Binaries and Installers for public consumption. Please see Wiki Home for release notes. If you wandered in here looking for an OpenSSL binary, check the LibreSSL directory for a 32 bit msi (or download WinLua!).
NOTE: The new WinLua R3 with Winlua Compiler Toolchain is too big to host in this repository. I will switch to using releases soon. Until then the alpha installer can be found here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AhdX-12NH-BT2Hroykjz7_VAik4f?e=9og4Zs
If you just want to try Lua on Windows 10+, download the Release 1 version of the Lua 5.3 installer. The new Alpha Release 3 file is a more complete installer with the Luarocks package manager, LibreSSL and a Lua based build system for C called JamPlus.
Both Releases will install Lua, plus a de-facto filesystem component and a C++ interface called Sol(2/3). Release 1 provides 32 and 64 bit, Release 3 is currently 32 bit only.[1]. After installation Lua can be used from the command line (any current cmd or powershell windows will need to be re-opened) or by opening your start menu and typing "Lua" and clicking on the icon. If you want to use LuaRocks, you'll need a compiler, which is discussed below.
The Release 3 Lua binaries contain a patch file that allows for more performant debugging by adding a non-standard Lua op-code. This patch can be used in conjunction with the DevCat Debugger for Visual Studio Code.
The original op_halt patch was authored by Dan Tull. This version is made available by DevCat here: https://github.com/devcat-studio/lua-5.3.4-op_halt
The DevCat debugger is made available here: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=devCAT.lua-debug
Visual Studio Code can be downloaded here: https://code.visualstudio.com/Download
Some components available on LuaRocks require a C/C++ compiler to build and use. I currently use the Microsoct Visual C++ compilers. They are included with Visual Studio (including the FREE community edition), but VS is a 20 GB download. If you are looking for a more practical command line toolchain (~4 GB), you can download the FREE VC++ compiler toolchain. The microsoft download is here: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/thank-you-downloading-visual-studio/?sku=BuildTools&rel=16
There is an excellent windows package manager calle Chocolatey. The build tools are available through the choco interface:
choco install visualstudio2019buildtools
https://chocolatey.org/packages/visualstudio2019buildtools
The VC redistributable is here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads
Luarocks is a command line tool and requires a compiler to build and install "rocks". Powershell isn't configured to work with the compilers by default. To fix this, I've included a powershell version of vsvar.bat called vsvars.ps1. If you are willining and able to run Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted you can include the vsvars.ps1 file in your "...\Documents\WindowsPowerShell" folder and add the following line to your Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 file (Where the year is the version of Visual Studio or VC build tools):
write-host 'Load VsVars...'
. $PSScriptRoot/vsVars.ps1 2019Next time you run powershell you can check for a compiler by typing cl
Do yourself a favor and go buy the Programming In Lua book. https://www.lua.org/pil/
The Lua-Users wiki is also a great place to start. http://lua-users.org/wiki/ [2]
I love ZeroBrane. If you are looking for an excellent Integrated Development Environment (IDE) akin to Visual Studio for Lua - repleat with tons of samples and tutorials - then please download and support https://studio.zerobrane.com. If you're new to Lua, I recommend it. This project and ZeroBrane are not configured to work togther (though ZeroBrane is configurable) but it doesn't matter. ZeroBrane comes with a wide range of "Lua flavours" including the current Lua version. I highly recommend ZeroBrane.
The WinLua project is no a replacement for ZeroBrane. ZeroBrane is a far more complete Lua solution for beginners.
LuaBinaries is an excellent, current distribution of Lua built with GCC (GNU C Compiler) on MinGW (Minimum GNU for Windows) [3]. It's an excellent distribution if you already know the ins and outs of Lua and you'd like to include the executables with your application and know how to manipulate the windows PATH variable. LuaBinaries is also available through the Choclatey package manager.
JoeDf has lots of goodies built with MinGW; his site explains how to use them. Binaries are packaged as zips and there is no path manipulation.
WinLua by contrast is built with Visual Studio 2017. WinLua only officially supports Windows 10, but can be used on Windows 7 or 8 if you download the VC Redtistributable[2]. The binaries are "integrated with Windows" via installers and so Lua can be added and removed like other applications and used from the command line. The luaxx.dll can be dynamically included in applications from a standardized location. If using C++, Sol2 can be used with a single include. WinLua Release 1 is also available as a Merge Module for inclusion in third party installers (e.g. your installer built with ISWix ) but is not yet availale on choclatey. I hope to have a bootstrapper soon to allow for MSVC re-distribution.
[1] If you don't know why you would want 64 bits then you don't need them. The 32 bit version is in no way inferior for your purposes and simplifies things when Lua starts getting complicated. Big numbers are there for Mathematicians, not us.
[2] https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads
[3] To learn more about GNU environment on Windows, see MSYS2 and the excellent MSYS2 installer in choclatey.