Runtime and strict settings - GLua Language Server

Overview

The runtime, strict, doc, and references sections control how the language server interprets Lua syntax and checks types.

Runtime (`runtime.*`)

Option	Type	Default	Description
`runtime.extensions`	`string[]`	`[]`	Additional file extensions to treat as Lua (e.g., `".lua.txt"`)
`runtime.requireLikeFunction`	`string[]`	`[]`	Functions that behave like `require` for module resolution
`runtime.requirePattern`	`string[]`	`[]`	Require path resolution patterns (e.g., `"?.lua"`, `"?/init.lua"`)
`runtime.version`	`string`	`LuaJIT`	Lua version used for syntax and type behavior. Keep `LuaJIT` for Garry’s Mod
`runtime.nonstandardSymbol`	`string[]`	see below	Extra syntax accepted by the parser
`runtime.frameworkVersions`	`string[]`	`[]`	Framework version identifiers
`runtime.special`	`object`	`{}`	Map function names to special behaviours

Default non-standard symbols

GLuaLS enables these non-standard symbols by default to match GLua syntax:

["//", "/**/", "continue", "!=", "||", "&&", "!"]

All available non-standard symbols:

Symbol	Description
`//`	Integer division operator
`/**/`	Block comments (C-style)
`	Backtick strings
`+=`, `-=`, `*=`, `/=`, `%=`, `^=`, `//=`	Compound assignment operators
`\|=`, `&=`, `<<=`, `>>=`	Bitwise compound assignment
`\|\|`, `&&`, `!`, `!=`	C-style logical operators
`continue`	`continue` statement (not in standard Lua 5.1)

Special functions

Tell GLuaLS that a custom function behaves like a built-in Lua function:

.gluarc.json

{
  "runtime": {
    "special": {
      "include": "require",
      "my_assert": "assert",
      "my_type": "type"
    }
  }
}

Available behavior values: "none", "require", "error", "assert", "type", "setmetatable"

Strict mode (`strict.*`)

Option	Type	Default	Description
`strict.requirePath`	`boolean`	`false`	Enforce strict `require()` path validation
`strict.arrayIndex`	`boolean`	`false`	Enforce strict array index usage
`strict.metaOverrideFileDefine`	`boolean`	`true`	Allow meta (annotation) file definitions to override file-level definitions
`strict.docBaseConstMatchBaseType`	`boolean`	`true`	Allow base constants (e.g., `0`, `""`) to match their base type
`strict.requireExportGlobal`	`boolean`	`false`	Require explicit `---@export global` annotation for globals to be visible outside their file
`strict.allowNullableAsNonNullable`	`boolean`	`true`	Allow optional types (`T?`) to be passed where non-optional (`T`) is expected (lenient nil-safety)
`strict.inferredTypeMismatch`	`boolean`	`false`	Report type mismatch diagnostics for inferred values (stricter checker, may produce false positives)
`strict.strictTypeCoercion`	`boolean`	`false`	Require exact primitive types instead of GLua’s common string and number conversions

Enabling stricter nil checking

.gluarc.json

{
  "strict": {
    "allowNullableAsNonNullable": false,
    "inferredTypeMismatch": true
  }
}

Documentation format (`doc.*`)

Option	Type	Default	Description
`doc.syntax`	`string`	`"md"`	Documentation syntax: `"md"`, `"myst"`, `"rst"`, `"none"`
`doc.knownTags`	`string[]`	`[]`	Custom annotation tags to suppress `unknown-doc-tag` warnings for
`doc.privateName`	`string[]`	`[]`	Field name patterns to treat as private (e.g., `["m_", "_"]`)
`doc.rstPrimaryDomain`	`string \| null`	`null`	Main reStructuredText domain when `doc.syntax` is `"rst"` or `"myst"`
`doc.rstDefaultRole`	`string \| null`	`null`	Default reStructuredText role when `doc.syntax` is `"rst"` or `"myst"`

Custom tag suppression

.gluarc.json

{
  "doc": {
    "knownTags": ["realm", "hook", "accessorfunc"]
  }
}

Private field naming patterns

.gluarc.json

{
  "doc": {
    "privateName": ["m_*", "_*", "__*"]
  }
}

References (`references.*`)

Option	Type	Default	Description
`references.enable`	`boolean`	`true`	Enable find references
`references.fuzzySearch`	`boolean`	`true`	Fall back to fuzzy matching if exact search finds nothing
`references.shortStringSearch`	`boolean`	`false`	Search for variable/function name references inside strings

Document color (`documentColor.*`)

Option	Type	Default	Description
`documentColor.enable`	`boolean`	`true`	Show color pickers for `Color(r, g, b)` and similar calls

Resource paths (`resource.*`)

Option	Type	Default	Description
`resource.paths`	`string[]`	`[]`	Extra folders used for file path completion and clickable file links

VS Code extension settings

You can also configure these settings in VS Code settings with the gluals.* prefix:

VS Code setting	.gluarc.json key	Type	Default	Description
`gluals.references.enable`	`references.enable`	`boolean`	`true`	Find all references
`gluals.references.fuzzySearch`	`references.fuzzySearch`	`boolean`	`true`	Fuzzy search for references
`gluals.references.shortStringSearch`	`references.shortStringSearch`	`boolean`	`false`	Search strings for references

Full example

.gluarc.json

{
  "runtime": {
    "nonstandardSymbol": ["//", "/***/", "continue", "!=", "||", "&&", "!"],
    "requireLikeFunction": ["include"],
    "special": {
      "include": "require"
    }
  },
  "strict": {
    "allowNullableAsNonNullable": true,
    "inferredTypeMismatch": false
  },
  "doc": {
    "privateName": ["m_*", "_*"]
  }
}

​Overview

​Runtime (runtime.*)

​Default non-standard symbols

​Special functions

​Strict mode (strict.*)

​Enabling stricter nil checking

​Documentation format (doc.*)

​Custom tag suppression

​Private field naming patterns

​References (references.*)

​Document color (documentColor.*)

​Resource paths (resource.*)

​VS Code extension settings

​Full example

Overview

Runtime (`runtime.*`)

Default non-standard symbols

Special functions

Strict mode (`strict.*`)

Enabling stricter nil checking

Documentation format (`doc.*`)

Custom tag suppression

Private field naming patterns

References (`references.*`)

Document color (`documentColor.*`)

Resource paths (`resource.*`)

VS Code extension settings

Full example