Lightbot

Lightbot is an educational puzzle game about programming and logical thinking.

The player controls a small robot and must guide it to light up all blue tiles in each level.
Instead of moving the robot directly, you build a program from simple instructions
(move, turn, jump, light up, repeat, etc.). This makes Lightbot well-suited for introductory courses on algorithms, control flow, and problem decomposition.

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Play online

You can play Lightbot directly in your browser:

• https://lightbot.lu

No installation or account is required for the online version.

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Downloading and running Lightbot locally

1. Download the latest release from the Releases page.
2. Unpack the archive.
3. Open index.html in your browser (no server required).

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Localization

The release build is static, so you cannot add a new localization by editing files after download. New languages must be added in the source and released as part of the project.

Translations live in:

src/locales/translations.en.js
src/locales/translations.de.js
src/locales/translations.fr.js

Best practice for contributing a new language

1. Copy an existing file (for example translations.en.js) to a new file like translations.it.js.
2. Translate only the values (right-hand side). Keep all keys exactly the same.
3. Add the new language to the i18n resources in src/lightbot/lightbot.view.canvas.ui.translate.js.
4. Add the language option to the language selector in index.html.
5. Open a Pull Request with the new file.

Only Pull Requests are accepted for new translations.

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Building from source

If you prefer to build the game yourself (or modify the code):

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/haan/Lightbot.git
   cd Lightbot

2. Install dependencies

   Install Node.js 26.12.1 or a newer 26.x release and npm 11.19.0. The version in .nvmrc is also used by CI and release builds. With nvm-windows, run nvm install 26.12.1 and nvm use 26.12.1; with nvm on macOS/Linux, run nvm install and nvm use. Check node --version, then run:

   npm ci

3. Start the dev server

   npm run dev

4. Build the game

   npm run build

   This outputs a production build to dist/.

5. Run locally

   Open dist/index.html in your browser.

Runtime security

Node.js 26.12.1 includes the fix for the Brotli decoder vulnerability CVE-2026-111497. The Node engine requirement and .npmrc reject unsupported runtimes during dependency installation. After upgrading Node, restart development and preview servers so they use the patched runtime. npm audit checks package dependencies, not Node's bundled Brotli decoder.

Lightbot's web and offline builds are static browser assets; the repository contains no Python application or Node production backend. This update protects the Node development, build, and CI environment. Any separately managed hosting software or reverse proxy needs its own vendor updates.

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Using Lightbot in teaching

Lightbot was designed with teaching in mind. Typical use cases include:

• Introducing basic programming concepts (sequencing, loops, conditionals)
• Practicing algorithmic thinking and planning
• Comparing different solutions for efficiency (shorter programs vs. more steps)

Teachers are free to:

• Run the online version in class
• Provide a local copy built from the Releases page
• Fork the repository and customize levels and interface to their needs

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Credits

• Development: Laurent Haan
• Interface: Zenobia Homan
• Robot artwork: surt
• Music: hektikmusic
• Original Lightbot concept: https://lightbot.com/

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License

This project is released under the MIT License.
See the LICENSE file for the full license text.