download and install the socket package (LuaSocket library).
> ./upkg add pl # Download and install the pl package (PenLight library).
> ./upkg update # Update all packages to the latest version.
ULua features LuaRocks integration: new and updated rocks are automatically tracked, compiled and made available in ULua. More than 300 of such packages are currently available for installation.
Refer to the official documentation.