Mandelbrot renderer in pure Lua
Usage: lua main.lua [options] Options: -w, --width <width> Width of the image [Default: 900] -h, --height <height> Height of the image [Default: 600] -r, --real <real> Real part of the center point [Default: -0.5] -i, --imag <imag> Imaginary part of the center point [Default: 0] -z, --zoom <zoom> Zoom level [Default: 0] -n, --iterations <iter> Maximum number of iterations [Default: 255] --color1 <hex> First gradient color (RGB hex) [Default: 000000] --color2 <hex> Second gradient color (RGB hex) [Default: 808080] --color3 <hex> Third gradient color (RGB hex) [Default: FFFFFF] -o, --output <file> Output file path [Default: ./mandel-<width>x<height>.bmp] -x, --interactive Interactive mode -b, --black Black inside the set -v, --verbose Verbose output -p, --progress Show progress -?, --help Show this help # renders a 900x600 image by default lua main.lua # renders a 3000x2000 image lua main.lua -w 3000 -h 2000 # renders a 9000x6000 image lua main.lua -w 9000 -h 6000 # renders a 900x600 image with 512 iterations lua main.lua -i 512 # renders a 900x600 image with black inside the set lua main.lua -b # renders with a fire gradient (red → yellow → blue) lua main.lua --color1 FF0000 --color2 FFFF00 --color3 0000FF
See higher res images here
| Image | Resolution | Render Time | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| mandel-900x600.bmp | 900x600 | 0.24s | 1.55 MB |
| mandel-3000x2000.bmp | 3000x2000 | 2.83s | 17.2 MB |
| mandel-9000x6000.bmp | 9000x6000 | 47.99s | 154 MB |
Requires ffmpeg to be installed and in the PATH in order to create gifs.
For instructions on using LuaJIT as the runtime for child processes launched from sequence.lua, see docs/luajit.md. This will speed up the generation of sequences significantly.
Usage: lua sequence.lua [options] Options: -w, --width <width> Width of the image [Default: 900] -h, --height <height> Height of the image [Default: 600] -r, --real <real> Real part of the center point [Default: -0.5] -i, --imag <imag> Imaginary part of the center point [Default: 0] -z, --zoom <zoom> Zoom level [Default: 0] -n, --iterations <iter> Maximum number of iterations [Default: 255] -R, --real2 <real> Target -r for sequence [Default: -0.5] -I, --imag2 <imag> Target -i for sequence [Default: 0] -Z, --zoom2 <zoom> Target -z for sequence [Default: 0] -N, --iterations2 <iter> Target -n for sequence [Default: 255] -s, --sequence <frames> Number of frames in the sequence [Default: 10] -b, --black Black inside the set --color1 <hex> Initial first gradient color [Default: 000000] --color2 <hex> Initial second gradient color [Default: 808080] --color3 <hex> Initial third gradient color [Default: FFFFFF] --targetcolor1 <hex> Target first gradient color [Default: same as --color1] --targetcolor2 <hex> Target second gradient color [Default: same as --color2] --targetcolor3 <hex> Target third gradient color [Default: same as --color3] -g, --gif Use ffmpeg to create a gif luajit sequence.lua -n 1000 -v -R -1.7635735993133 -I 0 -Z 4 -N 2000 -s 80 --gif
luajit sequence.lua -n 1000 -v -R -1.7635735993133 -I 0 -Z 4 -N 2000 -s 80 --gif -b
luajit sequence.lua --color1 FF0000 --targetcolor1 00FFFF \ --color2 0000FF --targetcolor2 FF00FF \ --color3 FFFFFF --targetcolor3 FFFF00 \ -s 80 --gif
- 3-Point Color Gradients: Use
--color1,--color2,--color3to set custom RGB colors for the Mandelbrot gradient. - Sequence Color Interpolation: Use
--targetcolor1,--targetcolor2,--targetcolor3to define the target gradient for smooth transitions in sequences. - Flexible Input: Accepts hex colors with or without
#prefix. - Defaults: Black → Gray → White (
000000→808080→FFFFFF) if not specified. - Error Handling: Invalid hex values will show a clear error message.
- Backwards Compatible: Defaults to grayscale if no color options are provided.
The project uses the busted testing framework. To run all tests:
# Install busted (requires luarocks) sudo luarocks install busted # Run all tests bustedTests are located in the spec/ directory and follow the *_spec.lua naming convention.