Quick clarification because the HN title is easy to misread:
Moonstone is *not* (*EXTRA BOLD*) a Lua VM/runtime implemented in Zig.
It is a Lua environment and package manager written in Zig. It installs/selects Lua-family interpreters, resolves packages, builds native C modules, checks Lua ABI compatibility, creates isolated project environments(through symlinking), and stores artifacts in a content-addressed store.
So the closest mental model is:
LuaRocks + isolated project envs + lockfile replay + Zig-powered native builds + multi-interpreter workspace support. All batteries included for Lua development.
The project does use thematic names like “orbits” and “Ballad”; that’s an intentional design language, but the docs clearly need a stronger translation layer for first-time readers. I’m updating the landing/docs to lead with the concrete systems model first.
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Author here.
Quick clarification because the HN title is easy to misread:
Moonstone is *not* (*EXTRA BOLD*) a Lua VM/runtime implemented in Zig.
It is a Lua environment and package manager written in Zig. It installs/selects Lua-family interpreters, resolves packages, builds native C modules, checks Lua ABI compatibility, creates isolated project environments(through symlinking), and stores artifacts in a content-addressed store.
So the closest mental model is:
LuaRocks + isolated project envs + lockfile replay + Zig-powered native builds + multi-interpreter workspace support. All batteries included for Lua development.
The project does use thematic names like “orbits” and “Ballad”; that’s an intentional design language, but the docs clearly need a stronger translation layer for first-time readers. I’m updating the landing/docs to lead with the concrete systems model first.