diff --git a/doc/README.wslua b/doc/README.wslua
index d8b1e36a82..c96a4f4be4 100644
--- a/doc/README.wslua
+++ b/doc/README.wslua
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ epan/wslua/CMakeLists.txt. You also have to add the module name into
 docbook/user-guide.xml and docbook/wsluarm.xml, and the source files into
 docbook/CMakeLists.txt, to get it to be generated in the user guide.
 
-Another Perl script is used as well, called 'make-init-lua.pl', which
+Another Python3 script is used as well, called 'make-init-lua.py', which
 generates the init.lua script.  A large part of it deals with exposing #define
 values into the Lua global table, or sub-tables.  Unfortunately not all of
 them are put in sub-tables, which means the global Lua table is quite polluted
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ all have a common 'PI_' prefix should be an indicator they can be put in a
 table named PI, or PacketInfo.  Just because C-code doesn't have namespaces,
 doesn't mean Lua can't. This has now been fixed, and the PI_* names are now in
 two separate subtables of a table named 'expert', as 'expert.group' and
-'expert.severity' subtables. Follow that model in 'make-init-lua.pl'.
+'expert.severity' subtables. Follow that model in 'make-init-lua.py'.
 
 
 Due to those documentation and registration scripts, you MUST follow some very
diff --git a/epan/proto.h b/epan/proto.h
index 6854ed8247..2f2f675e58 100644
--- a/epan/proto.h
+++ b/epan/proto.h
@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@ void proto_report_dissector_bug(const char *format, ...)
  * bit, required for FT_UINT_STRING and for UCS-2 and UTF-16 strings)
  * and the bottom bit (which we ignore for now so that programs that
  * pass TRUE for the encoding just do ASCII).  (The encodings are given
- * directly as even numbers in hex, so that make-init-lua.pl can just
+ * directly as even numbers in hex, so that make-init-lua.py can just
  * turn them into numbers for use in init.lua.)
  *
  * We don't yet process ASCII and UTF-8 differently.  Ultimately, for
@@ -655,7 +655,7 @@ void proto_report_dissector_bug(const char *format, ...)
 #define FIELD_DISPLAY_E_MASK 0xFF
 
 /*
- * Note that this enum values are parsed in make-init-lua.pl so make sure
+ * Note that this enum values are parsed in make-init-lua.py so make sure
  * any changes here still makes valid entries in init.lua.
  * XXX The script requires the equals sign.
  */
@@ -896,7 +896,7 @@ typedef proto_node proto_item;
  * the bottom up.
  */
 
-/* do not modify the PI_SEVERITY_MASK name - it's used by make-init-lua.pl */
+/* do not modify the PI_SEVERITY_MASK name - it's used by make-init-lua.py */
 /* expert severities */
 #define PI_SEVERITY_MASK        0x00F00000  /**< mask usually for internal use only! */
 /** Packet comment */
@@ -910,7 +910,7 @@ typedef proto_node proto_item;
 /** Serious problems, e.g. a malformed packet */
 #define PI_ERROR                0x00800000
 
-/* do not modify the PI_GROUP_MASK name - it's used by make-init-lua.pl */
+/* do not modify the PI_GROUP_MASK name - it's used by make-init-lua.py */
 /* expert "event groups" */
 #define PI_GROUP_MASK           0xFF000000  /**< mask usually for internal use only! */
 /** The protocol field has a bad checksum, usually uses PI_WARN severity */
diff --git a/epan/stat_groups.h b/epan/stat_groups.h
index e58bb34603..e9d9a8ab64 100644
--- a/epan/stat_groups.h
+++ b/epan/stat_groups.h
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ extern "C" {
  * XXX - stats should be able to register additional menu groups, although
  * the question then would be "in what order should they appear in the menu?"
