How does Atlas help me review my Lua `git diff`?

Atlas integrates with `git` to surface your working diff, allowing you to review all uncommitted changes in your Lua project. Its `read` tool lets you inspect entire Lua modules like `src/my_module.lua`, ensuring you see changes in their full context, not just isolated lines.

Can Atlas run my `busted` tests for Lua?

Yes, Atlas can run your `busted` tests. When you ask Atlas to execute `busted` in your Lua project, it will present a permission prompt, ensuring you approve the command before it runs, maintaining full control over your test execution.

How does Atlas ensure my Lua code is formatted correctly with `stylua`?

Atlas can run `stylua` over your touched Lua modules. Similar to `busted`, Atlas will ask for your permission before executing `stylua`, allowing you to apply consistent formatting to your `lua/` files as part of your self-review process.

What if I make a mistake and need to undo changes in my Lua project?

Atlas provides a session revert mechanism, backed by `git` snapshots. If you make an unwanted change to a Lua file, you can use `atlas revert` to restore your codebase to a previous state, preventing manual rollbacks and ensuring data integrity.

Does Atlas understand Lua-specific code structures like metatables?

Yes, Atlas indexes Lua code by AST declarations using tree-sitter, allowing it to understand module returns, metatables, and `luarocks` dependencies. This semantic understanding helps Atlas provide more intelligent assistance for your Lua development.

How can Atlas help me find forgotten `print` statements in my Lua code?

Atlas's `grep` tool allows you to search your working tree for specific patterns. You can use `atlas grep 'print%('` to quickly locate any temporary `print` statements or other debugging leftovers in your Lua modules before committing.

Is Atlas safe to use with my local Lua codebase?

Yes, Atlas is designed with safety in mind. Every tool call is permission-gated, requiring your explicit approval. Atlas can also build its code index with local Ollama embeddings, keeping your Lua code off third-party servers and ensuring privacy.

Can Atlas help me refactor Lua code, like replacing globals?

Yes, Atlas can assist with refactoring tasks in Lua. For example, you can ask Atlas to replace a global with a local upvalue in your `lua/` modules, leveraging its AST-based understanding of your code.

Self-review your working diff before committing in Lua with Atlas in 2026

In 2026, Lua developers use Atlas to self-review their working diffs by leveraging its ability to read `git` status and diffs, run `busted` tests, and apply `stylua` formatting, ensuring mistakes are caught before reaching a reviewer or CI. Atlas provides a terminal-native interface to inspect changes, search for debugging artifacts, and execute Lua toolchain commands with explicit permission.

How Atlas helps produce and read your Lua working diff

Atlas helps Lua developers produce and read their working diffs by integrating directly with `git` to surface uncommitted changes, ensuring no file is overlooked. In 2026, Atlas's `read` tool can display the full content of any changed Lua module, allowing for a comprehensive review beyond just the modified lines.

Atlas connects to your `git` repository, reading branches, status, and diffs to present a unified view of your uncommitted changes. Instead of manually constructing `git diff` commands, Atlas can surface the raw diff for every file edit. This is crucial for Lua projects, whether you're working on a Neovim plugin in `lua/myplugin/init.lua` or an OpenResty handler in `conf/nginx.conf`. The `read` tool allows you to inspect the full content of any modified Lua module, such as `src/game_logic.lua`, ensuring you review the entire file in its current state, not just the lines highlighted by the diff. This prevents tunnel vision, where changes might look correct in isolation but introduce issues when viewed in their broader context within the Lua codebase. Atlas's TUI, rendered with SolidJS, provides a clear, charcoal-and-blue default theme for easy readability of these diffs.

Checking Lua changes against their surroundings

Atlas helps Lua developers check changes against their surroundings by indexing code with AST declarations using tree-sitter, providing a deeper understanding of the code structure. This capability, available in 2026, ensures that modifications to a Lua module like `lib/utils.lua` are evaluated in the context of its functions and metatables, not just line-by-line.

A raw diff often hides everything it did not touch, making it challenging to assess the impact of a change on surrounding Lua code. Atlas addresses this by indexing code with AST declarations using tree-sitter, rather than relying on blind line windows. This means Atlas understands the structure of your Lua modules, including function definitions, table constructions, and metatable assignments. When you modify a file like `src/player_controller.lua`, Atlas can help you understand how your changes interact with existing `local` variables, `function` definitions, or `require` statements. This semantic understanding allows for a more informed self-review, ensuring that a small change to a `_G` global variable, for instance, doesn't inadvertently break other parts of your Lua application. Atlas's ability to read your module returns, metatables, and the rocks resolved by `luarocks` further enhances this contextual awareness, providing a comprehensive view of your Lua project's dependencies and internal structure.

Grepping for debugging leftovers in Lua code

Before committing, Lua developers must grep for debugging leftovers like temporary `print` statements or skipped `busted` tests. Atlas's `grep` tool, available in 2026, allows you to quickly search across your working tree for common debugging patterns in Lua files, ensuring a clean codebase before review.

