Lilush – LuaJIT static runtime and shell

Lilush dropped like a pocket-sized power plant: a single under‑3MB file that runs the fast LuaJIT language and doubles as a sleek shell, loaded with networking, crypto, filesystem tricks, and terminal toys—no installs, no dependencies. Fans called it a “busybox for developers,” swooning over drop‑in Docker use and ship‑anywhere vibes. But the community’s mood is delightfully messy. One veteran sighed that Lua keeps birthing compact, opinionated toolkits, name‑checking the now‑quiet luapower. Another waved a pointer to gsl‑shell, because of course every tiny tool has cousins.

Then the dreamers crashed the party: “Does this run on bare metal?” and “Can we get graphics?”—cue fantasies of rewriting userland in Love2D, the game engine. Practical voices slammed the brakes: where’s the API documentation? If you’re promising SSL (secure websites), HTTP servers, Redis, and even WireGuard in one file, people want clear how‑to’s before touching it. The shell’s Kitty‑keyboard requirement sparked jokes—Kitty or bust—while smart prompts and built‑ins like kat, netstat, and wgcli earned nods. The vibe? Big hype for a tiny powerhouse, tug‑of‑war between imagination and impatience, and a chorus chanting: ship the docs, then we’re in.