'core' namespace reference¶

Utilities¶

core.get_current_modname(): returns the currently loading mod's name, when loading a mod.
core.get_modpath(modname): returns the directory path for a mod, e.g. "/home/user/.minetest/usermods/modname".
- Returns nil if the mod is not enabled or does not exist (not installed).
- Works regardless of whether the mod has been loaded yet.
- Useful for loading additional .lua modules or static data from a mod, or checking if a mod is enabled.
core.get_modnames(): returns a list of enabled mods, sorted alphabetically.
- Does not include disabled mods, even if they are installed.
core.get_game_info(): returns a table containing information about the current game. Note that other meta information (e.g. version/release number) can be manually read from game.conf in the game's root directory.

{
    id = string,
    title = string,
    author = string,
    -- The root directory of the game
    path = string,
}

core.get_worldpath(): returns e.g. "/home/user/.minetest/world"
- Useful for storing custom data
core.get_mod_data_path(): returns e.g. "/home/user/.minetest/mod_data/mymod"
- Useful for storing custom data independently of worlds.
- Must be called during mod load time.
- Can read or write to this directory at any time.
- It's possible that multiple Luanti instances are running at the same time, which may lead to corruption if you are not careful.
core.is_singleplayer()
core.features: Table containing API feature flags

{
    glasslike_framed = true,  -- 0.4.7
    nodebox_as_selectionbox = true,  -- 0.4.7
    get_all_craft_recipes_works = true,  -- 0.4.7
    -- The transparency channel of textures can optionally be used on
    -- nodes (0.4.7)
    use_texture_alpha = true,
    -- Tree and grass ABMs are no longer done from C++ (0.4.8)
    no_legacy_abms = true,
    -- Texture grouping is possible using parentheses (0.4.11)
    texture_names_parens = true,
    -- Unique Area ID for AreaStore:insert_area (0.4.14)
    area_store_custom_ids = true,
    -- add_entity supports passing initial staticdata to on_activate
    -- (0.4.16)
    add_entity_with_staticdata = true,
    -- Chat messages are no longer predicted (0.4.16)
    no_chat_message_prediction = true,
    -- The transparency channel of textures can optionally be used on
    -- objects (ie: players and lua entities) (5.0.0)
    object_use_texture_alpha = true,
    -- Object selectionbox is settable independently from collisionbox
    -- (5.0.0)
    object_independent_selectionbox = true,
    -- Specifies whether binary data can be uploaded or downloaded using
    -- the HTTP API (5.1.0)
    httpfetch_binary_data = true,
    -- Whether formspec_version[<version>] may be used (5.1.0)
    formspec_version_element = true,
    -- Whether AreaStore's IDs are kept on save/load (5.1.0)
    area_store_persistent_ids = true,
    -- Whether core.find_path is functional (5.2.0)
    pathfinder_works = true,
    -- Whether Collision info is available to an objects' on_step (5.3.0)
    object_step_has_moveresult = true,
    -- Whether get_velocity() and add_velocity() can be used on players (5.4.0)
    direct_velocity_on_players = true,
    -- nodedef's use_texture_alpha accepts new string modes (5.4.0)
    use_texture_alpha_string_modes = true,
    -- degrotate param2 rotates in units of 1.5° instead of 2°
    -- thus changing the range of values from 0-179 to 0-240 (5.5.0)
    degrotate_240_steps = true,
    -- ABM supports min_y and max_y fields in definition (5.5.0)
    abm_min_max_y = true,
    -- dynamic_add_media supports passing a table with options (5.5.0)
    dynamic_add_media_table = true,
    -- particlespawners support texpools and animation of properties,
    -- particle textures support smooth fade and scale animations, and
    -- sprite-sheet particle animations can by synced to the lifetime
    -- of individual particles (5.6.0)
    particlespawner_tweenable = true,
    -- allows get_sky to return a table instead of separate values (5.6.0)
    get_sky_as_table = true,
    -- VoxelManip:get_light_data accepts an optional buffer argument (5.7.0)
    get_light_data_buffer = true,
    -- When using a mod storage backend that is not "files" or "dummy",
    -- the amount of data in mod storage is not constrained by
    -- the amount of RAM available. (5.7.0)
    mod_storage_on_disk = true,
    -- "zstd" method for compress/decompress (5.7.0)
    compress_zstd = true,
    -- Sound parameter tables support start_time (5.8.0)
    sound_params_start_time = true,
    -- New fields for set_physics_override: speed_climb, speed_crouch,
    -- liquid_fluidity, liquid_fluidity_smooth, liquid_sink,
    -- acceleration_default, acceleration_air (5.8.0)
    physics_overrides_v2 = true,
    -- In HUD definitions the field `type` is used and `hud_elem_type` is deprecated (5.9.0)
    hud_def_type_field = true,
    -- PseudoRandom and PcgRandom state is restorable
    -- PseudoRandom has get_state method
    -- PcgRandom has get_state and set_state methods (5.9.0)
    random_state_restore = true,
    -- core.after guarantees that coexisting jobs are executed primarily
    -- in order of expiry and secondarily in order of registration (5.9.0)
    after_order_expiry_registration = true,
    -- wallmounted nodes mounted at floor or ceiling may additionally
    -- be rotated by 90° with special param2 values (5.9.0)
    wallmounted_rotate = true,
    -- Availability of the `pointabilities` property in the item definition (5.9.0)
    item_specific_pointabilities = true,
    -- Nodes `pointable` property can be `"blocking"` (5.9.0)
    blocking_pointability_type = true,
    -- dynamic_add_media can be called at startup when leaving callback as `nil` (5.9.0)
    dynamic_add_media_startup = true,
    -- dynamic_add_media supports `filename` and `filedata` parameters (5.9.0)
    dynamic_add_media_filepath = true,
     -- L-system decoration type (5.9.0)
    lsystem_decoration_type = true,
    -- Overridable pointing range using the itemstack meta key `"range"` (5.9.0)
    item_meta_range = true,
    -- Allow passing an optional "actor" ObjectRef to the following functions:
    -- core.place_node, core.dig_node, core.punch_node (5.9.0)
    node_interaction_actor = true,
    -- "new_pos" field in entity moveresult (5.9.0)
    moveresult_new_pos = true,
    -- Allow removing definition fields in `core.override_item` (5.9.0)
    override_item_remove_fields = true,
    -- The predefined hotbar is a Lua HUD element of type `hotbar` (5.10.0)
    hotbar_hud_element = true,
    -- Bulk LBM support (5.10.0)
    bulk_lbms = true,
    -- ABM supports field without_neighbors (5.10.0)
    abm_without_neighbors = true,
    -- biomes have a weight parameter (5.11.0)
    biome_weights = true,
    -- Particles can specify a "clip" blend mode (5.11.0)
    particle_blend_clip = true,
}

core.has_feature(arg): returns boolean, missing_features
- arg: string or table in format {foo=true, bar=true}
- missing_features: {foo=true, bar=true}
core.get_player_information(player_name): Table containing information about a player. Example return value:

{
    address = "127.0.0.1",     -- IP address of client
    ip_version = 4,            -- IPv4 / IPv6
    connection_uptime = 200,   -- seconds since client connected
    protocol_version = 32,     -- protocol version used by client
    formspec_version = 2,      -- supported formspec version
    lang_code = "fr",          -- Language code used for translation

    -- the following keys can be missing if no stats have been collected yet
    min_rtt = 0.01,            -- minimum round trip time
    max_rtt = 0.2,             -- maximum round trip time
    avg_rtt = 0.02,            -- average round trip time
    min_jitter = 0.01,         -- minimum packet time jitter
    max_jitter = 0.5,          -- maximum packet time jitter
    avg_jitter = 0.03,         -- average packet time jitter
    -- the following information is available in a debug build only!!!
    -- DO NOT USE IN MODS
    --ser_vers = 26,             -- serialization version used by client
    --major = 0,                 -- major version number
    --minor = 4,                 -- minor version number
    --patch = 10,                -- patch version number
    --vers_string = "0.4.9-git", -- full version string
    --state = "Active"           -- current client state
}

core.get_player_window_information(player_name):

-- Will only be present if the client sent this information (requires v5.7+)
--
-- Note that none of these things are constant, they are likely to change during a client
-- connection as the player resizes the window and moves it between monitors
--
-- real_gui_scaling and real_hud_scaling can be used instead of DPI.
-- OSes don't necessarily give the physical DPI, as they may allow user configuration.
-- real_*_scaling is just OS DPI / 96 but with another level of user configuration.
{
    -- Current size of the in-game render target (pixels).
    --
    -- This is usually the window size, but may be smaller in certain situations,
    -- such as side-by-side mode.
    size = {
        x = 1308,
        y = 577,
    },

    -- Estimated maximum formspec size before Luanti will start shrinking the
    -- formspec to fit. For a fullscreen formspec, use this formspec size and
    -- `padding[0,0]`. `bgcolor[;true]` is also recommended.
    max_formspec_size = {
        x = 20,
        y = 11.25
    },

    -- GUI Scaling multiplier
    -- Equal to the setting `gui_scaling` multiplied by `dpi / 96`
    real_gui_scaling = 1,

    -- HUD Scaling multiplier
    -- Equal to the setting `hud_scaling` multiplied by `dpi / 96`
    real_hud_scaling = 1,

