# rvirding/luerl

Lua in Erlang

Repository: https://github.com/rvirding/luerl
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/luerl
Language: Erlang
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-07-29T16:42:22+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 83/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 95, release rhythm 59, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5317, "days_push": 35, "days_rel": 273, "gap_med": 0.5, "n_releases_24m": 7}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1184, forks 145 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:54.652292+00:00)

## What it is
Luerl is an implementation of the Lua 5.3 scripting language written in pure Erlang/OTP. It is a library that lets Erlang host programs execute Lua code, manipulate Lua state, and expose Erlang functions to Lua scripts.

## Use cases
- embed a Lua scripting engine in an Erlang or Elixir application
- let users write customizable scripts or plugins in Lua
- run sandboxed Lua code from an Erlang host program
- call Erlang functions from Lua scripts
- build a domain-specific scripting language on Lua syntax
- script game or IoT logic from an Erlang backend

## When to choose
- you need an embeddable scripting language inside an Erlang/OTP or Elixir system
- you want Lua semantics with Erlang's concurrency and fault tolerance
- you need to safely evaluate user-supplied scripts within the BEAM

## When to avoid
- you need full, guaranteed Lua 5.3 compatibility - the 5.3 migration is work-in-progress
- you need maximum Lua execution speed - a native Lua VM (C) will be faster
- your project is not on the Erlang/Elixir/BEAM ecosystem

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: interpreter, parser, programming-language, sdk
- domain: programming-languages, parsers, developer-tools
- platform: elixir, cross-platform
- tags: lua, erlang, scripting-language, embedding, vm, game-development

## Member repositories
- rvirding/luerl (main) score 83

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:54.652292+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T06:24:29.686638+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/rvirding/luerl (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:54.652292+00:00, sha b3d856d69261)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.