TypeScript-to-Lua transpiler built on typescript-go. Single binary, no Node runtime required.

Built on the architecture and test suite of TypeScriptToLua. For general TypeScript-to-Lua usage and caveats, see the TSTL docs. Targets LuaJIT and Lua 5.0-5.5.

Docs · Playground · CLI reference

npm i @tslua/cli

// tslua eval -e
const items = [10, 20, 30];
for (const x of items) { print(x * 2) }

// output:
// items = {10, 20, 30}
// for ____, x in ipairs(items) do
//     print(x * 2)
// end

• Native Go binary. Uses typescript-go's type checker and AST directly via go:linkname shims, no IPC or JS runtime in the loop.
• TSTL-compatible. Ports TSTL's transforms and lualib faithfully. Reads the same tsconfig.json options and produces compatible output.
• TS 7 ready. Built on the compiler that TypeScript is migrating to.
• Fast. ~6-18ms incremental rebuilds in watch mode. Benchmarks
• Alternative class styles. tstl (default, TSTL-compatible), inline, luabind, middleclass.

Two verification approaches, both running TSTL's own tests:

• Jest harness. TSTL's Jest suite runs unmodified, but with tslua's transpiler swapped in via a Unix socket server. 6111 / 6179 tests pass (98.9%).
• Migrated Go tests. A migration system extracts TSTL's Jest specs and code-generates them into native Go tests. 5656 / 5903 cases migrated (95.8%) across 70 of 71 spec files, with 100% behavioral pass rate on migrated cases. The 247 unmigrated cases use TSTL assertion methods (getMainLuaCodeChunk, getLuaExecutionResult, etc.) not yet supported by the migration script.

• Plugins. TSTL's luaPlugins hook system. A Go binary can't load JS transformer plugins; the plugin story needs a different shape.
• Build modes. --buildMode library not implemented.
• Diagnostics. Not all TSTL diagnostics are ported, and some differ due to typescript-go's type checker.

Requires Go 1.24+, Node 20+, and just.

git clone https://github.com/RealColdFry/tslua
cd tslua
just setup
just build
./tslua eval -e 'print("hello")'