    -- Whether the touchscreen controls are enabled.
    -- Usually (but not always) `true` on Android.
    -- Requires at least version 5.9.0 on the client. For older clients, it
    -- is always set to `false`.
    touch_controls = false,
}

core.mkdir(path): returns success.
- Creates a directory specified by path, creating parent directories if they don't exist.
core.rmdir(path, recursive): returns success.
- Removes a directory specified by path.
- If recursive is set to true, the directory is recursively removed. Otherwise, the directory will only be removed if it is empty.
- Returns true on success, false on failure.
core.cpdir(source, destination): returns success.
- Copies a directory specified by path to destination
- Any files in destination will be overwritten if they already exist.
- Returns true on success, false on failure.
core.mvdir(source, destination): returns success.
- Moves a directory specified by path to destination.
- If the destination is a non-empty directory, then the move will fail.
- Returns true on success, false on failure.
core.get_dir_list(path, [is_dir]): returns list of entry names
- is_dir is one of:
  - nil: return all entries,
  - true: return only subdirectory names, or
  - false: return only file names.
core.safe_file_write(path, content): returns boolean indicating success
- Replaces contents of file at path with new contents in a safe (atomic) way. Use this instead of below code when writing e.g. database files: local f = io.open(path, "wb"); f:write(content); f:close()
core.get_version(): returns a table containing components of the engine version. Components:
- project: Name of the project, eg, "Luanti"
- string: Simple version, eg, "1.2.3-dev"
- proto_min: The minimum supported protocol version
- proto_max: The maximum supported protocol version
- hash: Full git version (only set if available), eg, "1.2.3-dev-01234567-dirty".
- is_dev: Boolean value indicating whether it's a development build Use this for informational purposes only. The information in the returned table does not represent the capabilities of the engine, nor is it reliable or verifiable. Compatible forks will have a different name and version entirely. To check for the presence of engine features, test whether the functions exported by the wanted features exist. For example: if core.check_for_falling then ... end.
core.sha1(data, [raw]): returns the sha1 hash of data
- data: string of data to hash
- raw: return raw bytes instead of hex digits, default: false
core.sha256(data, [raw]): returns the sha256 hash of data
- data: string of data to hash
- raw: return raw bytes instead of hex digits, default: false
core.colorspec_to_colorstring(colorspec): Converts a ColorSpec to a ColorString. If the ColorSpec is invalid, returns nil.
- colorspec: The ColorSpec to convert
core.colorspec_to_bytes(colorspec): Converts a ColorSpec to a raw string of four bytes in an RGBA layout, returned as a string.
colorspec: The ColorSpec to convert
core.colorspec_to_table(colorspec): Converts a ColorSpec into RGBA table form. If the ColorSpec is invalid, returns nil. You can use this to parse ColorStrings.
- colorspec: The ColorSpec to convert
core.time_to_day_night_ratio(time_of_day): Returns a "day-night ratio" value (as accepted by ObjectRef:override_day_night_ratio) that is equivalent to the given "time of day" value (as returned by core.get_timeofday).
core.encode_png(width, height, data, [compression]): Encode a PNG image and return it in string form.
- width: Width of the image
- height: Height of the image
- data: Image data, one of:
  - array table of ColorSpec, length must be width*height
  - string with raw RGBA pixels, length must be widthheight4
- compression: Optional zlib compression level, number in range 0 to 9. The data is one-dimensional, starting in the upper left corner of the image and laid out in scanlines going from left to right, then top to bottom. You can use colorspec_to_bytes to generate raw RGBA values. Palettes are not supported at the moment. You may use this to procedurally generate textures during server init.
core.urlencode(str): Encodes reserved URI characters by a percent sign followed by two hex digits. See RFC 3986, section 2.3.

Logging¶

core.debug(...)
- Equivalent to core.log(table.concat({...}, "\t"))
core.log([level,] text)
- level is one of "none", "error", "warning", "action", "info", or "verbose". Default is "none".

Registration functions¶

Call these functions only at load time!

Environment¶

core.register_node(name, node definition)
core.register_craftitem(name, item definition)
core.register_tool(name, item definition)
core.override_item(name, redefinition, del_fields)
- redefinition is a table of fields [name] = new_value, overwriting fields of or adding fields to the existing definition.
- del_fields is a list of field names to be set to nil ("deleted from") the original definition.
- Overrides fields of an item registered with register_node/tool/craftitem.
- Note: Item must already be defined, (opt)depend on the mod defining it.
- Example: core.override_item("default:mese", {light_source=core.LIGHT_MAX}, {"sounds"}): Overwrites the light_source field, removes the sounds from the definition of the mese block.
core.unregister_item(name)
- Unregisters the item from the engine, and deletes the entry with key name from core.registered_items and from the associated item table according to its nature: core.registered_nodes, etc.
core.register_entity(name, entity definition)
core.register_abm(abm definition)
core.register_lbm(lbm definition)
core.register_alias(alias, original_name)
- Also use this to set the 'mapgen aliases' needed in a game for the core mapgens. See [Mapgen aliases] section above.
core.register_alias_force(alias, original_name)
core.register_ore(ore definition)
- Returns an integer object handle uniquely identifying the registered ore on success.
- The order of ore registrations determines the order of ore generation.
core.register_biome(biome definition)
- Returns an integer object handle uniquely identifying the registered biome on success. To get the biome ID, use core.get_biome_id.
core.unregister_biome(name)
- Unregisters the biome from the engine, and deletes the entry with key name from core.registered_biomes.
- Warning: This alters the biome to biome ID correspondences, so any decorations or ores using the 'biomes' field must afterwards be cleared and re-registered.
core.register_decoration(decoration definition)
- Returns an integer object handle uniquely identifying the registered decoration on success. To get the decoration ID, use core.get_decoration_id.
- The order of decoration registrations determines the order of decoration generation.
core.register_schematic(schematic definition)
- Returns an integer object handle uniquely identifying the registered schematic on success.
- If the schematic is loaded from a file, the name field is set to the filename.
- If the function is called when loading the mod, and name is a relative path, then the current mod path will be prepended to the schematic filename.
core.clear_registered_biomes()
- Clears all biomes currently registered.
- Warning: Clearing and re-registering biomes alters the biome to biome ID correspondences, so any decorations or ores using the 'biomes' field must afterwards be cleared and re-registered.
core.clear_registered_decorations()
- Clears all decorations currently registered.
core.clear_registered_ores()
- Clears all ores currently registered.
core.clear_registered_schematics()
- Clears all schematics currently registered.

Gameplay¶

core.register_craft(recipe)
- Check recipe table syntax for different types below.
core.clear_craft(recipe)
- Will erase existing craft based either on output item or on input recipe.
- Specify either output or input only. If you specify both, input will be ignored. For input use the same recipe table syntax as for core.register_craft(recipe). For output specify only the item, without a quantity.
- Returns false if no erase candidate could be found, otherwise returns true.
- Warning! The type field ("shaped", "cooking" or any other) will be ignored if the recipe contains output. Erasing is then done independently from the crafting method.
core.register_chatcommand(cmd, chatcommand definition)
core.override_chatcommand(name, redefinition)
- Overrides fields of a chatcommand registered with register_chatcommand.
core.unregister_chatcommand(name)
- Unregisters a chatcommands registered with register_chatcommand.
core.register_privilege(name, definition)
- definition can be a description or a definition table (see [Privilege definition]).
- If it is a description, the priv will be granted to singleplayer and admin by default.
- To allow players with basic_privs to grant, see the basic_privs minetest.conf setting.
core.register_authentication_handler(authentication handler definition)
- Registers an auth handler that overrides the builtin one.
- This function can be called by a single mod once only.

Global callback registration functions¶

Call these functions only at load time!