  *
- * NOTE: the enum below is parsed by epan/wslua/make-init-lua.pl in order
+ * NOTE: the enum below is parsed by epan/wslua/make-init-lua.py in order
  * to generate usable values for Lua scripts to use, so they can add to
  * the menus in the GUI. The perl script's regex is such that the following
  * prefixes must only appear once in this list:
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ extern "C" {
  */
 
 /*! Statistics groups. Used for UI menu layout. */
-/* This is parsed by make-init-lua.pl, so we can't do anything fancy here. */
+/* This is parsed by make-init-lua.py, so we can't do anything fancy here. */
 typedef enum register_stat_group_e {
     REGISTER_PACKET_ANALYZE_GROUP_UNSORTED,     /*!< Unsorted packet analysis */
     REGISTER_ANALYZE_GROUP_CONVERSATION_FILTER, /*!< Conversation filters. Unused? */
diff --git a/epan/wslua/CMakeLists.txt b/epan/wslua/CMakeLists.txt
index ee93c7a6a4..239bd8009d 100644
--- a/epan/wslua/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/epan/wslua/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -104,13 +104,12 @@ add_custom_command(
 
 add_custom_command(
 	OUTPUT init.lua
-	COMMAND ${PERL_EXECUTABLE}
-		${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/make-init-lua.pl
-		${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}
+	COMMAND ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE}
+		${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/make-init-lua.py
 		${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/template-init.lua
-		> init.lua
+		init.lua
 	DEPENDS
-		${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/make-init-lua.pl
+		${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/make-init-lua.py
 		${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/template-init.lua
 		${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/epan/ftypes/ftypes.h
 		${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/wiretap/wtap.h
diff --git a/epan/wslua/make-init-lua.pl b/epan/wslua/make-init-lua.pl
deleted file mode 100755
index c5974d7067..0000000000
--- a/epan/wslua/make-init-lua.pl
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,259 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/perl
-#
-# make-init-lua.pl
-#
-# create the init.lua file based on a template (stdin)
-#
-# (c) 2006, Luis E. Garcia Onatnon <luis@ontanon.org>
-#
-# Wireshark - Network traffic analyzer
-# By Gerald Combs <gerald@wireshark.org>
-# Copyright 2004 Gerald Combs
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
-
-use strict;
-
-my $WSROOT = shift;
-
-die "'$WSROOT' is not a directory" unless -d $WSROOT;
-
-my $wtap_encaps_table = '';
-my $wtap_tsprecs_table = '';
-my $wtap_commenttypes_table = '';
-my $ft_types_table = '';
-my $frametypes_table = '';
-my $wtap_rec_types_table = '';
-my $wtap_presence_flags_table = '';
-my $bases_table = '';
-my $encodings = '';
-my $expert_pi = '';
-my $expert_pi_tbl = '';
-my $expert_pi_severity = '';
-my $expert_pi_group = '';
-my $menu_groups = '';
-
-my %replacements = %{{
-    WTAP_ENCAPS => \$wtap_encaps_table,
-    WTAP_TSPRECS => \$wtap_tsprecs_table,
-    WTAP_COMMENTTYPES => \$wtap_commenttypes_table,
-    FT_TYPES => \$ft_types_table,
-    FT_FRAME_TYPES => \$frametypes_table,
