diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ebb9422
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+.zig-cache/
+zig-out/
+zig-pkg/
+*.o
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 766f9f6..9a273fb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -6,34 +6,14 @@ A [vfox](https://github.com/version-fox/vfox) / [mise](https://mise.jdx.dev) plu
 
 - **Dynamic version fetching**: Automatically fetches available versions from lua.org
 - **Always up-to-date**: No static version list to maintain
-- **Compiles from source**: Uses official Lua source releases
+- **Compiles from source** via Zig: Cross-platform build with a single compiler
 - **LuaRocks included**: Automatically installs LuaRocks for Lua 5.x versions
-- **Cross-platform**: Works on Linux and macOS
+- **Cross-platform**: Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows
 
 ## Requirements
 
-- A C compiler (gcc or clang)
-- make
-- curl
-
-### macOS
-
-```bash
-xcode-select --install
-```
-
-### Debian/Ubuntu
-
-```bash
-sudo apt-get install build-essential libreadline-dev
-```
-
-### RHEL/CentOS
-
-```bash
-sudo yum groupinstall "Development Tools"
-sudo yum install readline-devel
-```
+- [Zig](https://ziglang.org/download/) 0.16.0
+- make (not needed on Windows)
 
 ## Installation
 
@@ -81,7 +61,7 @@ This plugin:
 
 1. Fetches the list of available versions from [lua.org/ftp](https://www.lua.org/ftp/)
 2. Downloads the source tarball for the requested version
-3. Compiles Lua from source using `make`
+3. Copies `build.zig` and a readline shim into the source tree, then compiles with `zig build`
 4. Installs LuaRocks (for Lua 5.x versions)
 