core.register_globalstep(function(dtime))
- Called every server step, usually interval of 0.1s.
- dtime is the time since last execution in seconds.
core.register_on_mods_loaded(function())
- Called after mods have finished loading and before the media is cached or the aliases handled.
core.register_on_shutdown(function())
- Called before server shutdown
- Players that were kicked by the shutdown procedure are still fully accessible in core.get_connected_players().
- Warning: If the server terminates abnormally (i.e. crashes), the registered callbacks will likely not be run. Data should be saved at semi-frequent intervals as well as on server shutdown.
core.register_on_placenode(function(pos, newnode, placer, oldnode, itemstack, pointed_thing))
- Called when a node has been placed
- If return true no item is taken from itemstack
- placer may be any valid ObjectRef or nil.
- Not recommended; use on_construct or after_place_node in node definition whenever possible.
core.register_on_dignode(function(pos, oldnode, digger))
- Called when a node has been dug.
- Not recommended; Use on_destruct or after_dig_node in node definition whenever possible.
core.register_on_punchnode(function(pos, node, puncher, pointed_thing))
- Called when a node is punched
core.register_on_generated(function(minp, maxp, blockseed))
- Called after generating a piece of world between minp and maxp.
- Avoid using this whenever possible. As with other callbacks this blocks the main thread and introduces noticeable latency. Consider [Mapgen environment] for an alternative.
core.register_on_newplayer(function(ObjectRef))
- Called when a new player enters the world for the first time
core.register_on_punchplayer(function(player, hitter, time_from_last_punch, tool_capabilities, dir, damage))
- Called when a player is punched
- Note: This callback is invoked even if the punched player is dead.
- player: ObjectRef - Player that was punched
- hitter: ObjectRef - Player that hit. Can be nil.
- time_from_last_punch: Meant for disallowing spamming of clicks (can be nil).
- tool_capabilities: Capability table of used item (can be nil)
- dir: Unit vector of direction of punch. Always defined. Points from the puncher to the punched.
- damage: Number that represents the damage calculated by the engine
- should return true to prevent the default damage mechanism
core.register_on_rightclickplayer(function(player, clicker))
- Called when the 'place/use' key was used while pointing a player (not necessarily an actual rightclick)
- player: ObjectRef - Player that is acted upon
- clicker: ObjectRef - Object that acted upon player, may or may not be a player
core.register_on_player_hpchange(function(player, hp_change, reason), modifier)
- Called when the player gets damaged or healed
- When hp == 0, damage doesn't trigger this callback.
- When hp == hp_max, healing does still trigger this callback.
- player: ObjectRef of the player
- hp_change: the amount of change. Negative when it is damage.
- Historically, the new HP value was clamped to [0, 65535] before calculating the HP change. This clamping has been removed as of version 5.10.0
- reason: a PlayerHPChangeReason table.
  - The type field will have one of the following values:
    - set_hp: A mod or the engine called set_hp without giving a type - use this for custom damage types.
    - punch: Was punched. reason.object will hold the puncher, or nil if none.
    - fall
    - node_damage: damage_per_second from a neighboring node. reason.node will hold the node name or nil. reason.node_pos will hold the position of the node
    - drown
    - respawn
  - Any of the above types may have additional fields from mods.
  - reason.from will be mod or engine.
- modifier: when true, the function should return the actual hp_change. Note: modifiers only get a temporary hp_change that can be modified by later modifiers. Modifiers can return true as a second argument to stop the execution of further functions. Non-modifiers receive the final HP change calculated by the modifiers.
core.register_on_dieplayer(function(ObjectRef, reason))
- Called when a player dies
- reason: a PlayerHPChangeReason table, see register_on_player_hpchange
- For customizing the death screen, see core.show_death_screen.
core.register_on_respawnplayer(function(ObjectRef))
- Called when player is to be respawned
- Called before repositioning of player occurs
- return true in func to disable regular player placement
core.register_on_prejoinplayer(function(name, ip))
- Called when a client connects to the server, prior to authentication
- If it returns a string, the client is disconnected with that string as reason.
core.register_on_joinplayer(function(ObjectRef, last_login))
- Called when a player joins the game
- last_login: The timestamp of the previous login, or nil if player is new
core.register_on_leaveplayer(function(ObjectRef, timed_out))
- Called when a player leaves the game
- Does not get executed for connected players on shutdown.
- timed_out: True for timeout, false for other reasons.
core.register_on_authplayer(function(name, ip, is_success))
- Called when a client attempts to log into an account.
- name: The name of the account being authenticated.
- ip: The IP address of the client
- is_success: Whether the client was successfully authenticated
- For newly registered accounts, is_success will always be true
core.register_on_auth_fail(function(name, ip))
- Deprecated: use core.register_on_authplayer(name, ip, is_success) instead.
core.register_on_cheat(function(ObjectRef, cheat))
- Called when a player cheats
- cheat: {type=<cheat_type>}, where <cheat_type> is one of:
  - moved_too_fast
  - interacted_too_far
  - interacted_with_self
  - interacted_while_dead
  - finished_unknown_dig
  - dug_unbreakable
  - dug_too_fast
core.register_on_chat_message(function(name, message))
- Called always when a player says something
- Return true to mark the message as handled, which means that it will not be sent to other players.
core.register_on_chatcommand(function(name, command, params))
- Called always when a chatcommand is triggered, before core.registered_chatcommands is checked to see if the command exists, but after the input is parsed.
- Return true to mark the command as handled, which means that the default handlers will be prevented.
core.register_on_player_receive_fields(function(player, formname, fields))
- Called when the server received input from player. Specifically, this is called on any of the following events:
  - a button was pressed,
  - Enter was pressed while the focus was on a text field
  - a checkbox was toggled,
  - something was selected in a dropdown list,
  - a different tab was selected,
  - selection was changed in a textlist or table,
  - an entry was double-clicked in a textlist or table,
  - a scrollbar was moved, or
  - the form was actively closed by the player.
- formname is the name passed to core.show_formspec. Special case: The empty string refers to the player inventory (the formspec set by the set_inventory_formspec player method).
- Fields are sent for formspec elements which define a field. fields is a table containing each formspecs element value (as string), with the name parameter as index for each. The value depends on the formspec element type:
  - animated_image: Returns the index of the current frame.
  - button and variants: If pressed, contains the user-facing button text as value. If not pressed, is nil
  - field, textarea and variants: Text in the field
  - dropdown: Either the index or value, depending on the index event dropdown argument.
  - tabheader: Tab index, starting with "1" (only if tab changed)
  - checkbox: "true" if checked, "false" if unchecked
  - textlist: See core.explode_textlist_event
  - table: See core.explode_table_event
  - scrollbar: See core.explode_scrollbar_event
  - Special case: ["quit"]="true" is sent when the user actively closed the form by mouse click, keypress or through a button_exit[] element.
  - Special case: ["key_enter"]="true" is sent when the user pressed the Enter key and the focus was either nowhere (causing the formspec to be closed) or on a button. If the focus was on a text field, additionally, the index key_enter_field contains the name of the text field. See also: field_close_on_enter.
- Newest functions are called first
- If function returns true, remaining functions are not called
core.register_on_craft(function(itemstack, player, old_craft_grid, craft_inv))
- Called when player crafts something
- itemstack is the output
- old_craft_grid contains the recipe (Note: the one in the inventory is cleared).
- craft_inv is the inventory with the crafting grid
- Return either an ItemStack, to replace the output, or nil, to not modify it.
core.register_craft_predict(function(itemstack, player, old_craft_grid, craft_inv))
- The same as before, except that it is called before the player crafts, to make craft prediction, and it should not change anything.
core.register_allow_player_inventory_action(function(player, action, inventory, inventory_info))
- Determines how much of a stack may be taken, put or moved to a player inventory.
- Function arguments: see core.register_on_player_inventory_action
- Return a numeric value to limit the amount of items to be taken, put or moved. A value of -1 for take will make the source stack infinite.
core.register_on_player_inventory_action(function(player, action, inventory, inventory_info))
- Called after an item take, put or move event from/to/in a player inventory
- These inventory actions are recognized:
  - move: Item was moved within the player inventory
  - put: Item was put into player inventory from another inventory
  - take: Item was taken from player inventory and put into another inventory
- player (type ObjectRef) is the player who modified the inventory inventory (type InvRef).
- List of possible action (string) values and their inventory_info (table) contents:
  - move: {from_list=string, to_list=string, from_index=number, to_index=number, count=number}
  - put: {listname=string, index=number, stack=ItemStack}
  - take: Same as put
- Does not accept or handle any return value.
core.register_on_protection_violation(function(pos, name))
- Called by builtin and mods when a player violates protection at a position (eg, digs a node or punches a protected entity).
- The registered functions can be called using core.record_protection_violation.
- The provided function should check that the position is protected by the mod calling this function before it prints a message, if it does, to allow for multiple protection mods.
core.register_on_item_eat(function(hp_change, replace_with_item, itemstack, user, pointed_thing))
- Called when an item is eaten, by core.item_eat
- Return itemstack to cancel the default item eat response (i.e.: hp increase).
core.register_on_item_pickup(function(itemstack, picker, pointed_thing, time_from_last_punch, ...))
- Called by core.item_pickup before an item is picked up.
- Function is added to core.registered_on_item_pickups.
- Oldest functions are called first.
- Parameters are the same as in the on_pickup callback.
- Return an itemstack to cancel the default item pick-up response (i.e.: adding the item into inventory).
core.register_on_priv_grant(function(name, granter, priv))
- Called when granter grants the priv priv to name.
- Note that the callback will be called twice if it's done by a player, once with granter being the player name, and again with granter being nil.
core.register_on_priv_revoke(function(name, revoker, priv))
- Called when revoker revokes the priv priv from name.
- Note that the callback will be called twice if it's done by a player, once with revoker being the player name, and again with revoker being nil.
core.register_can_bypass_userlimit(function(name, ip))
- Called when name user connects with ip.
- Return true to by pass the player limit
core.register_on_modchannel_message(function(channel_name, sender, message))
- Called when an incoming mod channel message is received
- You should have joined some channels to receive events.
- If message comes from a server mod, sender field is an empty string.
core.register_on_liquid_transformed(function(pos_list, node_list))
- Called after liquid nodes (liquidtype ~= "none") are modified by the engine's liquid transformation process.
- pos_list is an array of all modified positions.
- node_list is an array of the old node that was previously at the position with the corresponding index in pos_list.
core.register_on_mapblocks_changed(function(modified_blocks, modified_block_count))
- Called soon after any nodes or node metadata have been modified. No modifications will be missed, but there may be false positives.
- Will never be called more than once per server step.
- modified_blocks is the set of modified mapblock position hashes. These are in the same format as those produced by core.hash_node_position, and can be converted to positions with core.get_position_from_hash. The set is a table where the keys are hashes and the values are true.
- modified_block_count is the number of entries in the set.
- Note: callbacks must be registered at mod load time.

core.settings: Settings object containing all of the settings from the main config file (minetest.conf). See [Settings].
core.setting_get_pos(name): Loads a setting from the main settings and parses it as a position (in the format (1,2,3)). Returns a position or nil. Deprecated: use core.settings:get_pos() instead

Authentication¶

core.string_to_privs(str[, delim]):
- Converts string representation of privs into table form
- delim: String separating the privs. Defaults to ",".
- Returns { priv1 = true, ... }
core.privs_to_string(privs[, delim]):
- Returns the string representation of privs
- delim: String to delimit privs. Defaults to ",".
core.get_player_privs(name) -> {priv1=true,...}
core.check_player_privs(player_or_name, ...): returns bool, missing_privs
- A quickhand for checking privileges.
- player_or_name: Either a Player object or the name of a player.
- ... is either a list of strings, e.g. "priva", "privb" or a table, e.g. { priva = true, privb = true }.
core.check_password_entry(name, entry, password)
- Returns true if the "password entry" for a player with name matches given password, false otherwise.
- The "password entry" is the password representation generated by the engine as returned as part of a get_auth() call on the auth handler.
- Only use this function for making it possible to log in via password from external protocols such as IRC, other uses are frowned upon.
core.get_password_hash(name, raw_password)
- Convert a name-password pair to a password hash that Luanti can use.
- The returned value alone is not a good basis for password checks based on comparing the password hash in the database with the password hash from the function, with an externally provided password, as the hash in the db might use the new SRP verifier format.
- For this purpose, use core.check_password_entry instead.
core.get_player_ip(name): returns an IP address string for the player name.
- The player needs to be online for this to be successful.
core.get_auth_handler(): Return the currently active auth handler
- Must be called after load time, to ensure that any custom auth handler was already registered.
- See the [Authentication handler definition]
- Use this to e.g. get the authentication data for a player: local auth_data = core.get_auth_handler().get_auth(playername)
core.notify_authentication_modified(name)
- Must be called by the authentication handler for privilege changes.
- name: string; if omitted, all auth data should be considered modified
core.set_player_password(name, password_hash): Set password hash of player name.
core.set_player_privs(name, privs): Set privileges of player name.
- privs is a set of privileges: A table where the keys are names of privileges and the values are true.
- Example: core.set_player_privs("singleplayer", {interact = true, fly = true}). This sets the player privileges to interact and fly; singleplayer will only have these two privileges afterwards.
core.change_player_privs(name, changes): Helper to grant or revoke privileges.
- changes: Table of changes to make. A field [privname] = true grants a privilege, whereas [privname] = false revokes a privilege.
- Example: core.change_player_privs("singleplayer", {interact = true, fly = false}) will grant singleplayer the interact privilege and revoke singleplayer's fly privilege. All other privileges will remain unchanged.
core.auth_reload()
- See reload() in authentication handler definition

core.set_player_password, core.set_player_privs, core.get_player_privs and core.auth_reload call the authentication handler.

Chat¶

core.chat_send_all(text): send chat message to all players
core.chat_send_player(name, text): send chat message to specific player
- name: Name of the player
core.format_chat_message(name, message)
- Used by the server to format a chat message, based on the setting chat_message_format. Refer to the documentation of the setting for a list of valid placeholders.
- Takes player name and message, and returns the formatted string to be sent to players.
- Can be redefined by mods if required, for things like colored names or messages.
- Only the first occurrence of each placeholder will be replaced.

