L Lillipelli Labs
Download Drawn2Code ↓
Experimental educational software

Design visually.
Learn by building.

Drawn2Code is a prototype visual IDE that helps beginning programmers create real cross-platform applications with Lua and Solar2D. It was built in the classroom, for the classroom—and continues to evolve through student use and feedback.

Download for Mac Download for Windows

Current release: version 1.588 for Mac and Windows

Drawn2Code visual IDE showing a Solar2D app interface under construction

Design the interface. Configure the objects. Generate the Lua.

Why it exists

Spend less time fighting syntax.

Beginning developers should be able to focus on ideas, interaction, logic, and experimentation—not just coordinates and punctuation.

Learning to program is difficult. Learning to build a polished user interface at the same time can be even harder.

Drawn2Code was originally created for a university Mobile Application Development course. Students visually construct an app interface, configure its objects, and let Drawn2Code generate much of the corresponding Solar2D/Lua code.

Students still write code for event handlers, behavior, logic, and custom features. The visual workflow simply clears away repetitive setup work so they can reach the rewarding part faster.

Drawn2Code is intentionally a prototype. It is not finished commercial software. It is a continually evolving learning environment, shaped by years of classroom use and student feedback.

“It made creating apps so easy it felt like cheating.”

Mobile App Development student
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Visual interface design

Place and configure display objects on a design canvas instead of positioning everything by hand.

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Lua code generation

Generate readable Solar2D code that students can inspect, modify, and learn from.

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Cross-platform workflow

Create projects for Solar2D and run them in its desktop simulator for iterative testing.

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Built for beginners

Reduce the intimidating setup work without hiding the programming concepts that matter.

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Continually evolving

Features and fixes are frequently driven by the problems students encounter in real projects.

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Mac and Windows

Separate self-contained downloads make the prototype available in either classroom environment.

Get the prototype

Choose your platform.

Download Drawn2Code and place it alongside a Solar2D development workflow.

Drawn2Code for Mac

A notarized macOS application with its Java runtime bundled.

Version 1.588 DMG
Download Mac DMG

Drawn2Code for Windows

A self-contained Windows package for use with Solar2D on Windows.

Version 1.588 ZIP
Download Windows ZIP
Drawn2Code is experimental educational software. Save backups of important .d2c project files, and remember that designs created in newer versions may not open correctly in older releases.
Cover of Cross-Platform Mobile Application Development: A Beginner's Guide Using Solar2D
The companion book

Learn the ideas behind the software.

Cross-Platform Mobile Application Development: A Beginner’s Guide Using Solar2D uses the same project-based approach that inspired Drawn2Code. It walks beginning developers through Lua, interface objects, interaction, animation, games, and mobile app fundamentals.

14 hands-on chapters
100+ example apps
Written for beginners
View the book on Amazon
About Lillipelli Labs

Small experiments. Practical learning.

Lillipelli Labs builds experimental educational software intended to make programming more creative, visual, and approachable. Drawn2Code was created by Dr. John R. Carlson for student learning and developed over years of use in university classrooms.