 ## License
diff --git a/build.zig b/build.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9adf6a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+fn addExe(b: *std.Build, name: []const u8, src: []const u8, flags: []const []const u8, lib: *std.Build.Step.Compile, target: std.Build.ResolvedTarget, optimize: std.builtin.OptimizeMode) *std.Build.Step.Compile {
+    const mod = b.createModule(.{
+        .target = target,
+        .optimize = optimize,
+        .link_libc = true,
+    });
+    mod.addIncludePath(b.path("src"));
+    mod.addCSourceFile(.{ .file = b.path(src), .flags = flags });
+    mod.linkLibrary(lib);
+
+    if (target.result.os.tag == .linux) {
+        mod.linkSystemLibrary("dl", .{});
+    }
+
+    const exe = b.addExecutable(.{ .name = name, .root_module = mod });
+    return exe;
+}
+
+pub fn build(b: *std.Build) !void {
+    const target = b.standardTargetOptions(.{});
+    const optimize = b.standardOptimizeOption(.{});
+    const readline = b.option(bool, "readline", "Link readline for REPL") orelse false;
+
+    const src_dir = b.build_root.handle.openDir(b.graph.io, "src", .{ .iterate = true }) catch
+        @panic("src/ directory not found — run zig build from extracted Lua source root");
+    defer src_dir.close(b.graph.io);
+
+    var lib_srcs = std.ArrayListUnmanaged([]const u8).empty;
+    defer lib_srcs.deinit(b.allocator);
+
+    var iter = src_dir.iterate();
+    while (iter.next(b.graph.io) catch @panic("failed to read src/")) |entry| {
+        if (entry.kind != .file) continue;
+        if (!std.mem.endsWith(u8, entry.name, ".c")) continue;
+        if (std.mem.eql(u8, entry.name, "lua.c") or std.mem.eql(u8, entry.name, "luac.c")) continue;
+        try lib_srcs.append(b.allocator, b.dupe(entry.name));
+    }
+
+    const src_root = b.path("src");
+    const os_tag = target.result.os.tag;
+
+    var flags = std.ArrayListUnmanaged([]const u8).empty;
+    defer flags.deinit(b.allocator);
+
+    try flags.append(b.allocator, "-std=gnu99");
+
+    if (os_tag == .linux or os_tag == .windows) {
+        try flags.append(b.allocator, "-fvisibility=hidden");
+    }
+
+    switch (os_tag) {
+        .linux => try flags.append(b.allocator, "-DLUA_USE_LINUX"),
+        .macos => try flags.append(b.allocator, "-DLUA_USE_MACOSX"),
+        .windows => {},
+        else => try flags.append(b.allocator, "-DLUA_USE_POSIX"),
+    }
+
+    if (readline) {
+        try flags.append(b.allocator, "-DLUA_USE_READLINE");
+    }
+
+    if (optimize == .Debug) {
+        try flags.append(b.allocator, "-DLUA_USE_APICHECK");
+        try flags.append(b.allocator, "-fno-sanitize=undefined");
+    }
+
+    const lib_module = b.createModule(.{
+        .target = target,
+        .optimize = optimize,
+        .link_libc = true,
+    });
+    lib_module.addIncludePath(src_root);
+    lib_module.addCSourceFiles(.{
+        .root = src_root,
+        .files = lib_srcs.items,
+        .flags = flags.items,
+        .language = .c,
+    });
+
+    const lib = b.addLibrary(.{
+        .name = "lua",
+        .linkage = .static,
+        .root_module = lib_module,
+    });
+
+    const lua_exe = addExe(b, "lua", "src/lua.c", flags.items, lib, target, optimize);
+    const luac_exe = addExe(b, "luac", "src/luac.c", flags.items, lib, target, optimize);
+
+    if (readline) {
+        const linenoize = b.dependency("linenoize", .{
+            .target = target,
+            .optimize = optimize,
+        });
+        lua_exe.root_module.addIncludePath(linenoize.path("include"));
+        lua_exe.root_module.addIncludePath(b.path("."));
+        lua_exe.root_module.addCSourceFile(.{ .file = b.path("readline_shim.c") });
+        lua_exe.root_module.linkLibrary(linenoize.artifact("linenoise"));
+    }
+
+    b.installArtifact(lib);
+    b.installArtifact(lua_exe);
+    b.installArtifact(luac_exe);
+
+    const include_install = b.addInstallDirectory(.{
+        .source_dir = src_root,
+        .install_dir = .{ .custom = "include" },
+        .install_subdir = "",
+        .include_extensions = &.{ "lua.h", "luaconf.h", "lualib.h", "lauxlib.h" },
+    });
+    b.getInstallStep().dependOn(&include_install.step);
+}
diff --git a/build.zig.zon b/build.zig.zon
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..976cb3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build.zig.zon
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+.{
+    .name = .vfox_lua,
+    .version = "0.16.0",
+    .dependencies = .{
+        .linenoize = .{
+            .url = "git+https://github.com/hazre/linenoize.git#ddfa9a28c607b77359b2b28b84495699759ae3b5",
+            .hash = "linenoize-0.1.1-J7HK8IT0AABVYIWXsdseNxD1rOuQmikD0tmd1BYlTnFv",
+        },
+    },
+    .paths = .{""},
+    .fingerprint = 0x6d25d9ed3c490967,
+}
diff --git a/hk.pkl b/hk.pkl
index e4c759b..de5e3a5 100644
--- a/hk.pkl
+++ b/hk.pkl
@@ -11,6 +11,11 @@ local linters = new Mapping<String, Step> {
         check = "stylua --check {{files}}"
         fix = "stylua {{files}}"
     }
+    ["zig-fmt"] {
+        glob = "*.zig"
+        check = "zig fmt --check {{files}}"
+        fix = "zig fmt {{files}}"
+    }
     ["actionlint"] {
         glob = ".github/workflows/*.{yml,yaml}"
         check = "actionlint {{files}}"
diff --git a/hooks/env_keys.lua b/hooks/env_keys.lua
index 9d775e5..8d6cba7 100644
--- a/hooks/env_keys.lua
+++ b/hooks/env_keys.lua
@@ -2,33 +2,23 @@
 --- @param ctx table Context provided by vfox
 --- @return table Environment configuration
 function PLUGIN:EnvKeys(ctx)
-    local sdkInfo = ctx.sdkInfo["lua"]
-    local version = sdkInfo.version
-    local installDir = sdkInfo.path
+    local version = require("version")
 
