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Installation

SolarSharp is distributed as a NuGet package and can be easily added to any .NET project. This guide covers installation for various project types and package managers.

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NuGet Package

The main SolarSharp package is:

SolarSharp.Interpreter

The core SolarSharp interpreter library

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Installation Methods

Choose your preferred package manager:
The .NET CLI is the recommended way to add packages in modern .NET projects:
dotnet add package SolarSharp.Interpreter
To install a specific version:
dotnet add package SolarSharp.Interpreter --version 2.0.0

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Platform Requirements

SolarSharp supports multiple .NET target frameworks:

.NET Standard 2.0

Compatible with .NET Framework 4.6.1+

.NET Standard 2.1

Optimized for modern .NET features

.NET 9.0+

Latest .NET runtime support

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Compatible Platforms

SolarSharp works on a wide range of platforms:
  • .NET Core 2.0+ and .NET 5.0+
  • .NET Framework 4.6.1+
  • Unity3D (including IL2CPP)
  • Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Android
  • Mono
  • UWP (Universal Windows Platform)
  • Ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation platforms like iOS
No external dependencies are required. SolarSharp is self-contained and includes everything needed to run Lua scripts.

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Dependencies

SolarSharp has minimal dependencies that are automatically installed:
  • Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp (4.14.0) - For dynamic code generation
  • System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Unsafe (6.0.0) - For performance optimizations
  • Microsoft.Bcl.HashCode (6.0.0) - For consistent hashing across platforms
  • Microsoft.Bcl.Memory (9.0.7) - For memory management utilities
For .NET Standard 2.0 and 2.1 targets:
  • Microsoft.CSharp (4.7.0) - For dynamic language runtime support

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Unity3D Installation

For Unity projects, you have several options:
1

Option 1: Unity Package Manager (Recommended)

Add the following to your manifest.json in the Packages folder:
{
  "dependencies": {
    "com.solarsharp.interpreter": "2.0.0"
  }
}
2

Option 2: Download DLL

  1. Download the latest release from NuGet
  2. Extract the .nupkg file (rename to .zip if needed)
  3. Copy the DLL from lib/netstandard2.0/ to your Unity Assets/Plugins folder
3

Option 3: NuGet for Unity

If you have NuGetForUnity installed:
  1. Open the NuGet window (Window > NuGet Package Manager)
  2. Search for “SolarSharp.Interpreter”
  3. Click Install
When using IL2CPP in Unity, ensure you configure the link.xml file to prevent code stripping. See the Unity-specific documentation for details.

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Verify Installation

After installation, verify that SolarSharp is working correctly: 
using System;
using SolarSharp.Interpreter;
using SolarSharp.Interpreter.DataTypes;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Create a simple script
        LuaValue result = Script.RunString("return 'SolarSharp ' .. '2.0.0'");
        
        Console.WriteLine(result.String);
        // Output: SolarSharp 2.0.0
        
        Console.WriteLine("Installation successful!");
    }
}
If this code compiles and runs without errors, SolarSharp is installed correctly.

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Troubleshooting

Ensure you have an internet connection and that your NuGet sources are configured correctly:
dotnet nuget list source
The nuget.org source should be present. If not, add it:
dotnet nuget add source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -n nuget.org
Make sure you have the correct using directive:
using SolarSharp.Interpreter;
using SolarSharp.Interpreter.DataTypes;
And verify the package is properly restored:
dotnet restore
If you encounter errors in Unity:
  1. Ensure you’re using a compatible Unity version (.NET Standard 2.0+)
  2. Check that the DLL is placed in the correct folder (Assets/Plugins)
  3. Verify the DLL’s import settings in the Unity Inspector
  4. For IL2CPP, ensure you have a proper link.xml configuration
If you have version conflicts with dependencies, you can force a specific version in your .csproj:
<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="SolarSharp.Interpreter" Version="2.0.0" />
  <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Bcl.Memory" Version="9.0.7" />
</ItemGroup>

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Upgrading from MoonSharp

If you’re migrating from MoonSharp to SolarSharp:
1

Remove MoonSharp

Uninstall the MoonSharp package:
dotnet remove package MoonSharp
2

Install SolarSharp

Add the SolarSharp package:
dotnet add package SolarSharp.Interpreter
3

Update Namespaces

Replace MoonSharp namespaces with SolarSharp:
// Old
using MoonSharp.Interpreter;

// New
using SolarSharp.Interpreter;
4

Test Your Code

Most MoonSharp code should work without changes, but test thoroughly to ensure compatibility.
SolarSharp maintains API compatibility with MoonSharp for most common use cases, making migration straightforward.

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Next Steps

Now that you have SolarSharp installed:

Quickstart Guide

Run your first Lua script in under 5 minutes

Core Concepts

Learn the fundamentals of SolarSharp

API Reference

Explore the complete API documentation

Examples

Browse practical code examples

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Getting Help

If you encounter any issues during installation:
SolarSharp version 2.0.0.0 supports Lua 5.2. Check the version constant in the Script class for the exact versions.

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