luasmith – flexible static site generator

Last Updated on February 27, 2026

luasmith is a small, simple, and flexible static site generator that is similar in design to Metalsmith, but much smaller because it’s built on top of Lua and C instead of JavaScript and Node.js.

Most of the heavy lifting in luasmith is done by md4c (patched for relative links), Lua, etlua, and Scintillua.

This is free and open source software. It’s cross-platform software running under Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Key Features

• Seamless relative links between Markdown files.
• Link checking.
• Syntax highlighting.
• Zero run-time dependencies (and < 500 KB).

Website: github.com/jaredkrinke/luasmith
Support:
Developer: Jared Krinke
License: MIT License

luasmith is written in Lua. Learn Lua with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

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