Clx – Compile Lua to Native Executables Through C++20
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…
In plain words
Clx is an ahead-of-time compiler that converts standard Lua code into C++20, which is then compiled into standalone native executables using GCC, Clang, or MSVC. Designed for developers seeking performance improvements over traditional Lua interpreters, it uses modern C++ as a portable compiler backend. Recent updates include improved value representation, full int64 support, and better arithmetic optimization. The compiled output typically runs significantly faster than Lua interpreters and can exceed LuaJIT performance on computation-heavy tasks.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
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 support. Performance is typically much faster than the Lua interpreter and can outperform LuaJIT on some computation-heavy workloads while remaining fully ahead-of-time compiled. The repository also contains graphical examples written in Lua, including a Pong game and a Mandelbrot explorer using a Sokol binary module (using the clx C++ API) I'd be very interested in feedback on clx :)
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