[opensourcedex]

corona is a free, open source gaming project written in C++ and released under MIT. It has 2,894 GitHub stars, 317 forks and 200 open issues, and was last pushed 8 days ago. On this registry it ranks #42 of 63 tracked projects in Gaming, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available.

What is corona?

Solar2D is a free, open-source, MIT-licensed 2D game engine written in C++ — the rebranded continuation of the Corona SDK — that lets a developer write a project once in Lua and publish it to iOS, Android, Amazon Fire, macOS, Windows, Linux, HTML5 and connected TV platforms such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.

What it is

Solar2D is the main repository of the Solar2D Game Engine, formerly known as the Corona SDK. The engine core is written in C++ and applications are scripted in Lua, with a desktop Simulator that runs the app directly on PC or Mac so that code changes and saved assets appear instantly during development. When a project is ready for hardware, instant-update live builds deploy it once to a device and then push subsequent code and asset changes automatically over the local network. The API is described as covering more than 1000 functions. The repository carries 2,894 stars, 317 forks and 200 open issues, and was last pushed in October 2026.

The concrete problem it solves is platform sprawl in 2D game and app development. Shipping to iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, Amazon Fire, Mac, Windows, Linux, HTML5 and connected TVs would otherwise mean separate codebases and separate toolchains; Solar2D reduces that to one Lua project and one Simulator-driven workflow. It also replaces the proprietary Corona SDK from which it descends: the project is rebranded, released under the MIT licence, and the README states that the licence gives full rights to customise the engine and distribute built apps on the developer's own terms, with enterprise features offered to every developer.

Key capabilities

  • An instant-update Simulator that runs the project on PC or Mac, plus live builds that update code and assets on a physical device over the local network.
  • Lua as the scripting language for all game and app logic, chosen for a lightweight and fast runtime.
  • A logical, consistent API spanning over 1000 functions.
  • Plugin coverage for in-app advertising, analytics and media, drawn from the Solar2D free directory at plugins.solar2d.com and third-party stores such as Solar2D Marketplace and Solar2D Plugins.
  • Solar2D Native, which allows calling any native C, C++, Objective-C or Java library or API, and packaging that code as a plugin.
  • Editor integrations for Sublime Text, Atom (the autocomplete-corona package), Visual Studio Code (the Solar2d-companion extension) and ZeroBrane Studio.
  • A single codebase targeting mobile, desktop, HTML5 and connected TV devices.

Who uses it and how

  • 2D game and mobile app developers who want to prototype in the Simulator and iterate without a full device build cycle.
  • Teams shipping to connected TVs — Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV — from the same project that produces their phone and tablet builds.
  • Projects that need functionality outside the core, using the plugin directories for advertising, analytics and media, or Solar2D Native to bind existing native libraries.
  • Developers who prefer their own text editor, since the engine is designed to work alongside Sublime Text, Atom, Visual Studio Code and ZeroBrane Studio rather than locking work into a proprietary IDE.
  • A contributor community organised through Discord, the Solar2D forums, and the hacktoberfest topic on the repository, with 317 forks available as a base for engine-level work.

Getting started

The recommended route is to download the binary distribution from the Releases page at github.com/coronalabs/corona/releases. Exhaustive API documentation and getting-started guides are published at docs.coronalabs.com.

How it compares

No competing engine or paid product is named in the facts for this entry, so Solar2D stands alone in this registry as a Lua-scripted, MIT-licensed 2D engine with a desktop Simulator. The licence position is the clearest axis: MIT grants full rights to customise the engine and distribute built apps on the developer's own terms, and enterprise features are presented as available to every developer rather than as a paid tier.

When to use it — and when not to

Choose Solar2D when a single Lua codebase across mobile, desktop, HTML5 and TV is worth more than engine-level control, and be aware that changing the C++ core means building and maintaining it yourself rather than consuming a hosted service. The MIT licence does not cover everything shipped: third-party libraries carry their own terms, listed in sdk/dmg/Corona3rdPartyLicenses.txt, and buyers should review those before distribution. Projects that need a 3D engine, or teams that want an entirely managed build pipeline, are outside what this repository provides, and the 200 open issues indicate a backlog worth checking against any feature the project depends on.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Solar2D Game Engine

Download the latest build from the Releases page and join the community on Discord and the forums.

