Getting Started

This page takes you from install to your first running program.

Install automatically#

On Linux and macOS, run this command in your favorite terminal emulator:

curl -fsSL https://lus.dev/install.sh | sh

On Windows, download and run lus-setup.exe, then follow the prompts.

On platforms without prebuilt binaries (the BSDs, illumos, Intel Macs), build from source with Compiling Lus.

Install manually#

If you’d rather fetch the binary yourself:

# glibc; use lus-linux-musl on Alpine
curl -LO https://github.com/lus-lang/lus/releases/latest/download/lus-linux
chmod +x lus-linux
./lus-linux -v

# Apple Silicon
curl -LO https://github.com/lus-lang/lus/releases/latest/download/lus-macos
chmod +x lus-macos
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine lus-macos   # clear Gatekeeper quarantine
./lus-macos -v

curl.exe -LO https://github.com/lus-lang/lus/releases/latest/download/lus-windows.exe
.\lus-windows.exe -v

Downloads can be checked against the release’s SHA256SUMS, please see Verifying a download.

Hello, Lus#

Create a file named hello.lus:

global print

local name = "Lus"
print(`Hello, $name!`)

Run it:

lus hello.lus

Where next#

• Guide to Lus — the comprehensive language reference.
• Coming from Lua — what changed, what was removed, and how -Wpedantic helps you port code.
• Examples — short, idiomatic programs you can run or open in the playground.
• CLI — every interpreter and compiler option, plus lus format.
• IDE Setup — editor support for VSCode, Neovim, Helix, Sublime, and Emacs.
• API reference — every function in the standard library and C API.
• Playground — run Lus in your browser without installing anything.