NAME

       lua - Lua interpreter

SYNOPSIS

       lua [ options ] [ script [ args ] ]

DESCRIPTION

       lua  is  the  standalone  Lua  interpreter.  It loads and executes Lua programs, either in
       textual source form or in precompiled binary form.  (Precompiled binaries  are  output  by
       luac, the Lua compiler.)  lua can be used as a batch interpreter and also interactively.

       After  handling  the  options, the Lua program in file script is loaded and executed.  The
       args are available to script as strings in a global table named arg and also as  arguments
       to  its  main  function.   When  called without arguments, lua behaves as lua -v -i if the
       standard input is a terminal, and as lua - otherwise.

       In interactive mode, lua prompts the user,  reads  lines  from  the  standard  input,  and
       executes  them  as  they  are  read.  If the line contains an expression, then the line is
       evaluated and the result is printed.  If a line does not  contain  a  complete  statement,
       then  a  secondary  prompt  is  displayed and lines are read until a complete statement is
       formed or a syntax error is found.

       Before handling command  line  options  and  scripts,  lua  checks  the  contents  of  the
       environment  variables  LUA_INIT_5_4  and LUA_INIT, in that order.  If the contents are of
       the form '@filename', then filename is executed.  Otherwise, the contents are  assumed  to
       be a Lua statement and is executed.  When LUA_INIT_5_4 is defined, LUA_INIT is ignored.

OPTIONS

       -e stat
              execute statement stat.

       -i     enter interactive mode after executing script.

       -l mod require library mod into global mod.

       -l g=mod
              require library mod into global g.

       -v     show version information.

       -E     ignore environment variables.

       -W     turn warnings on.

       --     stop handling options.

       -      stop handling options and execute the standard input as a file.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

       The  following  environment  variables  affect  the  execution  of lua.  When defined, the
       version-specific variants take priority and the version-neutral variants are ignored.

       LUA_INIT, LUA_INIT_5_4
              Code to be executed before command line options and scripts.

       LUA_PATH, LUA_PATH_5_4
              Initial value of package.cpath, the path used by require to search for Lua loaders.

       LUA_CPATH, LUA_CPATH_5_4
              Initial value of package.cpath, the path used by require to search for C loaders.

EXIT STATUS

       If a script calls os.exit, then lua exits with the  given  exit  status.   Otherwise,  lua
       exits with EXIT_SUCCESS (0 on POSIX systems) if there were no errors and with EXIT_FAILURE
       (1 on POSIX systems) if there were errors.  Errors raised in interactive mode do not cause
       exits.

DIAGNOSTICS

       Error messages should be self explanatory.

SEE ALSO

       luac(1)
       The documentation at lua.org, especially section 7 of the reference manual.

AUTHORS

       R. Ierusalimschy, L. H. de Figueiredo, W. Celes

                                   $Date: 2022/09/23 09:06:36 $                         LUA5.4(1)