Lua Entry Kinds

Configuration for Lua-based entries: functions, processes, workflows, and libraries.

Entry Kinds

Kind	Description
`function.lua`	Stateless function, runs on demand
`process.lua`	Long-running actor with state
`workflow.lua`	Durable workflow (Temporal)
`library.lua`	Shared code imported by other entries

Common Fields

All Lua entries share these fields:

Field	Required	Description
`name`	yes	Unique name within namespace
`kind`	yes	One of the Lua kinds above
`source`	yes	Lua file path (`file://path.lua`)
`method`	yes	Function to export
`modules`	no	Allowed modules for `require()`
`imports`	no	Other entries as local modules
`meta`	no	Searchable metadata

function.lua

Stateless function called on demand. Each invocation is independent.

- name: handler
  kind: function.lua
  source: file://handler.lua
  method: main
  modules:
    - http
    - json

Use for: HTTP handlers, data transformations, utilities.

process.lua

Long-running actor that maintains state across messages. Communicates via message passing.

- name: worker
  kind: process.lua
  source: file://worker.lua
  method: main
  modules:
    - process
    - channel
    - sql

Use for: Background workers, service daemons, stateful actors.

To run as a supervised service:

- name: worker_service
  kind: process.service
  process: app:worker
  host: app:processes
  lifecycle:
    auto_start: true
    restart:
      max_attempts: 10

workflow.lua

Durable workflow that survives restarts. State is persisted to Temporal.

- name: order_processor
  kind: workflow.lua
  source: file://order_workflow.lua
  method: main
  modules:
    - workflow
    - time

Use for: Multi-step business processes, long-running orchestrations.

library.lua

Shared code that can be imported by other entries.

- name: helpers
  kind: library.lua
  source: file://helpers.lua
  method: main
  modules:
    - json
    - base64

Other entries reference it via imports:

- name: handler
  kind: function.lua
  source: file://handler.lua
  method: main
  imports:
    helpers: app.lib:helpers

In Lua code:

local helpers = require("helpers")
helpers.format_date(timestamp)

Modules

The modules field controls which modules can be loaded with require():

modules:
  - http
  - json
  - sql
  - process
  - channel

Only listed modules are available. This provides:

Security: Prevent access to system modules
Explicit dependencies: Clear what code needs
Determinism: Workflows only get deterministic modules

See Lua Runtime for available modules.

Imports

Import other entries as local modules:

imports:
  utils: app.lib:utils       # require("utils")
  auth: app.auth:helpers     # require("auth")

The key becomes the module name in Lua code. The value is the entry ID (namespace:name).

Pool Configuration

Configure execution pool for functions:

- name: handler
  kind: function.lua
  source: file://handler.lua
  method: main
  pool:
    type: inline    # Run in caller's context

Pool types:

inline - Execute in caller's context (default for HTTP handlers)

Metadata

Use meta for routing and discovery:

- name: api_handler
  kind: function.lua
  meta:
    type: handler
    version: "2.0"
    tags: [api, users]
  source: file://api.lua
  method: handle
  modules:
    - http
    - json

Metadata is searchable via the registry:

local registry = require("registry")
local handlers = registry.find({type = "handler"})