lupa

Python wrapper around Lua and LuaJIT

lupa Permissive license MIT style Active ★ 1,147 v2.8 released 2026-04-15

Install

lupa on PyPI

pip

pip install lupa

uv

uv add lupa

poetry

poetry add lupa

Package facts

License	MIT style (permissive)
Python support	supports the current Python release (>=3.8)
Install friction	medium — platform-specific wheel
Runtime dependencies	none
Maintenance	actively maintained — 120 days since the last release
Last repo commit	2026-07-17
First released	2010-07-14
Popularity	one of the top 1,000 most-downloaded packages on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-13)
Known vulnerabilities	none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-13)

Evidence: lupa-2.8-cp310-abi3-win32.whl; lupa-2.8-cp310-abi3-win_arm64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp310-cp310-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp310-cp310-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp310-cp310-manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp311-cp311-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp311-cp311-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp311-cp311-manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp311-cp311-win_amd64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp312-abi3-macosx_10_13_x86_64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp312-abi3-manylinux2010_i686.manylinux_2_12_i686.manylinux_2_28_i686.whl; lupa-2.8-cp312-abi3-manylinux2014_armv7l.manylinux_2_17_armv7l.manylinux_2_31_armv7l.whl; lupa-2.8-cp312-abi3-manylinux2014_ppc64le.manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux_2_28_ppc64le.whl; lupa-2.8-cp312-abi3-manylinux_2_34_riscv64.manylinux_2_39_riscv64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp312-abi3-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; lupa-2.8-cp312-abi3-musllinux_1_2_armv7l.whl; lupa-2.8-cp312-abi3-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl; lupa-2.8-cp312-abi3-musllinux_1_2_ppc64le.whl; lupa-2.8-cp312-abi3-musllinux_1_2_riscv64.whl

Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: Information TechnologyOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: CythonProgramming Language :: LuaProgramming Language :: Other Scripting EnginesProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Topic :: Software Development

About lupa

from the package's own PyPI description — quoted content, verbatim

Lupa

.. image:: logo/logo-220x200.png

Lupa integrates the runtimes of Lua_ or LuaJIT2_ into CPython. It is a partial rewrite of LunaticPython_ in Cython_ with some additional features such as proper coroutine support.

.. _Lua: http://lua.org/ .. _LuaJIT2: http://luajit.org/ .. _LunaticPython: http://labix.org/lunatic-python .. _Cython: http://cython.org

For questions not answered here, please contact the Lupa mailing list_.

.. _Lupa mailing list: http://www.freelists.org/list/lupa-dev

.. contents:: :local:

Major features

separate Lua runtime states through a LuaRuntime class
Python coroutine wrapper for Lua coroutines
iteration support for Python objects in Lua and Lua objects in Python
proper encoding and decoding of strings (configurable per runtime, UTF-8 by default)
frees the GIL and supports threading in separate runtimes when calling into Lua
tested with Python 3.8 and later
ships with Lua 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5 as well as LuaJIT 2.0 and 2.1 on systems that support it.
easy to hack on and extend as it is written in Cython, not C

Why the...

Read as markdown · JSON record · Source repository · Homepage

AI interpretation — verify before relying

AI-generated interpretation of the package facts above; every digit, version, license, or vulnerability id it cites is grounded in the facts already shown on this page

Lupa integrates Lua or LuaJIT runtimes into CPython, allowing you to execute Lua code from Python and call Python functions from Lua with full bidirectional interoperability and proper coroutine support.

Installation requires compilation of native C extensions (medium friction), but the package ships pre-built wheels for Python 3.8+ across Windows, macOS, and Linux architectures including ARM variants. The project is actively maintained with recent commits and a stable release cadence, reducing long-term support risk.

Licensed under MIT style terms (permissive), which allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for most deployment scenarios.

Usage

pip install lupa
from lupa import LuaRuntime
lua = LuaRuntime()
result = lua.eval('1+1')
print(result)  # 2

Requires Python 3.8 or later; native extension compilation may require a C compiler and development headers on systems without pre-built wheels.

Verdict: Lupa is a mature, actively maintained bridge for embedding Lua/LuaJIT in Python applications. With permissive MIT licensing, no known vulnerabilities, and broad platform support via pre-built wheels, it is suitable for production use where you need Lua's speed for compute-intensive tasks alongside Python's ecosystem. Medium install friction is typical for compiled extensions and is mitigated by comprehensive wheel coverage.

Needs verification

Whether the embedded Lua versions (5.1–5.5 and LuaJIT 2.0–2.1) carry any known security advisories not yet indexed in OSV.
Performance characteristics and memory overhead when running large numbers of concurrent Lua runtimes.
Compatibility with async/await patterns in modern Python applications.

lua python integrationembed lua in pythonluajit wrapperpython lua bridgecall lua from pythonlua runtime embeddingpython lua interop