-    -- Extract major.minor version for Lua paths
-    local shortVersion = string.match(version, "^(%d+%.%d+)")
+    local sdkInfo = ctx.sdkInfo["lua"]
+    local installDir = sdkInfo.path:gsub("\\", "/")
+    local v = version.parse(sdkInfo.version)
+    local shortVersion = v and (v.major .. "." .. v.minor)
 
     local envs = {
-        {
-            key = "PATH",
-            value = installDir .. "/bin",
-        },
+        { key = "PATH", value = installDir .. "/bin" },
+        { key = "PATH", value = installDir .. "/luarocks" },
+        { key = "PATH", value = installDir .. "/luarocks/bin" },
     }
 
-    -- Add LuaRocks bin to PATH if it exists
-    local luarocksBin = installDir .. "/luarocks/bin"
-    local f = io.open(luarocksBin, "r")
-    if f ~= nil then
-        f:close()
-        table.insert(envs, {
-            key = "PATH",
-            value = luarocksBin,
-        })
-    end
-
     -- Set LUA_INIT for package paths (similar to asdf-lua)
     if shortVersion then
+        local soext = (RUNTIME.osType == "windows") and "dll" or "so"
+
         local packagePath = string.format(
             "package.path = package.path .. ';%s/share/lua/%s/?.lua;%s/share/lua/%s/?/init.lua;%s/luarocks/share/lua/%s/?.lua;%s/luarocks/share/lua/%s/?/init.lua'",
             installDir,
@@ -41,11 +31,13 @@ function PLUGIN:EnvKeys(ctx)
             shortVersion
         )
         local packageCpath = string.format(
-            "package.cpath = package.cpath .. ';%s/lib/lua/%s/?.so;%s/luarocks/lib/lua/%s/?.so'",
+            "package.cpath = package.cpath .. ';%s/lib/lua/%s/?.%s;%s/luarocks/lib/lua/%s/?.%s'",
             installDir,
             shortVersion,
+            soext,
             installDir,
-            shortVersion
+            shortVersion,
+            soext
         )
 
         table.insert(envs, {
diff --git a/hooks/post_install.lua b/hooks/post_install.lua
index 834b971..cbb5025 100644
--- a/hooks/post_install.lua
+++ b/hooks/post_install.lua
@@ -1,57 +1,98 @@
---- Compiles and installs Lua from source
+--- Compiles and installs Lua from source using the zig build system.
 --- @param ctx table Context provided by vfox
 --- @field ctx.sdkInfo table SDK information with version and path
 function PLUGIN:PostInstall(ctx)
+    local platform = require("platform")
+    local version = require("version")
+    local cmd = require("cmd")
     local http = require("http")
     local json = require("json")
 
     local sdkInfo = ctx.sdkInfo["lua"]
-    local version = sdkInfo.version
+    local luaVersion = sdkInfo.version
     local sdkPath = sdkInfo.path
+    local sep = platform.sep
 
-    -- mise extracts tarball and strips top-level directory, so sdkPath IS the source directory
-
-    -- Determine OS-specific make target
-    local os_type = RUNTIME.osType
-    local make_target = "guess"
-
-    if os_type == "darwin" then
-        make_target = "macosx"
-    elseif os_type == "linux" then
-        -- For Lua < 5.4, use "linux", otherwise "guess"
-        local major, minor = string.match(version, "^(%d+)%.(%d+)")
-        if major and minor then
-            local ver_num = tonumber(major) * 100 + tonumber(minor)
-            if ver_num < 504 then
-                make_target = "linux"
-            end
-        end
+    local function join(...)
+        return table.concat({ ... }, sep)
     end
 
