Cargo vs LuaRocks

Cargo is the free package manager and build tool for Rust, used through a command-line interface. It downloads dependencies, builds packages, and supports repeatable builds with lockfiles. Developers can compile, check, document, test, run, package, install, and publish Rust projects. The `cargo new` command creates a package, defaulting to a binary; adding `--lib` creates a library. Cargo uses crates.io by default and also handles alternate registries, Git dependencies, and local paths. Workspaces allow multiple packages to share a lockfile and output directory. Package features can enable conditional compilation and optional dependencies. In offline mode, Cargo avoids network access and attempts to use cached data. It supports authentication options for registries and new subcommands without modifying Cargo itself. Rustup installs Cargo with the stable Rust release, and installation instructions cover Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like systems. Cargo is open source under the MIT and Apache License, Version 2.0. Some documented capabilities remain unstable and require a nightly toolchain and `-Z` flags.

LuaRocks is a package manager for Lua, with LuaRocks.org hosting rocks and rockspecs for Lua modules. Its command line uses manifests to find packages, choose a version and platform match, and install the corresponding files locally. Rocks carry version dependency information, which LuaRocks uses to install dependencies and load the appropriate module version. Package collections can be organized through the root manifest, per-user manifests, or custom manifests; development versions are kept in a separate manifest and are not installed by default. LuaRocks supports offline installation and platforms including Linux, macOS, Windows, Unix, FreeBSD, and Cygwin. Module authors can register and upload a rockspec, then publish rock files for a version; the current release supports the `luarocks upload` command. The application is described as pure Lua with no library dependencies, though its current release uses helper tools. LuaRocks is free, with a listed price of free.