# Touch Lua

> Mobile Lua programming environment with advanced libraries for graphics, audio, and networking. (iPhone/iPad app by Ahmad Hawwash.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/touch-lua/id525273327 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Ahmad Hawwash](https://appshunter.io/developer/382404352)
- Category: Education, Productivity
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 3.70/5 from 15 App Store ratings · 105 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 7.0 · 14 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2012-05-15
- Data updated: 2026-06-09
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/touch-lua/id525273327/reviews.md

## What is Touch Lua?

Program with Lua, a simple and modern programming language. Lua’s syntax is simple as BASIC but Lua is faster and more powerful. Which make it just perfect for iPhone platform.

*** TouchLua+ (iPad version of TouchLua) is now available at App Store ***

Touch Lua Features:
+ Two modes: program/console (command line)
+ Multi program and directories support
+ Export/email programs and results
+ Powerful editor with Syntax highlighting
+ Graphics, audio, database and network programming support
+ Text screen: stylized text printing
+ Built in help: Tutorials (hands on), Wiki, Reference
+ Sample programs provided

Use Touch Lua:
+ Learn programming and modern scripting
+ Apply your programming skills
+ Rapid prototyping
+ Use it as advanced calculator
+ Graphing Tool

Now available through In-App Purchase: 

Nitro Graphics Library:
Create 2D & 3D Graphics with the power of your GPU.

Draw Library: Empowers you to create complex graphics from simple graphic objects 
Features:
+ Draw simple graphic objects: lines, rectangles, circles, text, ... 
+ Draw at the super speed of your device 
+ Make animations 
+ Access Gyroscope and Accelerometers
+ Draw and create images
+ Enables you to run included Graphic Sample Programs

Audio Library : enables to play music and sound effects.
Features:
- Play one music track at once
- Play multiple sound effects synchronously
- Create and play your own sounds and save them as files

Socket Library: network support

Turtle Library:
Logo like graphic commands designed to encourage logical thinking 
Examples are provided for absolute Beginners 

To start learning Lua choose Console from main menu then select Tutorials (first aid kit icon). Now read & apply and you will learn Lua basic’s in no time!

Kindly Note: Touch Lua uses Lua 5.2 standard, so if you hit into undefined function see the alternative for it from the reference. some examples: unpack() now is table.unpack(), loadstring() is now load()

Make sure to take a look at other free App’s from Hawwash-Soft

## Key features

- Lua programming environment
- Powerful editor with syntax highlighting
- Graphics, audio, database, and network support
- Multi-program and directory management
- Built-in tutorials and reference
- In-app purchase for advanced libraries

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Draw Library | $4.99 | one-time |
| Turtle Library | $0.99 | one-time |
| Audio Library | $1.99 | one-time |
| Socket Library | $0.99 | one-time |
| Nitro Library | $5.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Touch Lua?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 👍 User-friendly interface and easy to learn
- 🚀 Fast compilation and execution
- 📚 Excellent built-in tutorials and documentation
- 💡 Ability to create games and programs on mobile
- 🎓 Great for beginners learning Lua programming
- ✨ Syntax highlighting and code formatting
- 🔧 Customizable modules and libraries
- 📱 Portable coding environment
- 💰 Affordable pricing for the app itself
- 🎮 Useful for learning Roblox scripting

**Cons**

- 💸 Expensive in-app purchases for libraries
- 🐛 Frequent crashes on startup or during editing
- 📝 Limited code storage capacity (crashes with large files)
- ⚠️ Auto-indentation cannot be disabled
- 🔍 File viewer doesn't display hidden files (starting with period)
- 📊 Performance degrades with large programs (1000+ lines)
- 🎨 Graphics and audio libraries have errors
- ⌨️ Missing DONE button with external keyboards
- 🔤 Non-fixed-width font reduces readability
- 🚫 Coroutines don't run as separate threads
- 💾 No persistent data storage between program runs
- 🔐 Restore purchases doesn't work reliably across devices

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup after device transfer
- White screen when running programs with functions
- Crashes when saving files on iOS 8
- Crashes when entering 100+ lines of code
- Crashes with large inputs or pasted code
- File viewer cannot access directories created after app restart
- Auto-tab fails with inline if statements and arrays
- Graphics library rendering issues
- Audio library errors
- Coroutines don't execute as separate threads
- App crashes after 1000+ lines of code
- DONE button missing with external keyboard
- Return key creates double line breaks
- Code color coding stops working with large programs
- Typing becomes slow with programs over 300 lines

**Most requested features**

- Ability to disable auto-indentation
- Increase code storage limit per script
- Function collapsing/minimizing for large programs
- Undo button functionality
- Copyable console output
- Line numbers in editor
- iPad version with universal app support
- Pastebin integration
- Hardware access (camera, gyroscope, accelerometer)
- Touch input and screen output options
- Persistent data storage for programs
- Export to home screen
- JavaScript version of the app
- Event listeners for accelerometer and microphone
- Community sharing platform for programs
- Loadstring support
- Fixed-width font option

## Recent user reviews (10 of 105)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/touch-lua/id525273327/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Love it, one critical bug though.

