Why LuaRocks?

Lua is a tiny yet powerful programming language, a tiny yet powerful language used anywhere from embedded systems, to AI, to networking, to MMORPGs. The secret to its success is its embeddability: Lua is a tiny portable core than can be adapted to any project.

The flip-side to this is that Lua itself does not come with many libraries, it features only the bare minimum. Enter LuaRocks: by using it to install additional packages called "rocks", LuaRocks turbo-charges Lua, making it a suitable language for any field.

The package repository

In the luarocks.org repository one can find packages for all sorts of areas. LuaRocks also allows third-party projects to host their own package repositories (either in luarocks.org or in their own servers), so that LuaRocks can work as the plugin manager to their project.

The build system

LuaRocks also doubles as a portable build system for compiling Lua modules. It abstracts away platform differences and allows module developers using Lua or C to distribute Lua extensions that can build in any modern operating system.