-    -- Build Lua
-    local major = tonumber(string.match(version, "^(%d+)"))
-    local buildCmd
-
-    if major and major >= 5 then
-        -- Lua 5.x: use make local target which creates install/ subdirectory
-        buildCmd = string.format("cd '%s' && make %s && make local", sdkPath, make_target)
-    else
-        -- Older versions
-        buildCmd = string.format("cd '%s' && make && make install INSTALL_ROOT=install", sdkPath)
+    local plug = RUNTIME.pluginDirPath
+
+    -- Copy build.zig and readline shim into extracted source tree
+    -- Shim files are flattened to root level to avoid creating lib/ before the zig install move
+    platform.mkdir(join(sdkPath, "readline"))
+
+    local files = {
+        "build.zig",
+        "build.zig.zon",
+        { src = "lib/readline_shim.c", dst = "readline_shim.c" },
+        { src = "lib/readline/readline.h", dst = "readline/readline.h" },
+        { src = "lib/readline/history.h", dst = "readline/history.h" },
+    }
+    for _, f in ipairs(files) do
+        local src, dst
+        if type(f) == "string" then
+            src = plug .. "/" .. f
+            dst = sdkPath .. "/" .. f
+        else
+            src = plug .. "/" .. f.src
+            dst = sdkPath .. "/" .. f.dst
+        end
+        if not platform.cp(src, dst) then
+            error("Failed to copy " .. (type(f) == "string" and f or f.src))
+        end
+    end
+    -- Build Lua via zig (compiles liblua.a, lua, luac, and installs headers)
+    -- Resolve zig path: mise which works for mise-managed zig; fallback to plain "zig" for standalone vfox
+    local zig_bin = "zig"
+    local f = io.popen("mise which zig 2>nul")
+    if f then
+        local path = f:read("*l")
+        f:close()
+        if path and #path > 0 then
+            zig_bin = path
+        end
+    end
+    local ok, out = pcall(
+        cmd.exec,
+        zig_bin
+            .. " build --build-file "
+            .. sdkPath
+            .. sep
+            .. "build.zig -Dreadline --prefix "
+            .. sdkPath
+            .. sep
+            .. "install",
+        { cwd = sdkPath }
+    )
+    if not ok then
+        error("zig build failed: " .. tostring(out))
     end
 
-    local status = os.execute(buildCmd)
-    if status ~= 0 and status ~= true then
-        error("Failed to build Lua: make failed")
+    -- Move build artifacts from install/ to sdkPath root
+    local installDir = join(sdkPath, "install")
+    for _, entry in ipairs(platform.listdir(installDir)) do
+        platform.mv(join(installDir, entry), join(sdkPath, entry))
     end
 
-    -- After make local, files are in install/ subdirectory
-    -- Move them to the root of sdkPath (overwriting source files is fine)
-    local moveCmd = string.format("cd '%s' && mv install/* . 2>/dev/null || cp -r install/* . 2>/dev/null", sdkPath)
-    os.execute(moveCmd)
+    -- Remove build artifacts and source files
+    for _, item in ipairs({
+        "install",
+        "zig-out",
+        ".zig-cache",
+        "zig-pkg",
+        "build.zig",
+        "build.zig.zon",
+        "readline",
+        "readline_shim.c",
+    }) do
+        platform.rm(join(sdkPath, item))
+    end
 
     -- Install LuaRocks for Lua 5.x
-    if major and major >= 5 then
+    local ver = version.parse(luaVersion)
+    if ver and ver.major >= 5 then
         -- Get latest LuaRocks version from GitHub releases
         local luarocksVersion = "3.11.1" -- Default fallback
 
@@ -72,45 +113,71 @@ function PLUGIN:PostInstall(ctx)
 
         -- Download and install LuaRocks
         local luarocksUrl = "https://github.com/luarocks/luarocks/archive/refs/tags/v" .. luarocksVersion .. ".tar.gz"
-        local luarocksArchive = sdkPath .. "/luarocks.tar.gz"
+        local luarocksArchive = sdkPath .. sep .. "luarocks.tar.gz"
 
-        local downloadCmd = string.format("curl -sL '%s' -o '%s'", luarocksUrl, luarocksArchive)
-        status = os.execute(downloadCmd)
-        if status ~= 0 and status ~= true then
-            -- LuaRocks installation is optional, don't fail
-            return
+        local archiver = require("archiver")
+        local _, dlerr = http.download_file({ url = luarocksUrl }, luarocksArchive)
+        if dlerr then
+            error("failed to download luarocks: " .. tostring(dlerr))
         end
 