*2026-03-16, version 1.4.2*

I absolutely love this app, it’s amazing. But there’s one bug where if you create a directory then re-launch the app, you cannot access it via the file viewer. It still exists, as you cannot create another directory named the one that you cannot access. But other from that this is an amazing app.

Edit:
I have investigates further and it is the graphical file viewer as when I use “sys.dir()” for the directory I cannot access via the GUI, it appears, the directory I made starts with a period character, if that helps.

### 5/5 — Absolute cinema

*2026-02-14, version 1.4.2*

It’s amazing, I can’t tell you how much I love it and it helped me. I can really see the effort and work put into this. It’s awesome keep doing it! I love it. It’s my wife

### 2/5 — Crash on startup :(

*2024-08-01, version 1.4.2*

Used to work wonderfully on my old iPhone 8, but crashes on startup after I transferred to an iPhone 11. I tried restarting my device, as well as uninstalling and reinstalling the app (which probably cleared all of my data), but nothing worked. Hope this gets fixed soon, this was one of my favorite apps and I used to love making small text-based games.

### 2/5 — Crash on startup :(

*2024-07-07*

Used to work wonderfully on my old iPhone 8, but crashes on startup after I transferred to an iPhone 11. I tried restarting my device, as well as uninstalling and reinstalling the app (which probably cleared all of my data ): ), but nothing worked. Hope this gets fixed soon, this was one of my favorite apps and I used to love making small text-based games.

### 3/5 — Well…

*2021-09-24, version 1.4.2*

I got the app thinking it was the best thing in the world, all the libraries you could ever want, info about each one, all in the easiest scripting language I have ever come across, and cheap to say the least.

After trying my first program, a game called “FreakOut!”, I was sad to find out the graphics didn’t work correctly, and later seen that the audio library had errors also.

If touch lua is fixed I’ll use it every day, but poking around the forum it doesn’t look like this will ever happen.

So much for getting high hopes.

-Oliver

### 5/5 — This is… AMAZING!

*2021-07-27, version 1.4.2*

It’s very useful for me because I am looking forward to lua coding!

### 4/5 — Great App

*2020-06-11, version 1.4.2*

It just needs to chill with the iAP, I know, this is how you get money but maybe a free trial would be cool.

### 5/5 — My favorite coding app

*2020-03-26, version 1.4.2*

I made simple ”apps” using this as a kid. Im an adult now and I still use this pretty often to crunch numbers. I’d love to see the developers make a Javascript version of this.

### 4/5 — Add some good things

*2019-10-26, version 1.4.2*

There should be less iap

### 4/5 — AWESOME APP

*2019-06-03, version 1.4.2*

It's a bit annoying to have to pay for some content, but still from far the best scripting app I've ever seen!

## Frequently asked questions about Touch Lua

### What is Touch Lua?

Touch Lua is a mobile application that allows users to program and run scripts using the Lua programming language. It provides a powerful editor, console mode, and support for various programming tasks including graphics, audio, and networking.

### What are the key features of Touch Lua?

Key features include a robust editor with syntax highlighting, support for multiple programs and directories, export/email functionality for programs and results, and built-in help resources like tutorials and a reference guide. It also offers libraries for graphics, audio, and networking.

### How does Touch Lua make money?

The base application is free to download and use. Advanced features, such as the Nitro Graphics Library, Draw Library, Audio Library, Socket Library, and Turtle Library, are available through in-app purchases.

### What can I use Touch Lua for?

You can use Touch Lua to learn programming and modern scripting, apply your programming skills, engage in rapid prototyping, use it as an advanced calculator, or as a graphing tool. The included libraries enable more complex applications.

### Is Touch Lua compatible with the latest Lua standards?

Touch Lua uses the Lua 5.2 standard. If you encounter undefined functions, you should consult the reference guide for alternatives, as some functions may have been updated (e.g., unpack() is now table.unpack(), loadstring() is now load()).

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.4.2 — 2017-05-04

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

bug fixes

### 1.4.1 — 2017-04-20

bug fixes

### 1.4 — 2017-03-31

Nitro Graphics Library
Create 2D & 3D Graphics with the power of your GPU.

### 1.3.9 — 2016-09-26

+ Multi touch support for Draw Library
+ Improvements and Bug fixes

### 1.3.8 — 2016-04-09

Fixed editor flicker issue

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## More apps by Ahmad Hawwash

- [Chat With Anna](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chat-with-anna/id384397052)
- [Hand BASIC - CBM Flavor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hand-basic-cbm-flavor/id394924289)
- [Touch Lua +](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/touch-lua-plus/id692368612)
- [HTML5 Builder](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/html5-builder/id834931010)
- [Professional Minesweeper](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/professional-minesweeper/id1522445814)

All apps by Ahmad Hawwash: https://appshunter.io/developer/382404352

## Related topics

[lua interpreter alternative](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/lua-interpreter-alternative) · [lua studio](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/lua-studio) · [ahmad hawwash](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ahmad-hawwash)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-09.*