Local variables may be declared anywhere inside a block. The declaration may include an initial assignment: 

	stat ::= *local* namelist [`*=*` explist1]

If present, an initial assignment has the same semantics of a multiple assignment (see Assignment). Otherwise, all variables are initialized with nil.

A chunk is also a block (see Chunks), and so local variables can be declared in a chunk outside any explicit block. The scope of such local variables extends until the end of the chunk.

The visibility rules for local variables are explained in Visibility Rules.