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+# File locations
+
+This is a summary of all file paths related to LuaRocks, including the files
+that compose LuaRocks (its scripts and modules), files installed by LuaRocks
+(Lua modules and scripts), and files required by LuaRocks (programs, libraries
+and headers).
+
+For each path, the default value is also listed.
+
+Whenever "5.x" is used, it refers to the Lua version you configured during
+installation.
+
+# Path to LuaRocks 
+
+* LuaRocks command-line scripts. These are the main LuaRocks commands
+  (`luarocks`, `luarocks-admin`); it should be in your system PATH.
+
+  * Unix default: /usr/local/bin
+
+* LuaRocks modules. These are Lua modules (`luarocks.fs`, etc.) used by
+  LuaRocks. The LuaRocks command-line tools are configured during installation
+  to be able to find those files.
+
+  * Unix default: /usr/local/share/lua/5.x/
+
+# Path to Lua binaries and associated data 
+
+* Lua interpreter. Where to find the Lua interpreter to execute scripts and
+  LuaRocks itself.
+
+  * Unix default: /usr/local/bin/lua
+
+* Lua libraries. The directory containing the Lua virtual machine as a shared
+  library. On some platforms, Lua modules written in C (also called "C
+  modules") should link against this library
+
+  * Unix default: /usr/local/lib
+
+* Lua header files (lua.h, etc.). They are required when compiling C modules.
+
+  * Unix default: /usr/local/include
+
+On Unix, those locations vary according to your OS variant or distribution. If
+you're using a Linux distribution, for example, you may have installed Lua
+using your package manager and paths use /usr/ rather than /usr/local/, and
+the `lua` binary may be called `lua-5.x`.
+
+For Windows users, having libraries and headers around may be uncommon, as
+Windows tends to have binary distributions. LuaRocks can provide binary rocks,
+but rocks in the standard repository are often available only as source code
+and need to be compiled during the installation process.
+
+# Paths to rocks trees 
+
+LuaRocks by default is configured to use two rocks trees:
+
+* System-wide [rock tree](rocks_repositories.md) (used by default)
+  * Unix default: /usr/local/
+* Per-user [rock tree](rocks_repositories.md) (may be selected by the user with the --local flag).
+  * Unix default: $HOME/.luarocks/
+
+In order to use the modules installed in the rock trees, the [deployment
+directories](rocks_repositories.md) should be in the `LUA_PATH` and
+`LUA_CPATH` environment variables. 
+
+On Unix, performing a vanilla installation of Lua from lua.org and a vanilla
+installation of LuaRocks will install both under /usr/local, meaning that the
+environment variables for the system-wide rock tree are correct by default.
+
+The command `[luarocks path](luarocks_path.md)` outputs the correct environment
+variables set for a rock tree.
+
+# Path where command-line scripts are installed 
+
+Rocks may also deploy command-line scripts. This location is relative to the
+rock tree where they are installed:
+
+* System-wide [rock tree](rocks_repositories.md) (used by default)
+
+  * Unix default: /usr/local/bin/
+
+* Per-user [rock tree](rocks_repositories.md) (may be selected by the user
+  with the --local flag).
+
+  * Unix default: $HOME/.luarocks/bin/
+
+To be able to call those scripts from the shell, the location where they are
+installed need to be in your environment path. 
+
+On Unix, /usr/local/bin is usually in the $PATH by default, but
+$HOME/.luarocks/bin is not. 
+
+The command `[luarocks path](luarocks_path.md) --bin` outputs the correct PATH
+environment variables set for a rock tree.
+
+# Compiler 
+
+For compiling modules written in C, you need a compiler toolchain installed.
+
+For many platforms this is a non-issue: Linux distribution often include
+`gcc` (the default installation of Ubuntu, notably, ships without build
+tools by default: run `sudo apt-get install build-essential`).
+
+On Windows, where binary distribution is the standard, this might be an
+additional requirement. Because more rocks are available as source code than
+as binary rocks, it is probably best to have a C compiler available. LuaRocks
+supports MinGW and the Microsoft Visual Studio toolchains. The compiler should
+be in the system path, or explicitly configured in the LuaRocks config files.
+
+