Getting Started

This guide walks you through creating and running your first Lua script on a programmable chip in Stationeers.

What You Need

1. A Stationeers world with BepInEx, StationeersLaunchPad, and IC10Editor installed
2. The StationeersLua mod in your mods/ folder
3. An Integrated Circuit (Lua) item (prefab: ItemIntegratedCircuitLua)

Your First Script

1. Craft or spawn an Integrated Circuit (Lua)
2. Insert it into any IC Housing
3. Open the housing's code editor
4. If your script is getting too long, click the ? button in IC10Editor to disable the script-length and line-length limits
5. Paste this:

-- Blink a light on d0 every second
local LT = ic.enums.LogicType
local on = false

while true do
    on = not on
    ic.write(0, LT.On, on and 1 or 0)
    sleep(1)
end

6. Save. The light on device pin d0 will blink on/off every second.

TIP

The editor automatically detects Lua code. A -- LUA_SRC marker is appended internally when you save — you never need to add it yourself.

Understanding the Script

Let's break down what's happening:

-- Load the LogicType enum for readable property names
local LT = ic.enums.LogicType

-- Track our on/off state
local on = false

-- Main loop — runs forever
while true do
    on = not on                          -- Toggle the state
    ic.write(0, LT.On, on and 1 or 0)      -- Write to device on pin d0
    sleep(1)                             -- Wait 1 second
end

• ic.enums.LogicType — Game enum containing property names like On, Temperature, Pressure, etc.
• ic.write(0, LT.On, value) — Write a value to the device connected to pin d0
• sleep(1) — Pause execution for 1 second (the script resumes automatically)

Reading Sensor Data

Here's a more practical example — a temperature controller:

local LT = ic.enums.LogicType

-- Read temperature from a sensor on d0
-- Control a cooler on d1
local SETPOINT = 295  -- ~22°C in Kelvin

function tick(dt)
    local temp = ic.read(0, LT.Temperature)
    
    -- ic.read() returns nil if device is missing
    if temp == nil then return end
    
    if temp > SETPOINT + 2 then
        ic.write(1, LT.On, 1)  -- Turn on cooler
    elseif temp < SETPOINT - 2 then
        ic.write(1, LT.On, 0)  -- Turn off cooler
    end
end

Two Script Patterns

Pattern A: tick(dt) — Define a global tick function. Called every game tick (~0.5s). Great for polling sensors.

Pattern B: while true do ... yield() end — Use a loop with yield() or sleep(). More natural for sequential logic like airlock cycles.

Both are valid. Choose whichever fits your use case.

Using Batch Operations

Control all devices of a type on the network at once:

local LT  = ic.enums.LogicType
local LBM = ic.enums.LogicBatchMethod

-- Hash the prefab name to get the device type ID
local sensorHash = hash("StructureGasSensor")
local lightHash  = hash("StructureWallLight")

function tick(dt)
    -- Read average temperature from ALL gas sensors on the network
    local avgTemp = ic.batch_read(sensorHash, LT.Temperature, LBM.Average)
    
    if avgTemp ~= nil and avgTemp > 310 then
        -- Turn on ALL wall lights (as a warning)
        ic.batch_write(lightHash, LT.On, 1)
        ic.batch_write(lightHash, LT.Color, 2)  -- Red
    else
        ic.batch_write(lightHash, LT.On, 0)
    end
end

Next Steps

• How Lua Chips Work — Understand the execution lifecycle
• Device I/O API — Full reference for reading and writing devices
• Common Patterns — Copy-paste recipes for common automation tasks
• Migrating from IC10 — Quick translation table if you're coming from IC10