LuaRocks vs MELPA
LuaRocks
luarocks.orgMELPA
melpa.orgSide by side
| Figure | LuaRocks | MELPA |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Package Registries | 8.7 (#7) | 7.6 (#18) |
| Mirrors | The documentation lists an HTTP mirror and daily GitHub backups of stable and development manifest data as fallback servers. | The README lists official mirrors for package downloads and says they do not mirror the website frontend. |
| Purpose | LuaRocks is a package manager for Lua, and LuaRocks.org hosts rocks and rockspecs for Lua modules. | MELPA is a collection of package.el-compatible Emacs Lisp packages built automatically from upstream source using recipes. |
Plans
In their own words
LuaRocks
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.