luau-type-expert

Luau Type Expert

Expert guidance for writing type-safe, clean Luau code that passes strict type checking.

Type Modes

Always use --!strict at file top. Three modes exist:

Mode	Behavior
--!nocheck	Disables type checking entirely
--!nonstrict	Unknown types become any (default)
--!strict	Full type tracking, catches mismatches

Syntax Essentials

Standard annotation syntax (variables, function params/returns, optionals ?, multiple returns, variadics, table types, aliases) is covered in references/api_reference.md. The parts worth remembering:

-- Export for cross-module use
export type ItemRecord = { id: string, quantity: number }

-- Function type
type Callback = (player: Player, data: any) -> boolean

-- Generic aliases
type Result<T, E> = { ok: true, value: T } | { ok: false, error: E }
type Map<K, V> = { [K]: V }

-- Literal unions (discriminated)
type Status = "pending" | "active" | "completed"

-- Intersection: value has all these properties
type Person = Named & Aged

-- Function intersection (overloads)
type Stringify = ((n: number) -> string) & ((b: boolean) -> string)

Type Narrowing (Refinements)

Luau narrows types in conditional blocks via type(), typeof() (Roblox instances), truthiness, and equality checks:

local function process(value: string | number)
    if type(value) == "string" then
        print(value:upper())  -- value: string here
    else
        print(value + 1)      -- value: number here
    end
end

local function safePrint(msg: string?)
    if msg then
        print(msg)  -- msg: string (not nil)
    end
end

Early return preserves refinements:

local function requirePlayer(player: Player?): Player
    if not player then
        error("Player required")
    end
    -- player: Player (narrowed after early return)
    return player
end

Type Casts

Use :: to override inferred types:

-- Cast to specific type
local data = {} :: { string }
table.insert(data, "hello")  -- OK
table.insert(data, 123)      -- Error: number not string

-- Cast result of expression
local id = tostring(123) :: string

-- Cast for API returns
local part = workspace:FindFirstChild("Part") :: Part?

Cast rules: One operand must be subtype of the other, or any.

Generics

-- Generic function
local function first<T>(arr: { T }): T?
    return arr[1]
end

-- Generic with constraint
local function clone<T>(obj: T & {}): T
    local copy = {}
    for k, v in obj :: any do
        copy[k] = v
    end
    return copy :: T
end

-- Generic type alias
type Container<T> = {
    value: T,
    set: (self: Container<T>, value: T) -> (),
    get: (self: Container<T>) -> T,
}

-- Multiple type parameters
type Pair<K, V> = { key: K, value: V }

Metatables and OOP

--!strict

export type Vector2 = {
    x: number,
    y: number,
}

type Vector2Impl = {
    __index: Vector2Impl,
    new: (x: number, y: number) -> Vector2,
    add: (self: Vector2, other: Vector2) -> Vector2,
    magnitude: (self: Vector2) -> number,
}

local Vector2: Vector2Impl = {} :: Vector2Impl
Vector2.__index = Vector2

function Vector2.new(x: number, y: number): Vector2
    return setmetatable({ x = x, y = y }, Vector2) :: Vector2
end

function Vector2:add(other: Vector2): Vector2
    return Vector2.new(self.x + other.x, self.y + other.y)
end

function Vector2:magnitude(): number
    return math.sqrt(self.x^2 + self.y^2)
end

return Vector2

Common Type Errors and Fixes

See references/common-errors.md for detailed error solutions.

Quick fixes:

Error	Fix
Type 'X' could not be converted into 'Y'	Add explicit cast :: Y or fix the type
Unknown global 'X'	Import module or declare global type
Property 'X' is not compatible	Match property types exactly
W_001: Unknown require	Use proper require path aliases

luau-lsp CLI Usage

# Basic analysis
luau-lsp analyze src/

# With sourcemap for Roblox
luau-lsp analyze --sourcemap=sourcemap.json src/

# With definitions
luau-lsp analyze --definitions:@roblox=globalTypes.d.luau src/

# Disable all FFlags
luau-lsp analyze --no-flags-enabled src/

.luaurc Configuration

{
    "languageMode": "strict",
    "lint": {
        "LocalShadow": "disabled",
        "ImportUnused": "enabled"
    },
    "aliases": {
        "@shared": "src/Shared",
        "@server": "src/Server"
    }
}

Performance-Aware Typing

See references/performance.md for performance patterns.

Key points:

• Use table.field not table["field"]
• Keep metatables shallow (direct __index to table)
• Localize builtins: local max = math.max
• Avoid getfenv/setfenv (deoptimizes)
• Use table.create(n) for known sizes

Lint Rules Reference

See references/lint-rules.md for all 28 lint rules.

Critical rules:

• UnknownGlobal - Catches typos
• LocalUnused - Dead code
• ImplicitReturn - Inconsistent returns
• UninitializedLocal - Use before assign