luanti README

Luanti (formerly Minetest)

Luanti is a free open-source voxel game engine with easy modding and game creation.

Further Documentation
Default Controls
Paths
Configuration File
Command-line Options
Compiling
Docker
Version Scheme

Further documentation

Website: https://www.luanti.org/
Luanti Documentation: https://docs.luanti.org/
Forum: https://forum.luanti.org/
GitHub: https://github.com/luanti-org/luanti/
Developer documentation
doc/ directory of source distribution

Default controls

All controls are re-bindable using settings. Some can be changed in the key config dialog in the settings tab.

Button	Action
Move mouse	Look around
W, A, S, D	Move
Space	Jump/move up
Shift	Sneak/move down
Q	Drop itemstack
Shift + Q	Drop single item
Left mouse button	Dig/punch/use
Right mouse button	Place/use
Shift + right mouse button	Build (without using)
I	Inventory menu
Mouse wheel	Select item
0-9	Select item
Z	Zoom (needs zoom privilege)
T	Chat
/	Command
Esc	Pause menu/abort/exit (pauses only singleplayer game)
+	Increase view range
-	Decrease view range
K	Enable/disable fly mode (needs fly privilege)
J	Enable/disable fast mode (needs fast privilege)
H	Enable/disable noclip mode (needs noclip privilege)
E	Aux1 (Move fast in fast mode. Games may add special features)
C	Cycle through camera modes
V	Cycle through minimap modes
Shift + V	Change minimap orientation
F1	Hide/show HUD
F2	Hide/show chat
F3	Disable/enable fog
F4	Disable/enable camera update (Mapblocks are not updated anymore when disabled, disabled in release builds)
F5	Cycle through debug information screens
F6	Cycle through profiler info screens
F10	Show/hide console
F12	Take screenshot

Paths

Locations:

bin - Compiled binaries
share - Distributed read-only data
user - User-created modifiable data

Where each location is on each platform:

Windows .zip / RUN_IN_PLACE source:
- bin = bin
- share = .
- user = .
Windows installed:
- bin = C:\Program Files\Minetest\bin (Depends on the install location)
- share = C:\Program Files\Minetest (Depends on the install location)
- user = %APPDATA%\Minetest or %MINETEST_USER_PATH%
Linux installed:
- bin = /usr/bin
- share = /usr/share/minetest
- user = ~/.minetest or $MINETEST_USER_PATH
macOS:
- bin = Contents/MacOS
- share = Contents/Resources
- user = Contents/User or ~/Library/Application Support/minetest or $MINETEST_USER_PATH

Worlds can be found as separate folders in: user/worlds/

Configuration file

Default location: user/minetest.conf
This file is created by closing Luanti for the first time.
A specific file can be specified on the command line: --config <path-to-file>
A run-in-place build will look for the configuration file in location_of_exe/../minetest.conf and also location_of_exe/../../minetest.conf

Command-line options

Use --help

Compiling

Docker

Version scheme

We use major.minor.patch since 5.0.0-dev. Prior to that we used 0.major.minor.

Major is incremented when the release contains breaking changes, all other numbers are set to 0.
Minor is incremented when the release contains new non-breaking features, patch is set to 0.
Patch is incremented when the release only contains bugfixes and very minor/trivial features considered necessary.

Since 5.0.0-dev and 0.4.17-dev, the dev notation refers to the next release, i.e.: 5.0.0-dev is the development version leading to 5.0.0. Prior to that we used previous_version-dev.

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Luanti

What is this?

Luanti (formerly Minetest) is a free, open-source voxel game engine and game-creation platform: play voxel games, join multiplayer servers, or build your own games and mods with Lua.

So is it one game I play, or an engine for making my own?

An engine and platform rather than a single finished game: the same codebase gives you the playable client, a modding and game-creation layer, and a dedicated server build called minetestserver.

How do I get it running?

Players grab a ready build — Windows ships as a portable .zip or an installed copy, and the README documents install locations for Linux and macOS too. Developers can compile from source with its per-OS guides.

What do I need installed to compile it myself?

This README does not list build dependencies — they live in the linked compiling guides for GNU/Linux, Windows and macOS. To skip a local toolchain, the documented Docker route runs the server instead.

Which systems does it run on?

Windows (portable .zip or installed), Linux, macOS and Android. The README documents file locations per platform, e.g. ~/.minetest on Linux and Contents/MacOS inside the macOS bundle.

Any built-in shortcuts worth knowing once I am in game?

Plenty: F12 takes a screenshot, F5 cycles debug screens, F10 toggles the console, V cycles minimap modes and F3 toggles fog. Movement extras like fly (K), fast (J) and noclip (H) need server privileges.

How old is the project, and what does Minetest have to do with it?

Luanti is the new name of Minetest, the long-running voxel platform: the copyright header covers 2010-2026 by Perttu Ahola and contributors, and the GitHub repo dates back to August 2011.

What are similar projects?

bgfx, ReSkate, benilla, 2010-rust-rewrite-mashup, OpenRCT2, iw4L, Craft, TrinityCore

Which topics is it in?

game-server, cpp17, multiplayer, game-modding, c-plus-plus, game-engine, gamedev, lua, foss, game-development, game, graphics

Creator: luanti-org
Size: 138.1 MB
Stars: 13.7K
Updated: CommitOct 16 Release5.17.0Aug 20
Age: 15y
Commits · 90 Days