Environment access¶

core.set_node(pos, node)
- Set node at position pos.
- Any existing metadata is deleted.
- node: table {name=string, param1=number, param2=number} If param1 or param2 is omitted, it's set to 0.
- e.g. core.set_node({x=0, y=10, z=0}, {name="default:wood"})
core.add_node(pos, node): alias to core.set_node
core.bulk_set_node({pos1, pos2, pos3, ...}, node)
- Set the same node at all positions in the first argument.
- e.g. core.bulk_set_node({{x=0, y=1, z=1}, {x=1, y=2, z=2}}, {name="default:stone"})
- For node specification or position syntax see core.set_node call
- Faster than set_node due to single call, but still considerably slower than Lua Voxel Manipulators (LVM) for large numbers of nodes. Unlike LVMs, this will call node callbacks. It also allows setting nodes in spread out positions which would cause LVMs to waste memory. For setting a cube, this is 1.3x faster than set_node whereas LVM is 20 times faster.
core.swap_node(pos, node)
- Swap node at position with another.
- This keeps the metadata intact and will not run con-/destructor callbacks.
core.bulk_swap_node({pos1, pos2, pos3, ...}, node)
- Equivalent to core.swap_node but in bulk.
core.remove_node(pos): Remove a node
- Equivalent to core.set_node(pos, {name="air"}), but a bit faster.
core.get_node(pos)
- Returns the node at the given position as table in the same format as set_node.
- This function never returns nil and instead returns {name="ignore", param1=0, param2=0} for unloaded areas.
core.get_node_or_nil(pos)
- Same as get_node but returns nil for unloaded areas.
- Note that even loaded areas can contain "ignore" nodes.
core.get_node_light(pos[, timeofday])
- Gets the light value at the given position. Note that the light value "inside" the node at the given position is returned, so you usually want to get the light value of a neighbor.
- pos: The position where to measure the light.
- timeofday: nil for current time, 0 for night, 0.5 for day
- Returns a number between 0 and 15 or nil
- nil is returned e.g. when the map isn't loaded at pos
core.get_natural_light(pos[, timeofday])
- Figures out the sunlight (or moonlight) value at pos at the given time of day.
- pos: The position of the node
- timeofday: nil for current time, 0 for night, 0.5 for day
- Returns a number between 0 and 15 or nil
- This function tests 203 nodes in the worst case, which happens very unlikely
core.get_artificial_light(param1)
- Calculates the artificial light (light from e.g. torches) value from the param1 value.
- param1: The param1 value of a paramtype = "light" node.
- Returns a number between 0 and 15
- Currently it's the same as math.floor(param1 / 16), except that it ensures compatibility.
core.place_node(pos, node[, placer])
- Place node with the same effects that a player would cause
- placer: The ObjectRef that places the node (optional)
core.dig_node(pos[, digger])
- Dig node with the same effects that a player would cause
- digger: The ObjectRef that digs the node (optional)
- Returns true if successful, false on failure (e.g. protected location)
core.punch_node(pos[, puncher])
- Punch node with the same effects that a player would cause
- puncher: The ObjectRef that punches the node (optional)
core.spawn_falling_node(pos)
- Change node into falling node
- Returns true and the ObjectRef of the spawned entity if successful, false on failure
core.find_nodes_with_meta(pos1, pos2)
- Get a table of positions of nodes that have metadata within a region {pos1, pos2}.
core.get_meta(pos)
- Get a NodeMetaRef at that position
core.get_node_timer(pos)
- Get NodeTimerRef
core.add_entity(pos, name, [staticdata]): Spawn Lua-defined entity at position.
- Returns ObjectRef, or nil if failed
- Entities with static_save = true can be added also to unloaded and non-generated blocks.
core.add_item(pos, item): Spawn item
- Returns ObjectRef, or nil if failed
- Items can be added also to unloaded and non-generated blocks.
core.get_player_by_name(name): Get an ObjectRef to a player
- Returns nothing in case of error (player offline, doesn't exist, ...).
core.get_objects_inside_radius(center, radius)
- returns a list of ObjectRefs
- radius: using a Euclidean metric
- Warning: Any kind of interaction with the environment or other APIs can cause later objects in the list to become invalid while you're iterating it. (e.g. punching an entity removes its children) It is recommended to use core.objects_inside_radius instead, which transparently takes care of this possibility.
core.objects_inside_radius(center, radius)
- returns an iterator of valid objects
- example: for obj in core.objects_inside_radius(center, radius) do obj:punch(...) end
core.get_objects_in_area(min_pos, max_pos)
- returns a list of ObjectRefs
- min_pos and max_pos are the min and max positions of the area to search
- Warning: The same warning as for core.get_objects_inside_radius applies. Use core.objects_in_area instead to iterate only valid objects.
core.objects_in_area(min_pos, max_pos)
- returns an iterator of valid objects
core.set_timeofday(val): set time of day
- val is between 0 and 1; 0 for midnight, 0.5 for midday
core.get_timeofday(): get time of day
core.get_gametime(): returns the time, in seconds, since the world was created. The time is not available (nil) before the first server step.
core.get_day_count(): returns number days elapsed since world was created.
- Time changes are accounted for.
core.find_node_near(pos, radius, nodenames, [search_center]): returns pos or nil.
- radius: using a maximum metric
- nodenames: e.g. {"ignore", "group:tree"} or "default:dirt"
- search_center is an optional boolean (default: false) If true pos is also checked for the nodes
core.find_nodes_in_area(pos1, pos2, nodenames, [grouped])
- pos1 and pos2 are the min and max positions of the area to search.
- nodenames: e.g. {"ignore", "group:tree"} or "default:dirt"
- If grouped is true the return value is a table indexed by node name which contains lists of positions.
- If grouped is false or absent the return values are as follows: first value: Table with all node positions second value: Table with the count of each node with the node name as index
- Area volume is limited to 4,096,000 nodes
core.find_nodes_in_area_under_air(pos1, pos2, nodenames): returns a list of positions.
- nodenames: e.g. {"ignore", "group:tree"} or "default:dirt"
- Return value: Table with all node positions with a node air above
- Area volume is limited to 4,096,000 nodes
core.get_perlin(noiseparams)
- Return world-specific perlin noise.
- The actual seed used is the noiseparams seed plus the world seed.
core.get_perlin(seeddiff, octaves, persistence, spread)
- Deprecated: use core.get_perlin(noiseparams) instead.
- Return world-specific perlin noise.
core.get_voxel_manip([pos1, pos2])
- Return voxel manipulator object.
- Loads the manipulator from the map if positions are passed.
core.set_gen_notify(flags, [deco_ids], [custom_ids])
- Set the types of on-generate notifications that should be collected.
- flags: flag field, see [gennotify] for available generation notification types.
- The following parameters are optional:
- deco_ids is a list of IDs of decorations which notification is requested for.
- custom_ids is a list of user-defined IDs (strings) which are requested. By convention these should be the mod name with an optional colon and specifier added, e.g. "default" or "default:dungeon_loot"
core.get_gen_notify()
- Returns a flagstring, a table with the deco_ids and a table with user-defined IDs.
core.get_decoration_id(decoration_name)
- Returns the decoration ID number for the provided decoration name string, or nil on failure.
core.get_mapgen_object(objectname)
- Return requested mapgen object if available (see [Mapgen objects])
core.get_heat(pos)
- Returns the heat at the position, or nil on failure.
core.get_humidity(pos)
- Returns the humidity at the position, or nil on failure.
core.get_biome_data(pos)
- Returns a table containing:
  - biome the biome id of the biome at that position
  - heat the heat at the position
  - humidity the humidity at the position
- Or returns nil on failure.
core.get_biome_id(biome_name)
- Returns the biome id, as used in the biomemap Mapgen object and returned by core.get_biome_data(pos), for a given biome_name string.
core.get_biome_name(biome_id)
- Returns the biome name string for the provided biome id, or nil on failure.
- If no biomes have been registered, such as in mgv6, returns default.
core.get_mapgen_params()
- Deprecated: use core.get_mapgen_setting(name) instead.
- Returns a table containing:
  - mgname
  - seed
  - chunksize
  - water_level
  - flags
core.set_mapgen_params(MapgenParams)
- Deprecated: use core.set_mapgen_setting(name, value, override) instead.
- Set map generation parameters.
- Function cannot be called after the registration period.
- Takes a table as an argument with the fields:
  - mgname
  - seed
  - chunksize
  - water_level
  - flags
- Leave field unset to leave that parameter unchanged.
- flags contains a comma-delimited string of flags to set, or if the prefix "no" is attached, clears instead.
- flags is in the same format and has the same options as mg_flags in minetest.conf.
core.get_mapgen_edges([mapgen_limit[, chunksize]])
- Returns the minimum and maximum possible generated node positions in that order.
- mapgen_limit is an optional number. If it is absent, its value is that of the active mapgen setting "mapgen_limit".
- chunksize is an optional number. If it is absent, its value is that of the active mapgen setting "chunksize".
core.get_mapgen_setting(name)
- Gets the active mapgen setting (or nil if none exists) in string format with the following order of precedence: 1) Settings loaded from map_meta.txt or overrides set during mod execution. 2) Settings set by mods without a metafile override 3) Settings explicitly set in the user config file, minetest.conf 4) Settings set as the user config default
core.get_mapgen_setting_noiseparams(name)
- Same as above, but returns the value as a NoiseParams table if the setting name exists and is a valid NoiseParams.
core.set_mapgen_setting(name, value, [override_meta])
- Sets a mapgen param to value, and will take effect if the corresponding mapgen setting is not already present in map_meta.txt.
- override_meta is an optional boolean (default: false). If this is set to true, the setting will become the active setting regardless of the map metafile contents.
- Note: to set the seed, use "seed", not "fixed_map_seed".
core.set_mapgen_setting_noiseparams(name, value, [override_meta])
- Same as above, except value is a NoiseParams table.
core.set_noiseparams(name, noiseparams, set_default)
- Sets the noiseparams setting of name to the noiseparams table specified in noiseparams.
- set_default is an optional boolean (default: true) that specifies whether the setting should be applied to the default config or current active config.
core.get_noiseparams(name)
- Returns a table of the noiseparams for name.
core.generate_ores(vm, pos1, pos2)
- Generate all registered ores within the VoxelManip vm and in the area from pos1 to pos2.
- pos1 and pos2 are optional and default to mapchunk minp and maxp.
core.generate_decorations(vm, pos1, pos2)
- Generate all registered decorations within the VoxelManip vm and in the area from pos1 to pos2.
- pos1 and pos2 are optional and default to mapchunk minp and maxp.
core.clear_objects([options])
- Clear all objects in the environment
- Takes an optional table as an argument with the field mode.
  - mode = "full": Load and go through every mapblock, clearing objects (default).
  - mode = "quick": Clear objects immediately in loaded mapblocks, clear objects in unloaded mapblocks only when the mapblocks are next activated.
core.load_area(pos1[, pos2])
- Load the mapblocks containing the area from pos1 to pos2. pos2 defaults to pos1 if not specified.
- This function does not trigger map generation.
core.emerge_area(pos1, pos2, [callback], [param])
- Queue all blocks in the area from pos1 to pos2, inclusive, to be asynchronously fetched from memory, loaded from disk, or if inexistent, generates them.
- If callback is a valid Lua function, this will be called for each block emerged.
- The function signature of callback is: function EmergeAreaCallback(blockpos, action, calls_remaining, param)
  - blockpos is the block coordinates of the block that had been emerged.
  - action could be one of the following constant values:
    - core.EMERGE_CANCELLED
    - core.EMERGE_ERRORED
    - core.EMERGE_FROM_MEMORY
    - core.EMERGE_FROM_DISK
    - core.EMERGE_GENERATED
  - calls_remaining is the number of callbacks to be expected after this one.
  - param is the user-defined parameter passed to emerge_area (or nil if the parameter was absent).
core.delete_area(pos1, pos2)
- delete all mapblocks in the area from pos1 to pos2, inclusive
core.line_of_sight(pos1, pos2): returns boolean, pos
- Checks if there is anything other than air between pos1 and pos2.
- Returns false if something is blocking the sight.
- Returns the position of the blocking node when false
- pos1: First position
- pos2: Second position
core.raycast(pos1, pos2, objects, liquids, pointabilities): returns Raycast
- Creates a Raycast object.
- pos1: start of the ray
- pos2: end of the ray
- objects: if false, only nodes will be returned. Default is true.
- liquids: if false, liquid nodes (liquidtype ~= "none") won't be returned. Default is false.
- pointabilities: Allows overriding the pointable property of nodes and objects. Uses the same format as the pointabilities property of item definitions. Default is nil.
core.find_path(pos1, pos2, searchdistance, max_jump, max_drop, algorithm)
- returns table containing path that can be walked on
- returns a table of 3D points representing a path from pos1 to pos2 or nil on failure.
- Reasons for failure:
  - No path exists at all
  - No path exists within searchdistance (see below)
  - Start or end pos is buried in land
- pos1: start position
- pos2: end position
- searchdistance: maximum distance from the search positions to search in. In detail: Path must be completely inside a cuboid. The minimum searchdistance of 1 will confine search between pos1 and pos2. Larger values will increase the size of this cuboid in all directions
- max_jump: maximum height difference to consider walkable
- max_drop: maximum height difference to consider droppable
- algorithm: One of "A*_noprefetch" (default), "A*", "Dijkstra". Difference between "A*" and "A*_noprefetch" is that "A*" will pre-calculate the cost-data, the other will calculate it on-the-fly
core.spawn_tree(pos, treedef)
- spawns L-system tree at given pos with definition in treedef table
core.spawn_tree_on_vmanip(vmanip, pos, treedef)
- analogous to core.spawn_tree, but spawns a L-system tree onto the specified VoxelManip object vmanip instead of the map.
core.transforming_liquid_add(pos)
- add node to liquid flow update queue
core.get_node_max_level(pos)
- get max available level for leveled node
core.get_node_level(pos)
- get level of leveled node (water, snow)
core.set_node_level(pos, level)
- set level of leveled node, default level equals 1
- if totallevel > maxlevel, returns rest (total-max).
core.add_node_level(pos, level)
- increase level of leveled node by level, default level equals 1
- if totallevel > maxlevel, returns rest (total-max)
- level must be between -127 and 127
core.get_node_boxes(box_type, pos, [node])
- box_type must be "node_box", "collision_box" or "selection_box".
- pos must be a node position.
- node can be a table in the form {name=string, param1=number, param2=number}. If node is nil, the actual node at pos is used instead.
- Resolves any facedir-rotated boxes, connected boxes and the like into actual boxes.
- Returns a list of boxes in the form {{x1, y1, z1, x2, y2, z2}, {x1, y1, z1, x2, y2, z2}, ...}. Coordinates are relative to pos.
- See also: Node boxes
core.fix_light(pos1, pos2): returns true/false
- resets the light in a cuboid-shaped part of the map and removes lighting bugs.
- Loads the area if it is not loaded.
- pos1 is the corner of the cuboid with the least coordinates (in node coordinates), inclusive.
- pos2 is the opposite corner of the cuboid, inclusive.
- The actual updated cuboid might be larger than the specified one, because only whole map blocks can be updated. The actual updated area consists of those map blocks that intersect with the given cuboid.
- However, the neighborhood of the updated area might change as well, as light can spread out of the cuboid, also light might be removed.
- returns false if the area is not fully generated, true otherwise
core.check_single_for_falling(pos)
- causes an unsupported group:falling_node node to fall and causes an unattached group:attached_node node to fall.
- does not spread these updates to neighbors.
core.check_for_falling(pos)
- causes an unsupported group:falling_node node to fall and causes an unattached group:attached_node node to fall.
- spread these updates to neighbors and can cause a cascade of nodes to fall.
core.get_spawn_level(x, z)
- Returns a player spawn y coordinate for the provided (x, z) coordinates, or nil for an unsuitable spawn point.
- For most mapgens a 'suitable spawn point' is one with y between water_level and water_level + 16, and in mgv7 well away from rivers, so nil will be returned for many (x, z) coordinates.
- The spawn level returned is for a player spawn in unmodified terrain.
- The spawn level is intentionally above terrain level to cope with full-node biome 'dust' nodes.