-        local extractCmd = string.format("cd '%s' && tar xzf luarocks.tar.gz", sdkPath)
-        status = os.execute(extractCmd)
-        if status ~= 0 and status ~= true then
-            return
+        archiver.decompress(luarocksArchive, sdkPath)
+
+        local luarocksDir = sdkPath .. sep .. "luarocks-" .. luarocksVersion
+
+        if RUNTIME.osType == "windows" then
+            -- Windows: use install.bat provided by LuaRocks
+            local libName = "lua" .. luaVersion:match("^(%d+%.%d+)") .. ".lib"
+            platform.cp(sdkPath .. sep .. "lib" .. sep .. "lua.lib", sdkPath .. sep .. "lib" .. sep .. libName)
+            local ok, out = pcall(
+                cmd.exec,
+                sdkPath
+                    .. sep
+                    .. "bin"
+                    .. sep
+                    .. "lua.exe install.bat /LUA "
+                    .. sdkPath
+                    .. " /P "
+                    .. sdkPath
+                    .. sep
+                    .. "luarocks /NOADMIN /NOREG /F",
+                { cwd = luarocksDir }
+            )
+            if not ok then
+                error("luarocks install failed:\n" .. tostring(out))
+            end
+        else
+            -- Unix: configure + make bootstrap
+            local ok, out = pcall(
+                cmd.exec,
+                "./configure --with-lua='"
+                    .. sdkPath
+                    .. "' --with-lua-include='"
+                    .. sdkPath
+                    .. "/include' --with-lua-lib='"
+                    .. sdkPath
+                    .. "/lib' --prefix='"
+                    .. sdkPath
+                    .. "/luarocks'",
+                { cwd = luarocksDir }
+            )
+            if ok then
+                local ok2, out2 = pcall(cmd.exec, "make bootstrap", { cwd = luarocksDir })
+                if not ok2 then
+                    error("luarocks build failed:\n" .. tostring(out2))
+                end
+            end
         end
 
-        local luarocksDir = sdkPath .. "/luarocks-" .. luarocksVersion
-        local configureCmd = string.format(
-            "cd '%s' && ./configure --with-lua='%s' --with-lua-include='%s/include' --with-lua-lib='%s/lib' --prefix='%s/luarocks' 2>/dev/null",
-            luarocksDir,
-            sdkPath,
-            sdkPath,
-            sdkPath,
-            sdkPath
-        )
-        status = os.execute(configureCmd)
-        if status ~= 0 and status ~= true then
-            -- Clean up and return without luarocks
-            os.execute(string.format("rm -rf '%s/luarocks.tar.gz' '%s/luarocks-'*", sdkPath, sdkPath))
-            return
+        -- Clean up LuaRocks source and archive
+        platform.rm(luarocksArchive)
+        if platform.exists(luarocksDir) then
+            platform.rm(luarocksDir)
         end
-
-        local bootstrapCmd = string.format("cd '%s' && make bootstrap 2>&1", luarocksDir)
-        os.execute(bootstrapCmd)
-
-        -- Clean up LuaRocks source
-        os.execute(string.format("rm -rf '%s/luarocks.tar.gz' '%s/luarocks-'*", sdkPath, sdkPath))
     end
 