-    WTAP_REC_TYPES => \$wtap_rec_types_table,
-    WTAP_PRESENCE_FLAGS => \$wtap_presence_flags_table,
-    BASES => \$bases_table,
-    ENCODINGS => \$encodings,
-    EXPERT => \$expert_pi,
-    EXPERT_TABLE => \$expert_pi_tbl,
-    MENU_GROUPS => \$menu_groups,
-}};
-
-
-#
-# load template
-#
-my $template = '';
-my $template_filename = shift;
-
-open TEMPLATE, "< $template_filename" or die "could not open '$template_filename':  $!";
-$template .= $_ while(<TEMPLATE>);
-close TEMPLATE;
-
-#
-# Extract values from wiretap/wtap.h:
-#
-#   WTAP_FILE_  values
-#	WTAP_ENCAP_ values
-#   WTAP_HAS_   values
-#
-
-$wtap_encaps_table = "-- Wiretap encapsulations XXX\nwtap_encaps = {\n";
-$wtap_tsprecs_table = "-- Wiretap timestamp precision types\nwtap_tsprecs = {\n";
-$wtap_commenttypes_table = "-- Wiretap file comment types\nwtap_comments = {\n";
-$wtap_rec_types_table = "-- Wiretap record_types\nwtap_rec_types = {\n";
-$wtap_presence_flags_table = "-- Wiretap presence flags\nwtap_presence_flags = {\n";
-
-open WTAP_H, "< $WSROOT/wiretap/wtap.h" or die "cannot open '$WSROOT/wiretap/wtap.h':  $!";
-
-while(<WTAP_H>) {
-    if ( /^#define WTAP_ENCAP_([A-Z0-9_]+)\s+(-?\d+)/ ) {
-        $wtap_encaps_table .= "\t[\"$1\"] = $2,\n";
-    }
-
-    if ( /^#define WTAP_TSPREC_([A-Z0-9_]+)\s+(\d+)/ ) {
-        $wtap_tsprecs_table .= "\t[\"$1\"] = $2,\n";
-    }
-
-    if ( /^#define WTAP_COMMENT_([A-Z0-9_]+)\s+(0x\d+)/ ) {
-        $wtap_commenttypes_table .= "\t[\"$1\"] = $2,\n";
-    }
-
-    if ( /^#define REC_TYPE_([A-Z0-9_]+)\s+(\d+)\s+\/\*\*<([^\*]+)\*\// ) {
-        $wtap_rec_types_table .= "\t[\"$1\"] = $2,  --$3\n";
-    }
-
-    if ( /^#define WTAP_HAS_([A-Z0-9_]+)\s+(0x\d+)\s+\/\*\*<([^\*]+)\*\// ) {
-        my $num = hex($2);
-        $wtap_presence_flags_table .= "\t[\"$1\"] = $num,  --$3\n";
-    }
-}
-
-$wtap_encaps_table =~ s/,\n$/\n}\nwtap = wtap_encaps -- for bw compatibility\n/msi;
-$wtap_tsprecs_table =~ s/,\n$/\n}\n/msi;
-$wtap_commenttypes_table =~ s/,\n$/\n}\n/msi;
-# wtap_rec_types_table has comments at the end (not a comma),
-# but Lua doesn't care about extra commas so leave it in
-$wtap_rec_types_table =~ s/\n$/\n}\n/msi;
-# wtap_presence_flags_table has comments at the end (not a comma),
-# but Lua doesn't care about extra commas so leave it in
-$wtap_presence_flags_table =~ s/\n$/\n}\n/msi;
-
-#
-# Extract values from epan/ftypes/ftypes.h:
-#
-#	values from enum fttype
-#
-
-$ft_types_table = "-- Field Types\nftypes = {\n";
-$frametypes_table = "-- Field Type FRAMENUM Types\nframetype = {\n";
-
-my $ftype_num = 0;
-my $frametypes_num = 0;
-
-open FTYPES_H, "< $WSROOT/epan/ftypes/ftypes.h" or die "cannot open '$WSROOT/epan/ftypes/ftypes.h':  $!";
-while(<FTYPES_H>) {
-    if ( /^\s+FT_FRAMENUM_([A-Z0-9a-z_]+)\s*,/ ) {
-        $frametypes_table .= "\t[\"$1\"] = $frametypes_num,\n";
-        $frametypes_num++;
-    } elsif ( /^\s+FT_([A-Z0-9a-z_]+)\s*,/ ) {
-        $ft_types_table .= "\t[\"$1\"] = $ftype_num,\n";
-        $ftype_num++;
-    }
-}
-close FTYPES_H;
-
-$ft_types_table =~ s/,\n$/\n}\n/msi;
-$frametypes_table =~ s/,\n$/\n}\n/msi;
-
-#
-# Extract values from epan/proto.h:
-#
-#	values from enum base
-#	#defines for encodings and expert group and severity levels
-#
-
