Relative paths are not relative to where the script lives? Lua

Question

Suppose I have the following structure on my computer:

directory 
    a.lua
    subdirectory
        b.lua

and this Lua code:

-- a.lua
foo = "bar"

-- b.lua
dofile("../a.lua")
print(foo)

If I now run lua b.lua from directory, the relative path "../a.lua" is relative to directory, and the interpreter complains that b.lua does not exist. If I run the same command from within subdirectory, then the relative path "../a.lua" is relative to subdirectory, so it works.

My question: Why is it that relative paths are relative to where we execute the script, and how do I make it so that they are relative to where the script lives instead, like in the CJS require?

Does this answer your question? [get current working directory in Lua](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6032268/get-current-working-directory-in-lua) — Piglet, Nov 01 '21 at 09:54
relative paths are relative to the current working directory. not the directory containing the current script file. — Piglet, Nov 01 '21 at 09:54

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 01 '21 at 14:11

0

This code (Lua 5.2+ required) works from any directory

-- b.lua
local path = (({...})[2] or arg[0]):gsub("[^/]*$", "")
dofile(path.."../a.lua")
print(foo)

answered Nov 01 '21 at 14:11

Egor Skriptunoff

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Thank you for this solution, although it would be best if you could find a solution that works for all versions of Lua 5. – Nirvana Nov 02 '21 at 02:35
@Nirvana - What is your Lua version? – Egor Skriptunoff Nov 02 '21 at 07:25
I have Lua 5.4, but I am writing a package for others to use that needs to be compatible with older versions. – Nirvana Nov 03 '21 at 17:44

Relative paths are not relative to where the script lives? Lua

1 Answers1