agentic-lua-class

Lua Class Pattern

Basic class structure:

--- @class Animal
local Animal = {}
Animal.__index = Animal

function Animal:new()
    self = setmetatable({}, self)
    return self
end

function Animal:move()
    print("Animal moves")
end

Key points:

• Set __index to self for inheritance
• Use setmetatable to create instances
• Return the instance from constructor

Method definition syntax:

• function Class:method() - Instance method, receives self implicitly

  • Called as: instance:method() or instance.method(instance)
  • Use for methods that need access to instance state

• function Class.method() - Module function, static, does NOT receive self

  • Called as: Class.method() or instance.method() (both work, but no self)
  • Use for utility functions, constructors, or static helpers

Inheritance Pattern

Class setup (module-level):

local Parent = {}
Parent.__index = Parent

--- @class Child : Parent
local Child = setmetatable({}, { __index = Parent })
Child.__index = Child

Constructor with parent initialization:

function Parent:new(name)
    local instance = {
        name = name,
        parent_state = {}
    }
    return setmetatable(instance, self)
end

function Child:new(name, extra)
    -- Call parent constructor with Parent class
    local instance = Parent.new(Parent, name)

    -- Add child-specific state
    instance.child_state = extra

    -- Re-metatable to child class for proper inheritance chain
    return setmetatable(instance, Child)
end

Critical rules:

• Always pass parent class explicitly: Parent.new(Parent, ...) not Parent.new(self, ...)
• Re-assign metatable to child class after parent initialization
• Inheritance chain: instance → Child → Parent

Calling parent methods:

function Child:move()
    Parent.move(self)  -- Explicit parent method call
    print("Child-specific movement")
end

Class Design Guidelines: creating and modifying

• Minimize class properties - Only include properties that:

  • Are accessed by external code (other modules/classes)
  • Are part of the public API
  • Need to be accessed by subclasses

• Use visibility prefixes for encapsulation - Control what external code can access:

  Visibility levels (configured in .luarc.json):

  • _*: Private - Hidden from external consumers (applies to class methods/fields ONLY)
  • __*: Protected - Visible to subclasses
  • No prefix: Public - Visible everywhere

  IMPORTANT: Module-level local functions and variables do NOT need _ prefix:

  • ✅ local function helper() - correct (already private by local scope)
  • ❌ local function _helper() - incorrect (redundant _ prefix)
  • ✅ local config = {} - correct
  • ❌ local _config = {} - incorrect (redundant _ prefix)
  • ✅ function MyClass:_private_method() - correct (class method needs _)
  • ✅ @field _private_field - correct (class field needs _)

  -- ❌ Bad: Unnecessary public exposure of `counter` property, not used externally
  --- @class MyClass
  --- @field counter number
  local MyClass = {}
  MyClass.__index = MyClass
  
  function MyClass:new()
      return setmetatable({ counter = 0 }, self)
  end
  
  -- ✅ Good: Proper visibility control
  --- @class MyClass
  local MyClass = {}
  MyClass.__index = MyClass
  
  function MyClass:new()
      return setmetatable({
        -- Counter is internal state, not exposed publicly
        _counter = 0
      }, self)
  end
  
  --- @protected
  function MyClass:__protected_method()
      self._counter = self._counter + 1
  end
  
  --- Module-level helper functions (no underscore prefix needed)
  local function format_value(val)
      return tostring(val)
  end
  
  --- @class Child : MyClass
  function Child:use_parent_state()
      self:__protected_method()
  end
  

  Note: The @private annotation is NOT necessary for private class methods

  • LuaLS infers privacy from the _ prefix automatically
  • Only use @protected for protected methods (__*, luals limitation)

• Document intent with LuaCATS - Use visibility annotations:

  --- @class MyClass
  --- @field public_field string Public API
  --- @field __protected_field table For subclasses
  --- @field _private_field number Internal only
  

• Regular cleanup - When adding new code, review class definitions and remove:

  • Unused properties
  • Properties that were needed during development but are no longer used
  • Properties that could be local variables instead

LuaCATS annotation syntax

Space after --- for descriptions and annotations. Do NOT write param/return descriptions unless requested. Group related annotations together.

Return format

@return {type} return_name description (type first, then name).

• RIGHT: @return boolean success Whether the operation succeeded
• WRONG: @return boolean Whether the operation succeeded (missing name)
• WRONG: @return success boolean (wrong order)

Optional types

Format depends on annotation type. See LuaLS issue #2385 for the underlying validator limitation.

@param and fun() - MUST use type|nil:

• RIGHT: @param winid number|nil
• RIGHT: @param callback fun(result: table|nil)
• WRONG: @param winid? number (LuaLS does not validate optional syntax)
• WRONG: fun(result?: table) (optional syntax ignored)

@field - Use variable? type:

• RIGHT: @field _state? string
• RIGHT: @field diff? { all?: boolean } (inline tables also use ?)
• WRONG: @field _state string|nil (use ? here instead)
• WRONG: @field _state string? (? goes after variable name, not type)

For a partial variant of an existing class, use @class (partial) extending the source type instead of re-declaring every field as optional.

• RIGHT: @class (partial) MyOptsOverride: MyOpts
• WRONG: re-listing @field field? type for every field from MyOpts

@return, @type, @alias - Use explicit type|nil:

• RIGHT: @return string|nil result, @type table<string, number|nil>, @alias MyType string|nil
• WRONG: trailing ? on the type (e.g. string?, number?)

Typed variables before return

LuaLS cannot infer types from inline returns of complex types. Use a typed intermediate variable:

-- Bad: LuaLS cannot infer the return type
function M.create_block(lines)
    return {
        start_line = 1,
        end_line = #lines,
        content = lines,
    }
end

-- Good: Type annotation enables proper type checking
--- @return MyModule.Block block
function M.create_block(lines)
    --- @type MyModule.Block
    local block = {
        start_line = 1,
        end_line = #lines,
        content = lines,
    }
    return block
end

Appending to typed arrays

Use arr[#arr + 1] = value, not table.insert(arr, value), when arr has a LuaCATS element type (string[], agentic.acp.Content[], a typed field, etc.).

table.insert's second arg is variadic any, so LuaLS skips assign-type-mismatch (an Error in .luarc.json). The indexed-assignment form is type-checked against the element type and catches wrong-type appends and stale @return / @type annotations.

• RIGHT: lines[#lines + 1] = value (flags a non-string pushed to string[])
• WRONG: table.insert(lines, value) (push silently accepted)

table.insert stays fine for positional inserts (table.insert(t, i, v)) and untyped scratch tables where no element type is declared.