-$bases_table        = "-- Display Bases\nbase = {\n";
-$encodings          = "-- Encodings\n";
-$expert_pi          = "-- Expert flags and facilities (deprecated - see 'expert' table below)\n";
-$expert_pi_tbl      = "-- Expert flags and facilities\nexpert = {\n";
-$expert_pi_severity = "\t-- Expert severity levels\n\tseverity = {\n";
-$expert_pi_group    = "\t-- Expert event groups\n\tgroup = {\n";
-
-open PROTO_H, "< $WSROOT/epan/proto.h" or die "cannot open '$WSROOT/epan/proto.h':  $!";
-
-my $in_severity = 0;
-my $prev_comment;
-my $skip_this = 0;
-
-while(<PROTO_H>) {
-    $skip_this = 0;
-
-    if (/^\s+(?:BASE|SEP|ABSOLUTE_TIME)_([A-Z_]+)[ ]*=[ ]*([0-9]+)[,\s]+(?:\/\*\*< (.*?) \*\/)?/) {
-        $bases_table .= "\t[\"$1\"] = $2,  -- $3\n";
-    }
-
-    if (/^#define\s+BASE_(RANGE_STRING)[ ]*((?:0x)?[0-9]+)[ ]+(?:\/\*\*< (.*?) \*\/)?/) {
-        # Handle BASE_RANGE_STRING
-        my $num = hex($2);
-        $bases_table .= "\t[\"$1\"] = $num,  -- $3\n";
-    }
-
-    if (/^#define\s+BASE_(UNIT_STRING)[ ]*((?:0x)?[0-9]+)[ ]+(?:\/\*\*< (.*?) \*\/)?/) {
-        # Handle BASE_UNIT_STRING as a valid base value in Lua
-        my $num = hex($2);
-        $bases_table .= "\t[\"$1\"] = $num,  -- $3\n";
-    }
-
-    if (/^.define\s+PI_SEVERITY_MASK /) {
-        $in_severity = 1;
-        $skip_this = 1;
-    }
-
-    if (/^.define\s+PI_GROUP_MASK /) {
-        $in_severity = 2;
-        $skip_this = 1;
-    }
-
-    if ($in_severity && /\/\*\* (.*?) \*\//) {
-        $prev_comment = $1;
-    }
-
-    if ( /^.define\s+(PI_([A-Z_]+))\s+((0x)?[0-9A-Fa-f]+)/ ) {
-        my ($name, $abbr, $value) = ($1, $2, hex($3));
-        # I'm keeping this here for backwards-compatibility
-        $expert_pi .= "$name = $value\n";
-
-        if (!$skip_this && $in_severity == 1) {
-            $expert_pi_severity .= "\t\t-- $prev_comment\n";
-            $expert_pi_severity .= "\t\t\[\"$abbr\"\] = $value,\n";
-        }
-        elsif (!$skip_this && $in_severity == 2) {
-            $expert_pi_group .= "\t\t-- $prev_comment\n";
-            $expert_pi_group .= "\t\t\[\"$abbr\"\] = $value,\n";
-        }
-    }
-
-    if ( /^.define\s+(ENC_[A-Z0-9_]+)\s+((0x)?[0-9A-Fa-f]+)/ ) {
-        my ($name, $value) = ($1, hex($2));
-        $encodings .= "$name = $value\n";
-    }
-}
-close PROTO_H;
-
-#
-# Extract values from stat_groups.h:
-#
-#	MENU_X_X values for register_stat_group_t
-#
-
-$menu_groups .= "-- menu groups for register_menu\n";
-my $menu_i = 0;
-
-open STAT_GROUPS, "< $WSROOT/epan/stat_groups.h" or die "cannot open '$WSROOT/epan/stat_groups.h':  $!";
-my $in_stat_group_enum = 0;
-while(<STAT_GROUPS>) {
-    # need to skip matching words in comments, and get to the enum
-    if (/^typedef enum register_stat_group_e \{/) { $in_stat_group_enum = 1; }
-    if (/^\} register_stat_group_t\;/) { $in_stat_group_enum = 0; }
-    # the problem here is we need to pick carefully, so we don't break existing scripts
-    if ($in_stat_group_enum && /REGISTER_([A-Z0-9_]+)_GROUP_([A-Z0-9_]+),? /) {
-        $menu_groups .= "MENU_$1_$2 = $menu_i\n";
-        $menu_groups =~ s/_NONE//;
-        $menu_i++;
-    }
-}
-close STAT_GROUPS;
-
-$menu_groups .= <<'FIN';
--- Old / deprecated menu groups. These shoudn't be used in new code.
