love2d-core

Q: How do I install love2d-core?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --skill love2d-core in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/love2d-core/ (personal) or .claude/skills/love2d-core/ (project).

by gamedev-skillsMedia & Creative

Structure and debug a LÖVE (Love2D) game in Lua: the love.load/update/draw loop, delta-time movement, input, and screen states. Use when building a LÖVE 11.x game (main.lua, conf.lua, .love).

Installs: 5.3K
Last 24h: +292
Trending rank: #987
Security: Pass

Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --skill love2d-core

01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads love2d-core automatically when relevant.
03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

Security audits

Independent scans of the skill's instructions and bundled files.

Gen Agent Trust Hub PassSAFE ·The skill provides safe and standard boilerplate code for structuring a LÖVE (Love2D) game in Lua, focusing on the game loop and state management.

Socket PassNo alerts

Snyk PassLOW ·Risk: LOW · No issues

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

LÖVE (Love2D) Core

Set up and debug the foundation of a LÖVE game in Lua: the callback loop, frame-rate- independent movement, input, and screen states. Targets LÖVE 11.5.

When to use

Use when starting a LÖVE game, wiring up main.lua/conf.lua, or fixing the core loop, movement that runs at the wrong speed, input handling, or screen switching.
Use when the workspace has main.lua calling love.*, a conf.lua, or a .love file.

When not to use: Lua language questions unrelated to LÖVE; physics bodies/joints (LÖVE uses Box2D via love.physics — a separate concern); shader code (love.graphics GLSL is its own topic). For cross-engine save/load patterns, use save-systems.

Core workflow

Confirm the entry points. A LÖVE game runs main.lua; it should define love.load() (one-time setup), love.update(dt) (state), and love.draw() (rendering). Window/version setup goes in conf.lua (run before modules load).
Pin the version. Set t.version = "11.5" in conf.lua so LÖVE warns on mismatch.
Drive all motion by dt (delta time, in seconds) so speed is frame-rate independent.
Handle input two ways: polled (love.keyboard.isDown in update, for held keys) and event (love.keypressed callback, for discrete presses).
Manage screens (menu, game, pause) with a small state stack rather than a pile of if flags — see Patterns and references/state-stack.md.
Run and observe. Launch with love . from the project folder; verify the window, motion speed, and input on screen before assuming it works.

Patterns

1. `main.lua` skeleton (the callback loop + input)

-- main.lua — LÖVE calls these callbacks for you. Colors are 0–1 in LÖVE 11.x.
function love.load()
    -- One-time setup. speed is in PIXELS PER SECOND, not per frame.
    player = { x = 100, y = 100, size = 40, speed = 220 }
    love.graphics.setBackgroundColor(0.1, 0.1, 0.12)
end

function love.update(dt)
    -- Polled input: good for continuous movement while a key is held.
    if love.keyboard.isDown("right") then player.x = player.x + player.speed * dt end
    if love.keyboard.isDown("left")  then player.x = player.x - player.speed * dt end
    if love.keyboard.isDown("down")  then player.y = player.y + player.speed * dt end
    if love.keyboard.isDown("up")    then player.y = player.y - player.speed * dt end
end

function love.draw()
    love.graphics.setColor(0.2, 0.8, 1.0)                 -- tint ON
    love.graphics.rectangle("fill", player.x, player.y, player.size, player.size)
    love.graphics.setColor(1, 1, 1)                       -- reset tint before text/images
    love.graphics.print("Arrow keys to move, Esc to quit", 10, 10)
end

function love.keypressed(key)
    -- Event input: fires once per physical press. Use for menus, jumps, toggles.
    if key == "escape" then love.event.quit() end
end

2. Frame-rate independence (the single most common bug)

-- RIGHT: scaled by dt → same real-world speed at 30 or 240 FPS.
player.x = player.x + player.speed * dt
-- WRONG: "pixels per frame" → moves twice as fast at double the frame rate.
player.x = player.x + player.speed

3. `conf.lua` (window + version; runs before `main.lua`)

-- conf.lua — must be its own file; love.conf will NOT run from main.lua.
function love.conf(t)
    t.version = "11.5"             -- the LÖVE version this game targets (string "X.Y")
    t.window.title  = "My LÖVE Game"
    t.window.width  = 800
    t.window.height = 600
    t.window.vsync  = 1            -- number since 11.0: 1 = on, 0 = off, -1 = adaptive
    t.window.resizable = false
    t.modules.physics = false      -- disable modules you don't use to trim startup/memory
end

4. Color is 0–1 in LÖVE 11.x (not 0–255)

-- LÖVE 11.x uses normalized floats. (Pre-11.0 code used 0–255 and will look wrong.)
love.graphics.setColor(1, 0, 0)                          -- opaque red
love.graphics.setColor(0.2, 0.8, 1.0, 0.5)               -- translucent cyan (alpha 0.5)
-- Need to convert old byte values? Use the helper instead of dividing by hand:
love.graphics.setColor(love.math.colorFromBytes(128, 234, 255))

5. Screen states (brief — full manager in references)

-- A screen is a table with optional :update(dt), :draw(), :keypressed(key).
-- Keep the active screen on a stack so pause/menu overlays are trivial to pop.
local Stack = require("state_stack")   -- see references/state-stack.md for the module

-- Call a method on the top screen only if it defines it (a menu may have no update).
local function forward(name, ...)
    local screen = Stack.current()
    if screen and screen[name] then screen[name](screen, ...) end
end

function love.load()          Stack.push(require("screens.menu")) end
function love.update(dt)      forward("update", dt) end
function love.draw()          forward("draw") end
function love.keypressed(key) forward("keypressed", key) end

Pitfalls

Speed varies with FPS → you forgot * dt. Every per-frame change to position, timers, or animation must be scaled by dt.
love.conf placed in main.lua → it silently does nothing. It must live in conf.lua, which LÖVE runs before loading modules.
Colors washed out or invisible → you used 0–255 values. 11.x does not rescale them; every channel above 1 draws at full intensity, so setColor(128, 234, 255) comes out plain white and an alpha of 128 is fully opaque. Use 0–1 floats or love.math.colorFromBytes (11.3+).
Everything tinted after one setColor → color is global and persists across draws. Reset with love.graphics.setColor(1, 1, 1) before drawing text/images you want untinted.
Holding a key fires love.keypressed only once → key repeat is off by default. Call love.keyboard.setKeyRepeat(true) (e.g. for text fields or menu scrolling); the repeats then arrive with the third argument isrepeat set, so a jump handler can ignore them. Releases go to love.keyreleased(key).

References

For a complete push/pop screen-state manager (menu → game → pause, with delegated callbacks), read references/state-stack.md.

Related skills

save-systems — saving/loading game state (engine-agnostic).
input-systems — rebindable, multi-device input architecture.
pygame-core / phaser-core — the same loop concepts in other lightweight engines.

FAQ

What does the love2d-core skill do?

Structure and debug a LÖVE (Love2D) game in Lua: the love.load/update/draw loop, delta-time movement, input, and screen states. Use when building a LÖVE 11.x game (main.lua, conf.lua, .love).

How do I install love2d-core?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills --skill love2d-core in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/love2d-core/ (personal) or .claude/skills/love2d-core/ (project).

Which AI agents can use love2d-core?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is love2d-core safe to install?

Security partners have reviewed it: Gen Agent Trust Hub passed; Socket passed; Snyk passed. As with any skill, read the SKILL.md and bundled scripts before installing.

Who maintains love2d-core?

It is published by gamedev-skills in gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills. It has 5,286 recorded installs.