Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to The Programming Language Lua

Lua is a powerful, efficient, lightweight, script language.

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. The Programming Language Lua launched in 2024; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1
Lua in Python▲57
Lua in Python. Contribute to scoder/lupa development by creating an account on GitHub.
2015 · github.com · its alternatives →
2
A console-based editor with Lua support, based on antirez's project▲85
A minimal text-editor with lua scripting. Contribute to skx/kilua development by creating an account on GitHub.
2016 · github.com · its alternatives →
3
Lua/LuaJIT with C/C++/Java/JavaScript syntax▲77
Lua with C/C++/Java/Javascript syntax. Contribute to mingodad/ljs development by creating an account on GitHub.
2018 · github.com · its alternatives →
4
Superset of Lisp and Lua Programming Language, a la JSX▲38
Lisp is Lisp. Lua is Lua. Lisp and Lua as One. Contribute to meric/l2l development by creating an account on GitHub.
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
5
Lite – A small, fast text editor▲607
A lightweight text editor written in Lua. Contribute to rxi/lite development by creating an account on GitHub.
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
6
LuaRT▲64
Windows programming framework for Lua
2022 · luart.org · its alternatives →
7
Lua Carousel, create little programs on desktop or mobile devices▲165
Write programs on desktop and mobile
2023 · akkartik.itch.io · its alternatives →
8
My first Open Source project -- Teaching my son Lua▲33
Lua Text Adventure Engine. Contribute to shawndumas/adventure.lua development by creating an account on GitHub.
2012 · github.com · its alternatives →
9
Clx – Compile Lua to Native Executables Through C++20▲143
Hi HN, clx is an ahead-of-time compiler for standard Lua that generates C++20 and produces standalone native executables through GCC, Clang or MSVC. The project started as an experiment to see whether modern C++ could be used as a portable compiler backend instead of LLVM or direct machine code generation. The generated code is then compiled and optimized by the host toolchain. The latest release replaces the previous NaN-tagged value representation with a new shadow-types implementation, adds full int64 support, improves native arithmetic code generation and adds ARM64 macOS coroutine…
Jul 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
10
Luma Language▲190
Learn the first 1,000 words of a language 10x faster
2022 · its alternatives →
11
Lumi.new▲227
Hi HN — we’re the team behind Lumi (lumi.new). Lumi is an all-in-one platform to build and launch websites or lightweight apps simply by chatting—no code needed to write, no external services needed to integrate. We’re a 10+ person team. What’s UNIQUE: ANYWHERE: Multi-country language support out of the box (create & maintain multiple locales in one project) ANYONE: With built-in Database + Sign-In + more internal tools coming soon, anyone can achieve anything without technical stuff being barriers ANYTIME：No waiting list! Works right now to bulid CRM system, e-commerce portal, photo -…
2025 · lumi.new · its alternatives →
12
Evolved.lua – An Evolved Entity Component System for Lua▲55
I'm excited to announce the first release of my library, evolved.lua! evolved.lua is a fast and flexible ECS (Entity-Component-System) library for Lua. It is designed to be simple and easy to use, while providing all the features needed to create complex systems with blazing performance. Enjoy!
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
13
Glua, a Full-Featured Lua VM for Nodejs and the Browser▲70
Maybe you should use https://github.com/fiatjaf/flua instead of this - fiatjaf/glua
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
14LA
Lux – A luxurious package manager for Lua▲268
2025 · mrcjkb.dev · its alternatives →
15
Lune AI▲348
Learn a new language with an AI tutor in your pocket
2024 · lunelearning.com · its alternatives →
16
LuaJIT assembler/assembly language for direct bytecode programming▲141
LuaJIT 2.0 and 2.1 bytecode generator, assembler, parser, viewer and test VM. Lua 5.1 parser, IDE and debugger. - rochus-keller/LjTools
2019 · github.com · its alternatives →
17L
LiteScript▲76
2014 · luciotato.github.io · its alternatives →
18
NetLua – Completely managed .NET Lua▲61
Completely managed .NET Lua. Contribute to frabert/NetLua development by creating an account on GitHub.
2013 · github.com · its alternatives →
19
Marsha – An LLM-Based Programming Language▲140
Marsha is a functional, higher-level, English-based programming language that gets compiled into tested Python software by an LLM - alantech/marsha
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
20
Lua-libuv – A Lua with libuv experiments▲42
laboratório de integração Lua com libuv para execução de scripts assíncronos e experimentação de POCs - joaoneto/lua-libuv
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
21
A Modern C/C++ build tools (Simple, Fast, Cross-platform)▲89
A cross-platform build utility based on Lua
2019 · xmake.io · its alternatives →
22
Luakernel – Lua + SQLite + musl libc running on x86▲115
Lua + SQLite + musl libc running on x86. Contribute to ers35/luakernel development by creating an account on GitHub.
2014 · github.com · its alternatives →
23
Ito – build terminal UI in Lua▲74
Create and try terminal interfaces with Lua.
8d ago · uji.sh · its alternatives →
24
Another C++ Lua Wrapper▲24
Minimal-overhead C++ wrapper for Lua. Contribute to vapourismo/luwra development by creating an account on GitHub.
2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →