Scripts can use Python or bundled Lua 5.4.9. Choose a .py or .lua file in Script → Run; logon scripts, saved script commands and –script also accept both. Use Script → Cancel to stop the current tab’s worker. Script errors appear in the Activity pane. A session that is still logging in counts as open, so a script can wait for a password, passphrase or host-key prompt and answer it with Send. The Lua scripting guide includes its syntax and API reference.

Choose Script → Run and select a .py file. Python runs separately from the desktop UI. The application passes a private, per-instance local connection token and the originating tab ID; changing focus does not retarget the script. Cancellation terminates the script process and leaves the connection open.

Linux uses configured/system Python 3. Windows packages include a private Python runtime. Select a different interpreter under Global Settings → Automation if needed. The lantern module uses only the standard library.

from lantern import app
 
tab = app.GetScriptTab()
tab.Screen.Send("printf '%s%s\\n' 'terminal-' 'ready'\r")
if not tab.Screen.WaitForString("terminal-ready", 5):
    raise TimeoutError("Endpoint did not respond")
print(tab.Caption, tab.Screen.Rows, tab.Screen.Columns)

Build test prompts from pieces so a wait does not match its own echoed command line. A screen send records the incoming-stream position before transmission, so an immediate reply is retained for the following wait.

• app.Version, app.Arguments.Count/GetArg(0), app.GetScriptTab(), app.GetActiveTab(), app.GetTabCount(), app.GetTab(1), app.Sleep(milliseconds) and app.Quit().
• Tabs: Caption, one-based Index, Screen, Session, Activate(), Clone(), Close(), ConnectSftp(), ResetCaption(), ZmodemUpload(files) (queue files for the host's Zmodem receiver), ZmodemCancel(), ZmodemActive().
• Screen: Rows, Columns, one-based CurrentRow/CurrentColumn, Selection, Send(text), binary SendBytes(data), Get/Get2(top,left,bottom,right), Clear(), SendKeys(), SendSpecial(), WaitForCursor(), WaitForString(), WaitForStrings() and ReadString().
• Matching: IgnoreCase, capture IgnoreEscape, Synchronous and MatchIndex. Wait timeouts default to seconds; zero waits until match/disconnect/cancellation. WaitForStrings returns one-based index or zero on timeout; WaitForString returns a boolean. ReadString excludes the matched delimiter and returns empty text on timeout.
• Session: Connected, Logging, LogFileName, Config, Disconnect(), Connect(profile), ConnectInTab(profile), and Log(enabled, append, raw).
• Configuration: GetOption(key), SetOption(key,value) and Save(). Keys are the typed application keys in src/config.cpp, such as fontSize, logPath, host, port and keyFile.
• Clipboard: app.Clipboard.Text.
• Dialogs: app.Dialog.MessageBox(text,title), Prompt(text,title,default,password) and FileOpenDialog(title).

Get2 retains line separators; Get concatenates lines. Closed/locked sessions and invalid coordinates produce explicit errors. A session disconnected while waiting raises LanternError. Capture is bounded; truncation raises an error rather than silently dropping the beginning of a response.

The comprehensive SCRIPTING-API.md defines the larger API contract. Members outside the included interface above are not supplied by this release. Lua uses the same authenticated application API through its bundled worker; see LUA-SCRIPTING.md for language-specific details.

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