-    -- Clean up Lua source files (keep only bin, lib, include, man, share, luarocks)
-    local cleanCmd = string.format("cd '%s' && rm -rf src doc Makefile README install 2>/dev/null", sdkPath)
-    os.execute(cleanCmd)
+    -- Clean up Lua source files, keeping only bin/, lib/, include/, share/
+    for _, item in ipairs({ "src", "doc", "Makefile", "README" }) do
+        platform.rm(sdkPath .. sep .. item)
+    end
 end
diff --git a/lib/platform.lua b/lib/platform.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9ad4a18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/platform.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+local os_type = RUNTIME.osType
+
+local M = {}
+
+M.sep = (os_type == "windows") and "\\" or "/"
+
+function M.cp(src, dst)
+    if os_type == "windows" then
+        src = src:gsub("\\", "/")
+        dst = dst:gsub("\\", "/")
+        local f = io.open(src, "rb")
+        if not f then
+            return false, "source not found: " .. src
+        end
+        local content = f:read("*a")
+        f:close()
+        f = io.open(dst, "wb")
+        if not f then
+            return false, "cannot write: " .. dst
+        end
+        f:write(content)
+        f:close()
+        return true
+    else
+        local ok = os.execute("cp '" .. src .. "' '" .. dst .. "' 2>/dev/null")
+        if ok ~= 0 and ok ~= true then
+            return false, "cp failed: " .. src .. " -> " .. dst
+        end
+        return true
+    end
+end
+
+function M.mkdir(path)
+    if os_type == "windows" then
+        local p = io.popen('mkdir "' .. path .. '" 2>nul')
+        if p then
+            p:close()
+        end
+    else
+        os.execute("mkdir -p '" .. path .. "' 2>/dev/null")
+    end
+end
+
+function M.mv(src, dst)
+    if os_type == "windows" then
+        local ok, _ = pcall(os.rename, src, dst)
+        if not ok then
+            M.cp(src, dst)
+            local p = io.popen('del /f /q "' .. src .. '" 2>nul')
+            if p then
+                p:close()
+            end
+        end
+    else
+        local ok = os.execute("mv '" .. src .. "' '" .. dst .. "' 2>/dev/null")
+        if ok ~= 0 and ok ~= true then
+            M.cp(src, dst)
+            os.execute("rm -rf '" .. src .. "' 2>/dev/null")
+        end
+    end
+end
+
+function M.listdir(path)
+    local entries = {}
+    if os_type == "windows" then
+        local f = io.popen('dir /b "' .. path .. '" 2>nul')
+        if f then
+            for entry in f:lines() do
+                table.insert(entries, entry)
+            end
+            f:close()
+        end
+    else
+        local f = io.popen("ls -1 '" .. path .. "' 2>/dev/null")
+        if f then
+            for entry in f:lines() do
+                table.insert(entries, entry)
+            end
+            f:close()
+        end
+    end
+    return entries
+end
+
+function M.exists(path)
+    local f, _, code = io.open(path)
+    if code == 13 or code == 5 or code == 21 then
+        return true
+    end
+    if f then
+        f:close()
+        return true
+    end
+    return false
+end
+
+function M.rm(path)
+    if os_type == "windows" then
+        local p = io.popen('rmdir /s /q "' .. path .. '" 2>nul')
+        if p then
+            p:close()
+        end
+        p = io.popen('del /f /q "' .. path .. '" 2>nul')
+        if p then
+            p:close()
+        end
+    else
+        os.execute("rm -rf '" .. path .. "' 2>/dev/null")
+    end
+end
+
+return M
diff --git a/lib/readline/history.h b/lib/readline/history.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..29568c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/readline/history.h
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#ifndef _READLINE_HISTORY_H_
+#define _READLINE_HISTORY_H_
+
+void add_history(const char *);
+void using_history(void);
+
+#endif
diff --git a/lib/readline/readline.h b/lib/readline/readline.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..70df3d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/readline/readline.h
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#ifndef _READLINE_H_
+#define _READLINE_H_
+
+extern char *rl_readline_name;
+
+char *readline(const char *);
+void rl_free(void *);
+
+#endif
diff --git a/lib/readline_shim.c b/lib/readline_shim.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5035289
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/readline_shim.c
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include "linenoise.h"
+
+char *rl_readline_name = "linenoise";
+static int history_initialized = 0;
+
+char *readline(const char *prompt) {
+    return linenoise(prompt);
+}
+
+void using_history(void) {
+    if (!history_initialized) {
+        linenoiseHistorySetMaxLen(1000);
+        history_initialized = 1;
+    }
+}
+
+void add_history(const char *line) {
+    using_history();
+    linenoiseHistoryAdd(line);
+}
diff --git a/lib/version.lua b/lib/version.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e00fea6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/version.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+local M = {}
+
+function M.parse(s)
+    local major, minor, patch = string.match(s, "^(%d+)%.?(%d*)%.?(%d*)$")
+    if not major then
+        return nil
+    end
+    return {
+        major = tonumber(major),
+        minor = tonumber(#minor > 0 and minor or 0),
+        patch = tonumber(#patch > 0 and patch or 0),
+    }
+end
+
+return M
diff --git a/metadata.lua b/metadata.lua
index 69c12cc..04425e8 100644
--- a/metadata.lua
+++ b/metadata.lua
@@ -1,24 +1,20 @@
-PLUGIN = {}
-PLUGIN.name = "lua"
-PLUGIN.version = "0.1.0"
-PLUGIN.homepage = "https://github.com/mise-plugins/vfox-lua"
-PLUGIN.license = "MIT"
-PLUGIN.description = "Lua version manager - compiles from source"
-PLUGIN.minRuntimeVersion = "0.3.0"
-PLUGIN.notes = {
-    "Compiles Lua from source. Requires a C compiler (gcc/clang).",
-    "Automatically installs LuaRocks for Lua 5.x versions.",
-}
+PLUGIN = {
+    name = "lua",
+    version = "0.1.0",
+    homepage = "https://github.com/mise-plugins/vfox-lua",
+    license = "MIT",
+    description = "Lua version manager - compiles from source",
+    minRuntimeVersion = "0.3.0",
+    notes = {
+        "Compiles Lua from source. Requires zig compiler (auto-installed via mise).",
+        "Automatically installs LuaRocks for Lua 5.x versions.",
+    },
 