Mod channels¶

You can find mod channels communication scheme in doc/mod_channels.png.

core.mod_channel_join(channel_name)
- Server joins channel channel_name, and creates it if necessary. You should listen for incoming messages with core.register_on_modchannel_message

Inventory¶

core.get_inventory(location): returns an InvRef

location = e.g.
- {type="player", name="celeron55"}
- {type="node", pos={x=, y=, z=}}
- {type="detached", name="creative"}
core.create_detached_inventory(name, callbacks, [player_name]): returns an InvRef.
- callbacks: See [Detached inventory callbacks]
- player_name: Make detached inventory available to one player exclusively, by default they will be sent to every player (even if not used). Note that this parameter is mostly just a workaround and will be removed in future releases.
- Creates a detached inventory. If it already exists, it is cleared.
core.remove_detached_inventory(name)
- Returns a boolean indicating whether the removal succeeded.
core.do_item_eat(hp_change, replace_with_item, itemstack, user, pointed_thing): returns leftover ItemStack or nil to indicate no inventory change
- See core.item_eat and core.register_on_item_eat

Formspec¶

core.show_formspec(playername, formname, formspec)
- playername: name of player to show formspec
- formname: name passed to on_player_receive_fields callbacks. It should follow the "modname:<whatever>" naming convention.
- formname must not be empty, unless you want to reshow the inventory formspec without updating it for future opens.
- formspec: formspec to display
core.close_formspec(playername, formname)
- playername: name of player to close formspec
- formname: has to exactly match the one given in show_formspec, or the formspec will not close.
- calling show_formspec(playername, formname, "") is equal to this expression.
- to close a formspec regardless of the formname, call core.close_formspec(playername, ""). USE THIS ONLY WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!
core.formspec_escape(string): returns a string
- escapes the characters "[", "]", "\", "," and ";", which cannot be used in formspecs.
core.hypertext_escape(string): returns a string
- escapes the characters "\", "<", and ">" to show text in a hypertext element.
- not safe for use with tag attributes.
- this function does not do formspec escaping, you will likely need to do core.formspec_escape(core.hypertext_escape(string)) if the hypertext is not already being formspec escaped.
core.explode_table_event(string): returns a table
- returns e.g. {type="CHG", row=1, column=2}
- type is one of:
  - "INV": no row selected
  - "CHG": selected
  - "DCL": double-click
core.explode_textlist_event(string): returns a table
- returns e.g. {type="CHG", index=1}
- type is one of:
  - "INV": no row selected
  - "CHG": selected
  - "DCL": double-click
core.explode_scrollbar_event(string): returns a table
- returns e.g. {type="CHG", value=500}
- type is one of:
  - "INV": something failed
  - "CHG": has been changed
  - "VAL": not changed
core.show_death_screen(player, reason)
- Called when the death screen should be shown.
- player is an ObjectRef, reason is a PlayerHPChangeReason table or nil.
- By default, this shows a simple formspec with the option to respawn. Respawning is done via ObjectRef:respawn.
- You can override this to show a custom death screen.
- For general death handling, use core.register_on_dieplayer instead.

Item handling¶

core.inventorycube(img1, img2, img3)
- Returns a string for making an image of a cube (useful as an item image)
core.get_pointed_thing_position(pointed_thing, above)
- Returns the position of a pointed_thing or nil if the pointed_thing does not refer to a node or entity.
- If the optional above parameter is true and the pointed_thing refers to a node, then it will return the above position of the pointed_thing.
core.dir_to_facedir(dir, is6d)
- Convert a vector to a facedir value, used in param2 for paramtype2="facedir".
- passing something non-nil/false for the optional second parameter causes it to take the y component into account.
core.facedir_to_dir(facedir)
- Convert a facedir back into a vector aimed directly out the "back" of a node.
core.dir_to_fourdir(dir)
- Convert a vector to a 4dir value, used in param2 for paramtype2="4dir".
core.fourdir_to_dir(fourdir)
- Convert a 4dir back into a vector aimed directly out the "back" of a node.
core.dir_to_wallmounted(dir)
- Convert a vector to a wallmounted value, used for paramtype2="wallmounted".
core.wallmounted_to_dir(wallmounted)
- Convert a wallmounted value back into a vector aimed directly out the "back" of a node.
core.dir_to_yaw(dir)
- Convert a vector into a yaw (angle)
core.yaw_to_dir(yaw)
- Convert yaw (angle) to a vector
core.is_colored_paramtype(ptype)
- Returns a boolean. Returns true if the given paramtype2 contains color information (color, colorwallmounted, colorfacedir, etc.).
core.strip_param2_color(param2, paramtype2)
- Removes everything but the color information from the given param2 value.
- Returns nil if the given paramtype2 does not contain color information.
core.get_node_drops(node, toolname)
- Returns list of itemstrings that are dropped by node when dug with the item toolname (not limited to tools).
- node: node as table or node name
- toolname: name of the item used to dig (can be nil)
core.get_craft_result(input): returns output, decremented_input
- input.method = "normal" or "cooking" or "fuel"
- input.width = for example 3
- input.items = for example {stack1, stack2, stack3, stack4, stack 5, stack 6, stack 7, stack 8, stack 9}
- output.item = ItemStack, if unsuccessful: empty ItemStack
- output.time = a number, if unsuccessful: 0
- output.replacements = List of replacement ItemStacks that couldn't be placed in decremented_input.items. Replacements can be placed in decremented_input if the stack of the replaced item has a count of 1.
- decremented_input = like input
core.get_craft_recipe(output): returns input
- returns last registered recipe for output item (node)
- output is a node or item type such as "default:torch"
- input.method = "normal" or "cooking" or "fuel"
- input.width = for example 3
- input.items = for example {stack1, stack2, stack3, stack4, stack 5, stack 6, stack 7, stack 8, stack 9}
  - input.items = nil if no recipe found
core.get_all_craft_recipes(query item): returns a table or nil
- returns indexed table with all registered recipes for query item (node) or nil if no recipe was found.
- recipe entry table:
  - method: 'normal' or 'cooking' or 'fuel'
  - width: 0-3, 0 means shapeless recipe
  - items: indexed [1-9] table with recipe items
  - output: string with item name and quantity
- Example result for "default:gold_ingot" with two recipes:
```
{
    {
        method = "cooking", width = 3,
        output = "default:gold_ingot", items = {"default:gold_lump"}
    },
    {
        method = "normal", width = 1,
        output = "default:gold_ingot 9", items = {"default:goldblock"}
    }
}
```
core.handle_node_drops(pos, drops, digger)
- drops: list of itemstrings
- Handles drops from nodes after digging: Default action is to put them into digger's inventory.
- Can be overridden to get different functionality (e.g. dropping items on ground)
core.itemstring_with_palette(item, palette_index): returns an item string.
- Creates an item string which contains palette index information for hardware colorization. You can use the returned string as an output in a craft recipe.
- item: the item stack which becomes colored. Can be in string, table and native form.
- palette_index: this index is added to the item stack
core.itemstring_with_color(item, colorstring): returns an item string
- Creates an item string which contains static color information for hardware colorization. Use this method if you wish to colorize an item that does not own a palette. You can use the returned string as an output in a craft recipe.
- item: the item stack which becomes colored. Can be in string, table and native form.
- colorstring: the new color of the item stack

Rollback¶

core.rollback_get_node_actions(pos, range, seconds, limit): returns {{actor, pos, time, oldnode, newnode}, ...}
- Find who has done something to a node, or near a node
- actor: "player:<name>", also "liquid".
core.rollback_revert_actions_by(actor, seconds): returns boolean, log_messages.
- Revert latest actions of someone
- actor: "player:<name>", also "liquid".

