lua2rust

0.5.2 verified Fri May 01 auth: no javascript

A transpiler that converts Lua source code to Rust. Current stable version 0.5.2. Release cadence is irregular with occasional updates. Key differentiator: it provides a direct path from Lua scripts to Rust code, though with significant limitations such as no support for metatables, loadstring, or user-defined iterators. It is best suited for simple Lua scripts that use basic constructs.

Common errors

error error: Found argument 'script.lua' which wasn't expected, or isn't valid in this context ↓

cause Incorrect CLI usage – missing or extra arguments.

fix

Use: npx lua2rust <lua file> <output function name>

error thread 'main' panicked at 'index out of bounds: ...' ↓

cause String index out of range in transpiled Rust code.

fix

Ensure Lua string indices are within bounds (1-based).

Warnings

gotcha Transpiled code uses Rust's `.chars()` for string indexing, which can panic on invalid indices. ↓

fix Ensure Lua string indices are valid; consider wrapping in Rust's try/catch.

gotcha Table operations like `table.insert` and `#t` only work on consecutive arrays starting at index 1. ↓

fix Restructure Lua tables to be 1-indexed consecutive arrays.

gotcha Modifying a table while iterating over it leads to undefined behavior. ↓

fix Avoid modifying tables during iteration; collect changes and apply afterward.

gotcha `tonumber` with base argument is not implemented. ↓

fix Manually implement base conversion in Lua before transpiling.

Install

npm install lua2rust

yarn add lua2rust

pnpm add lua2rust

Imports

default (transpiled function)
wrong
```
import { transpile } from 'lua2rust'
```
correct
```
// no import; transpiled output is a Rust function
```
lua2rust is a CLI tool, not a library. Use npx lua2rust to transpile.
cli invocation
wrong
```
lua2rust script.lua
```
correct
```
npx lua2rust script.lua my_function > output.rs
```
Requires two arguments: input file and output function name.
CommonJS require (not applicable)
wrong
```
const lua2rust = require('lua2rust')
```
correct
Package is CLI only; no programmatic API.

Quickstart

Demonstrates transpiling a simple Lua function to Rust using CLI.

// Create a simple Lua script
// test.lua:
function greet(name)
  return "Hello, " .. name
end

print(greet("World"))

# Transpile to Rust
npx lua2rust test.lua greet > greet.rs

// greet.rs will contain a Rust function corresponding to the Lua code.