love2d/love

Overview

LÖVE is a free, open-source framework for making 2D games in Lua. It bundles the runtime, rendering, audio, input, and windowing pieces needed to go from a project folder to a running game, and targets Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS (project site). The main branch tracks the next major release and is explicitly not considered stable; release branches and tagged releases are where stable builds come from (readme.md).

Quick start

1. Install a released build for your platform from the GitHub releases page or the download links on love2d.org.
2. Create a game folder with a main.lua entry point.
3. Run the folder with the love executable; on desktop, dragging a zipped project onto the executable also launches it, a workflow described by a commenter in the Hacker News thread (comment).
4. Consult the wiki for API reference and use the forums, Discord, or subreddit for help.

To exercise the engine's test suite, run love testing from the repository root, as documented in the README (testing suite).

Building from source

Building on Linux/Unix requires generating build files out of tree with CMake; CMake 3.15 and earlier need -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX= instead of --install-prefix (readme.md). Windows builds are handled through the megasource repository, and Apple platforms use the Xcode project plus the love-apple-dependencies repository or prebuilt dependency zips. Android builds follow the separate love-android repository. The dependency list includes SDL3, OpenGL 3.3+/OpenGL ES 3.0+/Vulkan/Metal, OpenAL, Lua/LuaJIT/LLVM-lua, FreeType, harfbuzz, ModPlug, Vorbisfile, and Theora (readme.md).

Constraints

• The main branch is development code for the next major version and should not be treated as stable; use tagged releases or release branches for shipping.
• Mobile and Apple builds require platform-specific toolchains (Xcode for macOS/iOS), and Android instructions live outside this repository.
• Pull requests, bug reports, and other contributions made with LLM or generative AI technology will not be accepted (readme.md).
• The repository's license field is reported as NOASSERTION, so check the actual license text before redistributing or embedding the framework.

HotRepo's take

On the all-language daily chart for 2026-11-12, the repository ranked 9th in the C++ list with 22 stars gained that day, and it remains the reference runtime behind community tooling such as a browser build used to play LÖVE games (LoveWebBuilder). The April 2026 Hacker News discussion drew 417 points and 220 comments; commenters highlighted Balatro as a LÖVE-built hit and praised the beginner-friendly workflow, while also noting that the latest stable release has aged and many developers track HEAD for performance and compatibility (comment). That tension between an active development branch and a slow release cadence is the practical caveat for anyone starting a new project.