Defaults for the `on_place` and `on_drop` item definition functions¶

core.item_place_node(itemstack, placer, pointed_thing[, param2, prevent_after_place])
- Place item as a node
- param2 overrides facedir and wallmounted param2
- prevent_after_place: if set to true, after_place_node is not called for the newly placed node to prevent a callback and placement loop
- returns itemstack, position
- position: the location the node was placed to. nil if nothing was placed.
core.item_place_object(itemstack, placer, pointed_thing)
- Place item as-is
- returns the leftover itemstack
- Note: This function is deprecated and will never be called.
core.item_place(itemstack, placer, pointed_thing[, param2])
- Wrapper that calls core.item_place_node if appropriate
- Calls on_rightclick of pointed_thing.under if defined instead
- Note: is not called when wielded item overrides on_place
- param2 overrides facedir and wallmounted param2
- returns itemstack, position
- position: the location the node was placed to. nil if nothing was placed.
core.item_pickup(itemstack, picker, pointed_thing, time_from_last_punch, ...)
- Runs callbacks registered by core.register_on_item_pickup and adds the item to the picker's "main" inventory list.
- Parameters are the same as in on_pickup.
- Returns the leftover itemstack.
core.item_drop(itemstack, dropper, pos)
- Drop the item
- returns the leftover itemstack
core.item_eat(hp_change[, replace_with_item])
- Returns function(itemstack, user, pointed_thing) as a function wrapper for core.do_item_eat.
- replace_with_item is the itemstring which is added to the inventory. If the player is eating a stack and replace_with_item doesn't fit onto the eaten stack, then the remainings go to a different spot, or are dropped.

Defaults for the `on_punch` and `on_dig` node definition callbacks¶

core.node_punch(pos, node, puncher, pointed_thing)
- Calls functions registered by core.register_on_punchnode()
core.node_dig(pos, node, digger)
- Checks if node can be dug, puts item into inventory, removes node
- Calls functions registered by core.registered_on_dignodes()

Sounds¶

core.sound_play(spec, parameters, [ephemeral]): returns a handle
- spec is a SimpleSoundSpec
- parameters is a sound parameter table
- ephemeral is a boolean (default: false) Ephemeral sounds will not return a handle and can't be stopped or faded. It is recommend to use this for short sounds that happen in response to player actions (e.g. door closing).
core.sound_stop(handle)
- handle is a handle returned by core.sound_play
core.sound_fade(handle, step, gain)
- handle is a handle returned by core.sound_play
- step determines how fast a sound will fade. The gain will change by this much per second, until it reaches the target gain. Note: Older versions used a signed step. This is deprecated, but old code will still work. (the client uses abs(step) to correct it)
- gain the target gain for the fade. Fading to zero will delete the sound.

Timing¶

core.after(time, func, ...): returns job table to use as below.
- Call the function func after time seconds, may be fractional
- Optional: Variable number of arguments that are passed to func
- Jobs set for earlier times are executed earlier. If multiple jobs expire at exactly the same time, then they are executed in registration order.
- time is a lower bound. The job is executed in the first server-step that started at least time seconds after the last time a server-step started, measured with globalstep dtime.
- If time is 0, the job is executed in the next step.
job:cancel()
- Cancels the job function from being called

Async environment¶

The engine allows you to submit jobs to be ran in an isolated environment concurrently with normal server operation. A job consists of a function to be ran in the async environment, any amount of arguments (will be serialized) and a callback that will be called with the return value of the job function once it is finished.

The async environment does not have access to the map, entities, players or any globals defined in the 'usual' environment. Consequently, functions like core.get_node() or core.get_player_by_name() simply do not exist in it.

Arguments and return values passed through this can contain certain userdata objects that will be seamlessly copied (not shared) to the async environment. This allows you easy interoperability for delegating work to jobs.

core.handle_async(func, callback, ...):
- Queue the function func to be ran in an async environment. Note that there are multiple persistent workers and any of them may end up running a given job. The engine will scale the amount of worker threads automatically.
- When func returns the callback is called (in the normal environment) with all of the return values as arguments.
- Optional: Variable number of arguments that are passed to func
core.register_async_dofile(path):
- Register a path to a Lua file to be imported when an async environment is initialized. You can use this to preload code which you can then call later using core.handle_async().

List of APIs available in an async environment¶

Classes:

AreaStore
ItemStack
PerlinNoise
PerlinNoiseMap
PseudoRandom
PcgRandom
SecureRandom
VoxelArea
VoxelManip
- only if transferred into environment; can't read/write to map
Settings

Class instances that can be transferred between environments:

ItemStack
PerlinNoise
PerlinNoiseMap
VoxelManip

Functions:

Standalone helpers such as logging, filesystem, encoding, hashing or compression APIs
core.register_portable_metatable
IPC

Variables:

core.settings
core.registered_items, registered_nodes, registered_tools, registered_craftitems and registered_aliases
- with all functions and userdata values replaced by true, calling any callbacks here is obviously not possible

Mapgen environment¶

The engine runs the map generator on separate threads, each of these also has a Lua environment. Its primary purpose is to allow mods to operate on newly generated parts of the map to e.g. generate custom structures. Internally it is referred to as "emerge environment".

Refer to [Async environment] for the usual disclaimer on what environment isolation entails.

The map generator threads, which also contain the above mentioned Lua environment, are initialized after all mods have been loaded by the server. After that the registered scripts (not all mods!) - see below - are run during initialization of the mapgen environment. After that only callbacks happen. The mapgen env does not have a global step or timer.

core.register_mapgen_script(path):
- Register a path to a Lua file to be imported when a mapgen environment is initialized. Run in order of registration.

List of APIs exclusive to the mapgen env¶

core.register_on_generated(function(vmanip, minp, maxp, blockseed))
- Called after the engine mapgen finishes a chunk but before it is written to the map.
- Chunk data resides in vmanip. Other parts of the map are not accessible. The area of the chunk if comprised of minp and maxp, note that is smaller than the emerged area of the VoxelManip. Note: calling read_from_map() or write_to_map() on the VoxelManipulator object is not necessary and is disallowed.
- blockseed: 64-bit seed number used for this chunk
core.save_gen_notify(id, data)
- Saves data for retrieval using the gennotify mechanism (see [Mapgen objects]).
- Data is bound to the chunk that is currently being processed, so this function only makes sense inside the on_generated callback.
- id: user-defined ID (a string) By convention these should be the mod name with an optional colon and specifier added, e.g. "default" or "default:dungeon_loot"
- data: any Lua object (will be serialized, no userdata allowed)
- returns true if the data was remembered. That is if core.set_gen_notify was called with the same user-defined ID before.

List of APIs available in the mapgen env¶

Classes:

AreaStore
ItemStack
PerlinNoise
PerlinNoiseMap
PseudoRandom
PcgRandom
SecureRandom
VoxelArea
VoxelManip
- only given by callbacks; cannot access rest of map
Settings

Functions:

Standalone helpers such as logging, filesystem, encoding, hashing or compression APIs
core.get_biome_id, get_biome_name, get_heat, get_humidity, get_biome_data, get_mapgen_object, get_mapgen_params, get_mapgen_edges, get_mapgen_setting, get_noiseparams, get_decoration_id and more
core.get_node, set_node, find_node_near, find_nodes_in_area, spawn_tree and similar
- these only operate on the current chunk (if inside a callback)
IPC

Variables:

core.settings
core.registered_items, registered_nodes, registered_tools, registered_craftitems and registered_aliases
- with all functions and userdata values replaced by true, calling any callbacks here is obviously not possible
core.registered_biomes, registered_ores, registered_decorations

Note that node metadata does not exist in the mapgen env, we suggest deferring setting any metadata you need to the on_generated callback in the regular env. You can use the gennotify mechanism to transfer this information.

Server¶

core.request_shutdown([message],[reconnect],[delay]): request for server shutdown. Will display message to clients.
- reconnect == true displays a reconnect button
- delay adds an optional delay (in seconds) before shutdown. Negative delay cancels the current active shutdown. Zero delay triggers an immediate shutdown.
core.cancel_shutdown_requests(): cancel current delayed shutdown
core.get_server_status(name, joined)
- Returns the server status string when a player joins or when the command /status is called. Returns nil or an empty string when the message is disabled.
- joined: Boolean value, indicates whether the function was called when a player joined.
- This function may be overwritten by mods to customize the status message.
core.get_server_uptime(): returns the server uptime in seconds
core.get_server_max_lag(): returns the current maximum lag of the server in seconds or nil if server is not fully loaded yet
core.remove_player(name): remove player from database (if they are not connected).
- As auth data is not removed, core.player_exists will continue to return true. Call the below method as well if you want to remove auth data too.
- Returns a code (0: successful, 1: no such player, 2: player is connected)
core.remove_player_auth(name): remove player authentication data
- Returns boolean indicating success (false if player nonexistent)
core.dynamic_add_media(options, callback)
- options: table containing the following parameters
  - filename: name the media file will be usable as (optional if filepath present)
  - filepath: path to the file on the filesystem [*]
  - filedata: the data of the file to be sent [*]
  - to_player: name of the player the media should be sent to instead of all players (optional)
  - ephemeral: boolean that marks the media as ephemeral, it will not be cached on the client (optional, default false)
  - Exactly one of the parameters marked [*] must be specified.
- callback: function with arguments name, which is a player name
- Pushes the specified media file to client(s). (details below) The file must be a supported image, sound or model format. Dynamically added media is not persisted between server restarts.
- Returns false on error, true if the request was accepted
- The given callback will be called for every player as soon as the media is available on the client.
- Details/Notes:
- If ephemeral=false and to_player is unset the file is added to the media sent to clients on startup, this means the media will appear even on old clients if they rejoin the server.
- If ephemeral=false the file must not be modified, deleted, moved or renamed after calling this function.
- Regardless of any use of ephemeral, adding media files with the same name twice is not possible/guaranteed to work. An exception to this is the use of to_player to send the same, already existent file to multiple chosen players.
- You can also call this at startup time. In that case callback MUST be nil and you cannot use ephemeral or to_player, as these logically do not make sense.
- Clients will attempt to fetch files added this way via remote media, this can make transfer of bigger files painless (if set up). Nevertheless it is advised not to use dynamic media for big media files.

