Installation

Install and configure IronBrew 2 on your system

Installation

Get IronBrew 2 up and running on your system. This guide covers all prerequisites and platform-specific setup steps.

Prerequisites

Before installing IronBrew 2, ensure you have the following dependencies:

Required Dependencies

.NET Core 3.1+

Required to build and run the IronBrew 2 CLI

luac (Lua 5.1)

Lua 5.1 compiler for bytecode generation

LuaJIT

Required for the LuaSrcDiet minifier

Git

For cloning the repository

Platform-Specific Requirements

Ubuntu/Debian

# Install .NET Core 3.1 SDK
wget https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/20.04/packages-microsoft-prod.deb -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb
sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y dotnet-sdk-3.1

# Install Lua 5.1 and LuaJIT
sudo apt-get install -y lua5.1 luajit

IronBrew 2 requires Lua 5.1 specifically. Lua 5.2, 5.3, or 5.4 will not work correctly. Make sure luac and luajit point to Lua 5.1 versions.

Installation Steps

1. Verify Prerequisites

   Confirm all required tools are installed and accessible:

   # Check .NET Core version
   dotnet --version
   # Should output 3.1.x or higher
   
   # Check Lua version
   luac -v
   # Should output: Lua 5.1.x
   
   # Check LuaJIT version
   luajit -v
   # Should output: LuaJIT 2.x.x
   

   On Unix systems (Linux/macOS), IronBrew 2 looks for executables at /usr/bin/luac and /usr/bin/luajit. On Windows, they should be in your PATH.

2. Clone the Repository

   Clone the IronBrew 2 source code:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/ironbrew2.git
   cd ironbrew2
   
3. Build the Project

   Build IronBrew 2 using the .NET CLI:

   cd "IronBrew2 CLI"
   dotnet build -c Release
   

   The compiled executable will be located at:

   IronBrew2 CLI/bin/Release/netcoreapp3.1/
   
4. Verify Installation

   Test that IronBrew 2 is working correctly:

   # Create a simple test file
   echo 'print("Hello, IronBrew!")' > test.lua
   
   # Run IronBrew 2
   dotnet run test.lua
   

   You should see output like:

   Checking file...
   Stripping comments...
   Compiling...
   Obfuscating...
   Serializing...
   Minifying...
   Watermark...
   Done!
   

   The obfuscated output will be saved to out.lua.

5. (Optional) Create an Alias

   For easier access, create a command alias:

   Linux/macOS

   # Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
   echo 'alias ironbrew2="dotnet /path/to/IronBrew2\ CLI/bin/Release/netcoreapp3.1/IronBrew2\ CLI.dll"' >> ~/.bashrc
   source ~/.bashrc
   
   # Now you can run:
   ironbrew2 script.lua
   

Project Structure

After cloning the repository, you’ll find:

ironbrew2/
├── IronBrew2/              # Core obfuscation library
│   ├── Obfuscator/         # Obfuscation engine
│   │   ├── Control Flow/   # Control flow obfuscation
│   │   ├── Encryption/     # String and constant encryption
│   │   ├── Opcodes/        # VM opcode implementations
│   │   └── VM Generation/  # VM generator
│   └── Bytecode Library/   # Lua bytecode parser
├── IronBrew2 CLI/          # Command-line interface
├── Lua/                    # LuaSrcDiet minifier
│   └── Minifier/
└── Tests/                  # Test Lua scripts

Troubleshooting

”luac: command not found” or “luajit: command not found”

Ensure Lua 5.1 and LuaJIT are installed and in your PATH:

# Linux/macOS
which luac
which luajit

# Windows
where luac
where luajit

If not found, install them or add their installation directory to your PATH.

”Invalid input file” error

Ensure:

1. The input file exists and is a valid Lua script
2. The file path is correct
3. The Lua code is compatible with Lua 5.1

Build errors with .NET

Make sure you have .NET Core 3.1 SDK (not just runtime):

dotnet --list-sdks

If 3.1.x is not listed, install the SDK from Microsoft’s website.

Path issues on Unix systems

IronBrew 2 automatically detects Unix systems and prepends /usr/bin/ to luac and luajit commands. If your executables are elsewhere, you may need to create symlinks:

sudo ln -s /path/to/luac /usr/bin/luac
sudo ln -s /path/to/luajit /usr/bin/luajit

Next Steps

Now that IronBrew 2 is installed, you’re ready to obfuscate your first script!

Quick Start Guide

Learn how to obfuscate your first Lua script