Creating LuaRocks with GNU autotools

Use a rockspec template like the following, and call it $PACKAGE.rockspec.in:

package="@PACKAGE@"
version="@VERSION@-1"
source = {
  url = "https://github.com/downloads//@PACKAGE@/@PACKAGE@-@VERSION@.tar.gz",
  md5 = "@MD5@",
  dir = "@PACKAGE@-@VERSION@"
}
description = {
  summary = "",
  detailed = [[
      
   ]],
  homepage = "http://github.com//@PACKAGE@/",
  license = ""
}
dependencies = {
  "lua >= 5.1"
}
build = {
  type = "command",
  build_command = "LUA=$(LUA) CPPFLAGS=-I$(LUA_INCDIR) ./configure --prefix=$(PREFIX) --libdir=$(LIBDIR) --datadir=$(LUADIR)",
  install_command = "make install"
}

Add "$PACKAGE.rockspec.in" to AC_CONFIG_FILES in your configure.ac:

Add or amend the following rules in your Makefile.am:

ROCKSPEC = $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)-1.rockspec

$(ROCKSPEC): $(PACKAGE).rockspec dist
	sed -e 's/@MD5@/'`$(MD5SUM) $(distdir).tar.gz | \
	cut -d " " -f 1`'/g' < $(PACKAGE).rockspec > $@

EXTRA_DIST = $(PACKAGE).rockspec.in

DISTCLEANFILES = $(PACKAGE).rockspec

If you use woger to do your releases, then add $(ROCKSPEC) to the dependencies of your release target, and call woger something like:

woger lua,github package=$(PACKAGE) package_name=$(PACKAGE_NAME) \
  version="$(VERSION)" description="`LUA_INIT= LUA_PATH='$(abs_srcdir)/?.rockspec.in' $(LUA) -l$(PACKAGE) -e 'print (description.summary)'`" \
  notes=release-notes-$(VERSION) dist_type=".zip"