IPC¶

The engine provides a generalized mechanism to enable sharing data between the different Lua environments (main, mapgen and async). It is essentially a shared in-memory key-value store.

core.ipc_get(key):
Read a value from the shared data area.
key: string, should use the "modname:thing" convention to avoid conflicts.
returns an arbitrary Lua value, or nil if this key does not exist
core.ipc_set(key, value):
Write a value to the shared data area.
key: as above
value: an arbitrary Lua value, cannot be or contain userdata.

Interacting with the shared data will perform an operation comparable to (de)serialization on each access. For that reason modifying references will not have any effect, as in this example:

core.ipc_set("test:foo", {})
core.ipc_get("test:foo").subkey = "value" -- WRONG!
core.ipc_get("test:foo") -- returns an empty table

Advanced:

core.ipc_cas(key, old_value, new_value):
Write a value to the shared data area, but only if the previous value equals what was given. This operation is called Compare-and-Swap and can be used to implement synchronization between threads.
key: as above
old_value: value compared to using == (nil compares equal for non-existing keys)
new_value: value that will be set
returns: true on success, false otherwise
core.ipc_poll(key, timeout):
Do a blocking wait until a value (other than nil) is present at the key.
IMPORTANT: You usually don't need this function. Use this as a last resort if nothing else can satisfy your use case! None of the Lua environments the engine has are safe to block for extended periods, especially on the main thread any delays directly translate to lag felt by players.
key: as above
timeout: maximum wait time, in milliseconds (positive values only)
returns: true on success, false on timeout

Bans¶

core.get_ban_list(): returns a list of all bans formatted as string
core.get_ban_description(ip_or_name): returns list of bans matching IP address or name formatted as string
core.ban_player(name): ban the IP of a currently connected player
- Returns boolean indicating success
core.unban_player_or_ip(ip_or_name): remove ban record matching IP address or name
core.kick_player(name[, reason[, reconnect]]): disconnect a player with an optional reason.
- Returns boolean indicating success (false if player nonexistent)
- If reconnect is true, allow the user to reconnect.
core.disconnect_player(name[, reason[, reconnect]]): disconnect a player with an optional reason, this will not prefix with 'Kicked: ' like kick_player. If no reason is given, it will default to 'Disconnected.'
- Returns boolean indicating success (false if player nonexistent)

Particles¶

core.add_particle(particle definition)
- Deprecated: core.add_particle(pos, velocity, acceleration, expirationtime, size, collisiondetection, texture, playername)
core.add_particlespawner(particlespawner definition)
- Add a ParticleSpawner, an object that spawns an amount of particles over time seconds.
- Returns an id, and -1 if adding didn't succeed
- Deprecated: core.add_particlespawner(amount, time, minpos, maxpos, minvel, maxvel, minacc, maxacc, minexptime, maxexptime, minsize, maxsize, collisiondetection, texture, playername)
core.delete_particlespawner(id, player)
- Delete ParticleSpawner with id (return value from core.add_particlespawner).
- If playername is specified, only deletes on the player's client, otherwise on all clients.

Schematics¶

core.create_schematic(p1, p2, probability_list, filename, slice_prob_list)
- Create a schematic from the volume of map specified by the box formed by p1 and p2.
- Apply the specified probability and per-node force-place to the specified nodes according to the probability_list.
  - probability_list is an array of tables containing two fields, pos and prob.
    - pos is the 3D vector specifying the absolute coordinates of the node being modified,
    - prob is an integer value from 0 to 255 that encodes probability and per-node force-place. Probability has levels 0-127, then 128 may be added to encode per-node force-place. For probability stated as 0-255, divide by 2 and round down to get values 0-127, then add 128 to apply per-node force-place.
    - If there are two or more entries with the same pos value, the last entry is used.
    - If pos is not inside the box formed by p1 and p2, it is ignored.
    - If probability_list equals nil, no probabilities are applied.
- Apply the specified probability to the specified horizontal slices according to the slice_prob_list.
  - slice_prob_list is an array of tables containing two fields, ypos and prob.
    - ypos indicates the y position of the slice with a probability applied, the lowest slice being ypos = 0.
    - If slice probability list equals nil, no slice probabilities are applied.
- Saves schematic in the Luanti Schematic format to filename.
core.place_schematic(pos, schematic, rotation, replacements, force_placement, flags)
- Place the schematic specified by schematic (see [Schematic specifier]) at pos.
- rotation can equal "0", "90", "180", "270", or "random".
- If the rotation parameter is omitted, the schematic is not rotated.
- replacements = {["old_name"] = "convert_to", ...}
- force_placement is a boolean indicating whether nodes other than air and ignore are replaced by the schematic.
- Returns nil if the schematic could not be loaded.
- Warning: Once you have loaded a schematic from a file, it will be cached. Future calls will always use the cached version and the replacement list defined for it, regardless of whether the file or the replacement list parameter have changed. The only way to load the file anew is to restart the server.
- flags is a flag field with the available flags:
  - place_center_x
  - place_center_y
  - place_center_z
core.place_schematic_on_vmanip(vmanip, pos, schematic, rotation, replacement, force_placement, flags):
- This function is analogous to core.place_schematic, but places a schematic onto the specified VoxelManip object vmanip instead of the map.
- Returns false if any part of the schematic was cut-off due to the VoxelManip not containing the full area required, and true if the whole schematic was able to fit.
- Returns nil if the schematic could not be loaded.
- After execution, any external copies of the VoxelManip contents are invalidated.
- flags is a flag field with the available flags:
  - place_center_x
  - place_center_y
  - place_center_z
core.serialize_schematic(schematic, format, options)
- Return the serialized schematic specified by schematic (see [Schematic specifier])
- in the format of either "mts" or "lua".
- "mts" - a string containing the binary MTS data used in the MTS file format.
- "lua" - a string containing Lua code representing the schematic in table format.
- options is a table containing the following optional parameters:
  - If lua_use_comments is true and format is "lua", the Lua code generated will have (X, Z) position comments for every X row generated in the schematic data for easier reading.
  - If lua_num_indent_spaces is a nonzero number and format is "lua", the Lua code generated will use that number of spaces as indentation instead of a tab character.
core.read_schematic(schematic, options)
- Returns a Lua table representing the schematic (see: [Schematic specifier])
- schematic is the schematic to read (see: [Schematic specifier])
- options is a table containing the following optional parameters:
  - write_yslice_prob: string value:
    - none: no write_yslice_prob table is inserted,
    - low: only probabilities that are not 254 or 255 are written in the write_ylisce_prob table,
    - all: write all probabilities to the write_yslice_prob table.
    - The default for this option is all.
    - Any invalid value will be interpreted as all.

HTTP Requests¶

core.request_http_api():
- returns HTTPApiTable containing http functions if the calling mod has been granted access by being listed in the secure.http_mods or secure.trusted_mods setting, otherwise returns nil.
- The returned table contains the functions fetch, fetch_async and fetch_async_get described below.
- Only works at init time and must be called from the mod's main scope (not from a function).
- Function only exists if Luanti server was built with cURL support.
- DO NOT ALLOW ANY OTHER MODS TO ACCESS THE RETURNED TABLE, STORE IT IN A LOCAL VARIABLE!
HTTPApiTable.fetch(HTTPRequest req, callback)
- Performs given request asynchronously and calls callback upon completion
- callback: function(HTTPRequestResult res)
- Use this HTTP function if you are unsure, the others are for advanced use
HTTPApiTable.fetch_async(HTTPRequest req): returns handle
- Performs given request asynchronously and returns handle for HTTPApiTable.fetch_async_get
HTTPApiTable.fetch_async_get(handle): returns HTTPRequestResult
- Return response data for given asynchronous HTTP request

Storage API¶

core.get_mod_storage():
- returns reference to mod private StorageRef
- must be called during mod load time