Rebranded Corona SDK

Simple to learn and use, completely free and open source 2D game engine.

Solar2D Logo

Easy-to-learn & powerful

Solar2D is a cross-platform framework which is ideal for rapidly creating apps and games for mobile devices, TV, desktop systems and HTML5. That means you can create your project once and publish it to multiple devices, including Apple iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, Amazon Fire, Mac Desktop, Windows Desktop, Linux, HTML5 and even connected TVs such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV.

Benefits of usage Solar2D

  • Free for everybody – Enterprise features for every developer.
  • The easiest development tool for 2D games and mobile applications.
  • Solar2D allows creating apps easily, up to 10 times faster than other frameworks.
  • Supported by a detailed documentation system.
  • Write the code once, run it many different places – Solar2D supports all major mobile platforms.
  • Constantly growing pool of first-party and community provided plugins and ready-to-go app assets.
  • A vibrant community of both application and game developers.
  • Simulator, which runs the app directly on PC/Mac, simplifies the prototyping process and helps quickly test ideas and concepts.
  • A logical and consistent API that covers over 1000 functions and allows to get things up and running very fast.

Feature highlights

Simulator and Live Builds

Solar2D speeds up the development process - update your code, save the changes, and instantly see the results in our instant-update Simulator. When you're ready to test on real devices, build and deploy your app just once and then see code/assets, update automatically, all over your local network. Just like magic.

Lua-based

Lua is an open source scripting language designed to be lightweight, fast, yet also powerful. Lua is currently the leading scripting language in games and has been utilized in Roblox, The Elder Scrolls Online, Don't Starve, World of Warcraft ™, Angry Birds ™, Civilization ™, and many other popular franchises.

Use with your favorite text editor

You can use Sublime Text(Editor), Atom(autocomplete-corona), Visual Studio Code(Solar2d-companion), ZeroBrane Studio and many others.

Plugins for all needs

Select from numerous plugins which extend the Solar2D core for features like in-app advertising, analytics, media, and much more. A vast variety of plugins is available via Solar2D free directory or third party stores, like Solar2D Marketplace and Solar2D Plugins.

Call any native library

If it’s not already in the core or supported via a plugin, you can call any native (C/C++/Obj-C/Java) library or API using Solar2D Native. It also allows to easily package your code as a plugin.

Cross-platform

Develop for mobile, desktop, and connected TV devices with just one code base.

Installation

The easiest and recommended way to get started with Solar2D is to download binary distribution from the releases page.

API documentation and guides

Exhaustive Solar2D API documentation, as well as getting started and more advanced guides are available on docs.coronalabs.com.

Source Code and licensing

Solar2D is licensed under MIT open source license.

This license gives you the full rights to customize the engine and distribute built apps on your own terms.

Note that Solar2D incorporates many libraries, both third-party and made by Solar2D developers. They may have different licenses.

Contributing

If you are willing to improve Solar2D by contributing code, fork this repository and create a pull request with desired improvements. The project uses git submodules, so to clone the whole source code tree run

git clone --recursive https://github.com/coronalabs/corona.git

Due to the open source nature of Solar2D distribution, all contributors would have to sign a simple Contributor License Agreement (CLA) to ensure that their code can be part of Solar2D ecosystem. For more details see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Entry points for each platform are located in the platform directory. Refer to README.md files in its subdirectories.

Governance and Code of Conduct

Solar2D is maintained by community, with principal developer shchvova. Our mission is to make Solar2D the best game engine ever.

To participate in the Solar2D community or development you must follow the Solar2D Community Code of Conduct (see CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md)

Frequently asked questions

Is corona free to use?

corona is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does corona do?

Solar2D Game Engine main repository (ex Corona SDK)

What is corona written in?

corona is primarily written in C++. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/coronalabs/corona, and it has 2,894 GitHub stars.