Getting started

Tasks and wait

Doing things over time without freezing the game.

A task is a function that can pause. wait(ms) inside a task pauses that task for at least ms milliseconds and lets the game carry on; the task continues on a later tick. The main file itself runs as a task, so it can wait too.

spawn(function()
    while true do
        local me = agents.local_player()
        if me and me:health().percent < 50 then
            combat.cast("Signet of Restoration")
        end
        wait(250)
    end
end)
spawn(fn, ...)integer
Starts a task that runs fn(...), and returns its id. The task starts on the next tick.
wait([ms])
Pauses the current task for ms milliseconds. Without an argument (or with 0) it waits for the next tick.
cancel(id)
Stops a task.

Rules

  • Only tasks can wait: the main file, and functions started with spawn. Callbacks such as on_tick can't; spawn a task from them instead.
  • wait inside a coroutine of your own pauses that coroutine, not the task.
  • Files loaded with require run as part of whatever called it, so a module required from the main file can take several ticks to load, and can wait.
  • All of a plugin's tasks share one time budget each tick. A task that runs long simply pauses and continues on the next tick, and busy tasks take turns. See Limits and errors.
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