Misc.¶

core.get_connected_players(): returns list of ObjectRefs
core.is_player(obj): boolean, whether obj is a player
core.player_exists(name): boolean, whether player exists (regardless of online status)
core.is_valid_player_name(name): boolean, whether the given name could be used as a player name (regardless of whether said player exists).
core.hud_replace_builtin(name, hud_definition)
- Replaces definition of a builtin hud element
- name: "breath", "health", "minimap" or "hotbar"
- hud_definition: definition to replace builtin definition
core.parse_relative_number(arg, relative_to): returns number or nil
- Helper function for chat commands.
- For parsing an optionally relative number of a chat command parameter, using the chat command tilde notation.
- arg: String snippet containing the number; possible values:
  - "<number>": return as number
  - "~<number>": return relative_to + <number>
  - "~": return relative_to
  - Anything else will return nil
- relative_to: Number to which the arg number might be relative to
- Examples:
  - core.parse_relative_number("5", 10) returns 5
  - core.parse_relative_number("~5", 10) returns 15
  - core.parse_relative_number("~", 10) returns 10
core.send_join_message(player_name)
- This function can be overridden by mods to change the join message.
core.send_leave_message(player_name, timed_out)
- This function can be overridden by mods to change the leave message.
core.hash_node_position(pos): returns a 48-bit integer
- pos: table {x=number, y=number, z=number},
- Gives a unique hash number for a node position (16+16+16=48bit)
core.get_position_from_hash(hash): returns a position
- Inverse transform of core.hash_node_position
core.get_item_group(name, group): returns a rating
- Get rating of a group of an item. (0 means: not in group)
core.get_node_group(name, group): returns a rating
- Deprecated: An alias for the former.
core.raillike_group(name): returns a rating
- Returns rating of the connect_to_raillike group corresponding to name
- If name is not yet the name of a connect_to_raillike group, a new group id is created, with that name.
core.get_content_id(name): returns an integer
- Gets the internal content ID of name
core.get_name_from_content_id(content_id): returns a string
- Gets the name of the content with that content ID
core.parse_json(string[, nullvalue, return_error]): returns something
- Convert a string containing JSON data into the Lua equivalent
- nullvalue: returned in place of the JSON null; defaults to nil
- On success returns a table, a string, a number, a boolean or nullvalue
- On failure: If return_error is not set or is false, outputs an error message and returns nil. Otherwise returns nil, err (error message).
- Example: parse_json("[10, {\"a\":false}]"), returns {10, {a = false}}
core.write_json(data[, styled]): returns a string or nil and an error message.
- Convert a Lua table into a JSON string
- styled: Outputs in a human-readable format if this is set, defaults to false.
- Unserializable things like functions and userdata will cause an error.
- Warning: JSON is more strict than the Lua table format.
  1. You can only use strings and positive integers of at least one as keys.
  2. You cannot mix string and integer keys. This is due to the fact that JSON has two distinct array and object values.
- Example: write_json({10, {a = false}}), returns '[10, {"a": false}]'
core.serialize(table): returns a string
- Convert a table containing tables, strings, numbers, booleans and nils into string form readable by core.deserialize
- Example: serialize({foo="bar"}), returns 'return { ["foo"] = "bar" }'
core.deserialize(string[, safe]): returns a table
- Convert a string returned by core.serialize into a table
- string is loaded in an empty sandbox environment.
- Will load functions if safe is false or omitted. Although these functions cannot directly access the global environment, they could bypass this restriction with maliciously crafted Lua bytecode if mod security is disabled.
- This function should not be used on untrusted data, regardless of the value of safe. It is fine to serialize then deserialize user-provided data, but directly providing user input to deserialize is always unsafe.
- Example: deserialize('return { ["foo"] = "bar" }'), returns {foo="bar"}
- Example: deserialize('print("foo")'), returns nil (function call fails), returns error:[string "print("foo")"]:1: attempt to call global 'print' (a nil value)
core.compress(data, method, ...): returns compressed_data
- Compress a string of data.
- method is a string identifying the compression method to be used.
- Supported compression methods:
  - Deflate (zlib): "deflate"
  - Zstandard: "zstd"
- ... indicates method-specific arguments. Currently defined arguments are:
  - Deflate: level - Compression level, 0-9 or nil.
  - Zstandard: level - Compression level. Integer or nil. Default 3. Note any supported Zstandard compression level could be used here, but these are subject to change between Zstandard versions.
core.decompress(compressed_data, method, ...): returns data
- Decompress a string of data using the algorithm specified by method.
- See documentation on core.compress() for supported compression methods.
- ... indicates method-specific arguments. Currently, no methods use this
core.rgba(red, green, blue[, alpha]): returns a string
- Each argument is an 8 Bit unsigned integer
- Returns the ColorString from rgb or rgba values
- Example: core.rgba(10, 20, 30, 40), returns "#0A141E28"
core.encode_base64(string): returns string encoded in base64
- Encodes a string in base64.
core.decode_base64(string): returns string or nil on failure
- Padding characters are only supported starting at version 5.4.0, where 5.5.0 and newer perform proper checks.
- Decodes a string encoded in base64.
core.is_protected(pos, name): returns boolean
- Returning true restricts the player name from modifying (i.e. digging, placing) the node at position pos.
- name will be "" for non-players or unknown players.
- This function should be overridden by protection mods. It is highly recommended to grant access to players with the protection_bypass privilege.
- Cache and call the old version of this function if the position is not protected by the mod. This will allow using multiple protection mods.
- Example:
```
local old_is_protected = core.is_protected
function core.is_protected(pos, name)
    if mymod:position_protected_from(pos, name) then
        return true
    end
    return old_is_protected(pos, name)
end
```
core.record_protection_violation(pos, name)
- This function calls functions registered with core.register_on_protection_violation.
core.is_creative_enabled(name): returns boolean
- Returning true means that Creative Mode is enabled for player name.
- name will be "" for non-players or if the player is unknown.
- This function should be overridden by Creative Mode-related mods to implement a per-player Creative Mode.
- By default, this function returns true if the setting creative_mode is true and false otherwise.
core.is_area_protected(pos1, pos2, player_name, interval)
- Returns the position of the first node that player_name may not modify in the specified cuboid between pos1 and pos2.
- Returns false if no protections were found.
- Applies is_protected() to a 3D lattice of points in the defined volume. The points are spaced evenly throughout the volume and have a spacing similar to, but no larger than, interval.
- All corners and edges of the defined volume are checked.
- interval defaults to 4.
- interval should be carefully chosen and maximized to avoid an excessive number of points being checked.
- Like core.is_protected, this function may be extended or overwritten by mods to provide a faster implementation to check the cuboid for intersections.
core.rotate_and_place(itemstack, placer, pointed_thing[, infinitestacks, orient_flags, prevent_after_place])
- Attempt to predict the desired orientation of the facedir-capable node defined by itemstack, and place it accordingly (on-wall, on the floor, or hanging from the ceiling).
- infinitestacks: if true, the itemstack is not changed. Otherwise the stacks are handled normally.
- orient_flags: Optional table containing extra tweaks to the placement code:
  - invert_wall: if true, place wall-orientation on the ground and ground-orientation on the wall.
  - force_wall: if true, always place the node in wall orientation.
  - force_ceiling: if true, always place on the ceiling.
  - force_floor: if true, always place the node on the floor.
  - force_facedir: if true, forcefully reset the facedir to north when placing on the floor or ceiling.
  - The first four options are mutually-exclusive; the last in the list takes precedence over the first.
- prevent_after_place is directly passed to core.item_place_node
- Returns the new itemstack after placement
core.rotate_node(itemstack, placer, pointed_thing)
- calls rotate_and_place() with infinitestacks set according to the state of the creative mode setting, checks for "sneak" to set the invert_wall parameter and prevent_after_place set to true.
core.calculate_knockback(player, hitter, time_from_last_punch, tool_capabilities, dir, distance, damage)
- Returns the amount of knockback applied on the punched player.
- Arguments are equivalent to register_on_punchplayer, except the following:
  - distance: distance between puncher and punched player
- This function can be overridden by mods that wish to modify this behavior.
- You may want to cache and call the old function to allow multiple mods to change knockback behavior.
core.forceload_block(pos[, transient[, limit]])
- forceloads the position pos.
- returns true if area could be forceloaded
- If transient is false or absent, the forceload will be persistent (saved between server runs). If true, the forceload will be transient (not saved between server runs).
- limit is an optional limit on the number of blocks that can be forceloaded at once. If limit is negative, there is no limit. If it is absent, the limit is the value of the setting "max_forceloaded_blocks". If the call would put the number of blocks over the limit, the call fails.
core.forceload_free_block(pos[, transient])
- stops forceloading the position pos
- If transient is false or absent, frees a persistent forceload. If true, frees a transient forceload.
core.compare_block_status(pos, condition)
- Checks whether the mapblock at position pos is in the wanted condition.
- condition may be one of the following values:
  - "unknown": not in memory
  - "emerging": in the queue for loading from disk or generating
  - "loaded": in memory but inactive (no ABMs are executed)
  - "active": in memory and active
  - Other values are reserved for future functionality extensions
- Return value, the comparison status:
  - false: Mapblock does not fulfill the wanted condition
  - true: Mapblock meets the requirement
  - nil: Unsupported condition value
core.request_insecure_environment(): returns an environment containing insecure functions if the calling mod has been listed as trusted in the secure.trusted_mods setting or security is disabled, otherwise returns nil.
- Only works at init time and must be called from the mod's main scope (ie: the init.lua of the mod, not from another Lua file or within a function).
- DO NOT ALLOW ANY OTHER MODS TO ACCESS THE RETURNED ENVIRONMENT, STORE IT IN A LOCAL VARIABLE!
core.global_exists(name)
- Checks if a global variable has been set, without triggering a warning.
core.register_portable_metatable(name, mt):
- Register a metatable that should be preserved when Lua data is transferred between environments (via IPC or handle_async).
- name is a string that identifies the metatable. It is recommended to follow the modname:name convention for this identifier.
- mt is the metatable to register.
- Note that the same metatable can be registered under multiple names, but multiple metatables must not be registered under the same name.
- You must register the metatable in both the main environment and the async environment for this mechanism to work.

Global objects¶

core.env: EnvRef of the server environment and world.
- Any function in the core namespace can be called using the syntax core.env:somefunction(somearguments) instead of core.somefunction(somearguments)
- Deprecated, but support is not to be dropped soon
minetest: alias for the core namespace
- Deprecated, but support is not to be dropped soon

Global tables¶

Registered definition tables¶

core.registered_items
- Map of registered items, indexed by name
core.registered_nodes
- Map of registered node definitions, indexed by name
core.registered_craftitems
- Map of registered craft item definitions, indexed by name
core.registered_tools
- Map of registered tool definitions, indexed by name
core.registered_entities
- Map of registered entity prototypes, indexed by name
- Values in this table may be modified directly. Note: changes to initial properties will only affect entities spawned afterwards, as they are only read when spawning.
core.object_refs
- Map of object references, indexed by active object id
core.luaentities
- Map of Lua entities, indexed by active object id
core.registered_abms
- List of ABM definitions
core.registered_lbms
- List of LBM definitions
core.registered_aliases
- Map of registered aliases, indexed by name
core.registered_ores
- Map of registered ore definitions, indexed by the name field.
- If name is nil, the key is the object handle returned by core.register_ore.
core.registered_biomes
- Map of registered biome definitions, indexed by the name field.
- If name is nil, the key is the object handle returned by core.register_biome.
core.registered_decorations
- Map of registered decoration definitions, indexed by the name field.
- If name is nil, the key is the object handle returned by core.register_decoration.
core.registered_chatcommands
- Map of registered chat command definitions, indexed by name
core.registered_privileges
- Map of registered privilege definitions, indexed by name
- Registered privileges can be modified directly in this table.

Registered callback tables¶

All callbacks registered with [Global callback registration functions] are added to corresponding core.registered_* tables.

For historical reasons, the use of an -s suffix in these names is inconsistent.

core.registered_on_chat_messages
core.registered_on_chatcommands
core.registered_globalsteps
core.registered_on_punchnodes
core.registered_on_placenodes
core.registered_on_dignodes
core.registered_on_generateds
core.registered_on_newplayers
core.registered_on_dieplayers
core.registered_on_respawnplayers
core.registered_on_prejoinplayers
core.registered_on_joinplayers
core.registered_on_leaveplayers
core.registered_on_player_receive_fields
core.registered_on_cheats
core.registered_on_crafts
core.registered_craft_predicts
core.registered_on_item_eats
core.registered_on_item_pickups
core.registered_on_punchplayers
core.registered_on_authplayers
core.registered_on_player_inventory_actions
core.registered_allow_player_inventory_actions
core.registered_on_rightclickplayers
core.registered_on_mods_loaded
core.registered_on_shutdown
core.registered_on_protection_violation
core.registered_on_priv_grant
core.registered_on_priv_revoke
core.registered_can_bypass_userlimit
core.registered_on_modchannel_message
core.registered_on_liquid_transformed
core.registered_on_mapblocks_changed