Marshal

marshal is a Lua serialization library. XRF has TypeScript declarations for the functions used by the runtime:

• marshal.encode(value) converts a Lua value to an encoded representation;
• marshal.decode(value) reads an encoded representation back;
• marshal.clone(value) creates a cloned value through marshal semantics.

The declarations reference the upstream Lua marshal project: https://github.com/richardhundt/lua-marshal.

Availability

The inspected engine script initialization does not open marshal as one of the default Lua libraries. Treat it as an optional runtime dependency unless the selected executable or gamedata package explicitly provides it.

Guard code that depends on marshal, or keep usage in paths where the runtime package is known.

When to use it

Use marshal only when the runtime really needs Lua-level serialization or cloning. For game save data, prefer the engine save packet APIs and XRF save/load helpers so the data remains compatible with the engine lifecycle.

Good candidates are short-lived Lua tables in tooling, debug-only data capture, or controlled runtime features where the package is bundled with the executable. Avoid using it as an implicit dependency for core gameplay scripts.

Validation notes

• Check that require("marshal") succeeds in the selected executable before using these declarations.
• Keep encoded data versioned if it can persist outside the current process.
• Prefer explicit table copies when the shape is small and known; marshal.clone is useful only when marshal semantics are the intended behavior.