--- a/prosodyctl	Tue Jul 05 14:59:47 2022 +0200
+++ b/prosodyctl	Sat Jul 02 17:27:39 2022 +0200
@@ -44,6 +44,13 @@
 
 -----------
 
+-- Check before first require, to preempt the probable failure
+if _VERSION < "Lua 5.2" then
+	io.stderr:write("Prosody is no longer compatible with Lua 5.1\n")
+	io.stderr:write("See https://prosody.im/doc/depends#lua for more information\n")
+	return os.exit(1);
+end
+
 local startup = require "util.startup";
 startup.prosodyctl();