luanti

Luanti, formerly known as Minetest, is a free open-source voxel game engine. A voxel engine is the type of technology that powers games built from blocks, similar to Minecraft. Luanti is not just a game itself but a platform for creating games and mods within that block-based format.

The engine is written in C++ and scripted with Lua, a lightweight programming language often used for game modding. Game creators and modders can use it to build entirely new games or modify existing ones that run on the engine. The community hosts a large collection of games and mods that can be downloaded and played directly.

Players interact with the world using standard keyboard and mouse controls, all of which can be rebound to different keys in the settings. The engine supports fly mode, fast mode, and noclip mode for users with the appropriate privileges, along with a chat system, minimap, and debug screens.

Luanti runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Builds can be installed from packages or compiled from source, and there is also a Docker setup for running a dedicated server. Configuration is handled through a text file that is created automatically the first time the application is closed.

The project has been in development since 2010, started by Perttu Ahola and grown through contributions from many developers. It is licensed under LGPL 2.1 or later. The name changed from Minetest to Luanti to better reflect its identity as a general game creation platform rather than a Minecraft clone.