--- System prerequisites checked by mise before installing (see the `system_deps`
--- setting). Detection is the source of truth; the `packages` map only provides
--- remediation hints.
-PLUGIN.systemDependencies = {
-    { bin = "cc", packages = { apt = "build-essential", dnf = "gcc" } },
-    { bin = "make", packages = { brew = "make", apt = "build-essential", dnf = "make" } },
-    -- LuaRocks is downloaded with curl in post_install
-    { bin = "curl", packages = { brew = "curl", apt = "curl", dnf = "curl" } },
-    -- Lua links libreadline for interactive line editing on the default build
-    { pkgconfig = "readline", optional = "readline line editing",
-      packages = { brew = "readline", apt = "libreadline-dev", dnf = "readline-devel" } },
+    -- System prerequisites checked by mise before installing (see the `system_deps`
+    -- setting). Detection is the source of truth; the `packages` map only provides
+    -- remediation hints.
+    systemDependencies = {
+        { bin = "zig", packages = { brew = "zig", apt = "zig", dnf = "zig" } },
+        { bin = "make", packages = { brew = "make", apt = "build-essential", dnf = "make" } },
+    },
 }
diff --git a/mise-tasks/test.mjs b/mise-tasks/test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4c11880
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mise-tasks/test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+//MISE description="Run plugin tests - install and execute tool"
+//MISE tools={node="latest"}
+
+import { execSync, spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+
+function run(cmd, opts = {}) {
+  const result = execSync(cmd, {
+    encoding: "utf-8",
+    stdio: opts.silent ? "pipe" : "inherit",
+    timeout: 300000,
+    ...opts,
+  });
+  return result?.trim() ?? "";
+}
+
+function test(name, fn) {
+  process.stdout.write(`  ${name}... `);
+  try {
+    fn();
+    console.log("✓");
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.log("✗");
+    console.log(`    ${e.message}`);
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+}
+
+const LUA_VERSION = process.env.LUA_TEST_VERSION || "5.4.7";
+
+run("mise plugin link --force lua .");
+run("mise cache clear");
+run(`mise uninstall lua@${LUA_VERSION}`);
+run(`mise install lua@${LUA_VERSION}`);
+
+test("lua binary reports correct version", () => {
+  const out = run(`mise exec lua@${LUA_VERSION} -- lua -v 2>&1`, {
+    stdio: "pipe",
+  });
+  if (!out.includes(LUA_VERSION)) {
+    throw new Error(`expected ${LUA_VERSION} in output:\n${out}`);
+  }
+});
+
+test("luarocks is available", () => {
+  const out = run(`mise exec lua@${LUA_VERSION} -- luarocks --version`, {
+    stdio: "pipe",
+  });
+  if (!out.toLowerCase().includes("luarocks")) {
+    throw new Error(`luarocks not found:\n${out}`);
+  }
+});
+
+console.log("\n✓ All tests passed");
diff --git a/mise.toml b/mise.toml
index bdb971e..40e0f40 100644
--- a/mise.toml
+++ b/mise.toml
@@ -6,12 +6,14 @@ actionlint = "latest"
 hk = "latest"
 lua = "5.4"
 lua-language-server = "latest"
+make = "latest"
 pkl = "latest"
 stylua = "latest"
+zig = "0.16.0"
 
 [tasks.format]
 description = "Format Lua scripts"
-run = "stylua metadata.lua hooks/"
+run = "stylua metadata.lua hooks/ lib/"
 
 [tasks.lint]
 description = "Lint Lua scripts and GitHub Actions using hk"
@@ -24,3 +26,4 @@ run = "hk fix"
 [tasks.ci]
 description = "Run all CI checks"
 depends = ["lint", "test"]
+