Debugging often leaves behind artifacts such as temporary logging, commented-out blocks, or skipped tests. In Lua, this might manifest as `print("DEBUG: value", my_var)` statements, `io.stderr:write("Error here!\n")` calls, or `busted` test blocks temporarily marked with `it.skip`. Atlas's `grep` tool provides a powerful way to search for these leftovers across your entire working tree. You can configure Atlas to search for specific Lua patterns, such as `print%(` or `io%.stderr`, or even `it%.skip` within your `spec/` directory. For example, running `atlas grep 'print%('` will quickly highlight any forgotten `print` statements in your `lua/` modules. This proactive search helps catch common mistakes that could otherwise clutter your production code or lead to unexpected behavior, ensuring your Lua codebase remains clean and professional.

Running Lua tests with `busted` and formatting with `stylua`

Running `busted` tests and `stylua` formatting is a critical step in self-review for Lua developers, ensuring code correctness and consistency. Atlas, in 2026, can execute these commands behind a permission prompt, allowing you to validate your changes against your project's standards before committing any diff.

After making changes to your Lua code, it's essential to run your tests and apply formatting. The `busted` test runner is the standard for Lua, and `stylua` is the widely adopted formatter. Atlas integrates with these tools, allowing you to execute them directly from your terminal-native agent. For instance, you can ask Atlas to run `busted` over your `spec/` directory, or `stylua` over the touched `lua/` modules. Every Atlas tool call is permission-gated, meaning Atlas will ask for your approval before running `busted` or `stylua`. This ensures that you maintain full control over your environment. Atlas can even build its code index with local Ollama embeddings, keeping your Lua code off third-party servers while still providing intelligent assistance for tasks like adding `busted describe` and `it` blocks under `spec/` or having Atlas run `stylua` over the touched modules.

Reverting unwanted Lua changes with Atlas snapshots

If a change should not have been made, Atlas provides a robust session revert mechanism, restoring your Lua codebase from a snapshot. This feature, available in 2026, ensures that unwanted modifications to files like `config.lua` can be undone safely, preventing half-written turns from being rolled back mid-flight.

Sometimes, during self-review, you discover that a change you made to a Lua module, perhaps `data/schema.lua`, was incorrect or unnecessary. Instead of manually reverting the changes, Atlas offers a session revert flow backed by snapshots. Atlas snapshots file changes as `git` patches, so every edit Atlas made is recoverable. This means an unwanted change can be undone rather than hand-reverted. The revert mechanism refuses to run on a busy session, which prevents a half-written turn from being rolled back mid-flight, ensuring data integrity. This capability is invaluable for maintaining a clean working tree in your Lua projects, allowing you to experiment and then confidently roll back if a particular approach doesn't pan out, without fear of losing work or corrupting your current session.

Step by step

01Produce the working diff for your Lua project using `git diff` and review it end to end with `atlas read`.
02Read each changed Lua file in full using `atlas read path/to/your/module.lua` to check the change against its surroundings.
03Grep for debugging leftovers in your Lua codebase, such as `print` statements or `it.skip` in `spec/` files, using `atlas grep 'print%('`.
04Run your Lua tests with `busted` by asking Atlas to execute `busted` in your project root, approving the permission prompt.
05Apply Lua formatting with `stylua` by asking Atlas to run `stylua` over your touched modules, approving the permission prompt.
06If any change should not have been made, use `atlas revert` to restore your Lua codebase from a previous snapshot.
07Once satisfied with your self-review, stage and create your `git commit` for the Lua changes.

Frequently asked questions

How does Atlas help me review my Lua `git diff`?: Atlas integrates with `git` to surface your working diff, allowing you to review all uncommitted changes in your Lua project. Its `read` tool lets you inspect entire Lua modules like `src/my_module.lua`, ensuring you see changes in their full context, not just isolated lines.
Can Atlas run my `busted` tests for Lua?: Yes, Atlas can run your `busted` tests. When you ask Atlas to execute `busted` in your Lua project, it will present a permission prompt, ensuring you approve the command before it runs, maintaining full control over your test execution.
How does Atlas ensure my Lua code is formatted correctly with `stylua`?: Atlas can run `stylua` over your touched Lua modules. Similar to `busted`, Atlas will ask for your permission before executing `stylua`, allowing you to apply consistent formatting to your `lua/` files as part of your self-review process.
What if I make a mistake and need to undo changes in my Lua project?: Atlas provides a session revert mechanism, backed by `git` snapshots. If you make an unwanted change to a Lua file, you can use `atlas revert` to restore your codebase to a previous state, preventing manual rollbacks and ensuring data integrity.
Does Atlas understand Lua-specific code structures like metatables?: Yes, Atlas indexes Lua code by AST declarations using tree-sitter, allowing it to understand module returns, metatables, and `luarocks` dependencies. This semantic understanding helps Atlas provide more intelligent assistance for your Lua development.
How can Atlas help me find forgotten `print` statements in my Lua code?: Atlas's `grep` tool allows you to search your working tree for specific patterns. You can use `atlas grep 'print%('` to quickly locate any temporary `print` statements or other debugging leftovers in your Lua modules before committing.
Is Atlas safe to use with my local Lua codebase?: Yes, Atlas is designed with safety in mind. Every tool call is permission-gated, requiring your explicit approval. Atlas can also build its code index with local Ollama embeddings, keeping your Lua code off third-party servers and ensuring privacy.
Can Atlas help me refactor Lua code, like replacing globals?: Yes, Atlas can assist with refactoring tasks in Lua. For example, you can ask Atlas to replace a global with a local upvalue in your `lua/` modules, leveraging its AST-based understanding of your code.

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