-MENU_ANALYZE_UNSORTED = MENU_PACKET_ANALYZE_UNSORTED
-MENU_ANALYZE_CONVERSATION = MENU_ANALYZE_CONVERSATION_FILTER
-MENU_STAT_CONVERSATION = MENU_STAT_CONVERSATION_LIST
-MENU_STAT_ENDPOINT = MENU_STAT_ENDPOINT_LIST
-MENU_STAT_RESPONSE = MENU_STAT_RESPONSE_TIME
-MENU_STAT_UNSORTED = MENU_PACKET_STAT_UNSORTED
-FIN
-
-$bases_table .= "}\n";
-$encodings .= "\n";
-$expert_pi .= "\n";
-$expert_pi_severity .= "\t},\n";
-$expert_pi_group .= "\t},\n";
-$expert_pi_tbl .= $expert_pi_group . $expert_pi_severity . "}\n\n";
-
-for my $key (keys %replacements) {
-    $template =~ s/%$key%/${$replacements{$key}}/msig;
-}
-
-
-print $template;
diff --git a/epan/wslua/make-init-lua.py b/epan/wslua/make-init-lua.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..6549c25c97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/epan/wslua/make-init-lua.py
@@ -0,0 +1,199 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+#
+# make-init-lua.py
+#
+# By Gerald Combs <gerald@wireshark.org>
+# Based on make-init-lua.pl by Luis E. Garcia Onatnon <luis.ontanon@gmail.com>
+#
+# Wireshark - Network traffic analyzer
+# By Gerald Combs <gerald@wireshark.org>
+# Copyright 1998 Gerald Combs
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
+
+import argparse
+import os
+import re
+
+from enum import Enum
+from string import Template
+
+class ExpertState(Enum):
+    NONE = 0
+    IN_GROUP = 1
+    IN_SEVERITY = 2
+
+def main():
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Generate the registration macros for Lua code.")
+    parser.add_argument("template", metavar='template', help="template file")
+    parser.add_argument("output", metavar='output', help="output file")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    this_dir = os.path.dirname(__file__)
+    src_root = os.path.join(this_dir, '..', '..')
+
+    replacements = {
+        'WTAP_ENCAPS': '-- Wiretap encapsulations XXX\nwtap_encaps = {',
+        'WTAP_TSPRECS': '-- Wiretap timestamp precision types\nwtap_tsprecs = {',
+        'WTAP_COMMENT_TYPES': '-- Wiretap file comment types\nwtap_comments = {',
+        'FT_TYPES': '-- Field Types\nftypes = {',
+        'FT_FRAME_TYPES': '-- Field Type FRAMENUM Types\nframetype = {',
+        'WTAP_REC_TYPES': '-- Wiretap record_types\nwtap_rec_types = {',
+        'WTAP_PRESENCE_FLAGS': '-- Wiretap presence flags\nwtap_presence_flags = {',
+        'BASES': '-- Display Bases\nbase = {',
+        'ENCODINGS': '-- Encodings',
+        'EXPERT': '-- Expert flags and facilities (deprecated - see \'expert\' table below)',
+        'EXPERT_TABLE': '-- Expert flags and facilities\nexpert = {',
+        'MENU_GROUPS': '-- menu groups for register_menu',
+    }
+
+    with open(args.template, encoding='utf-8') as tmpl_f:
+        template = Template(tmpl_f.read())
+
+    wtap_encaps = []
+    wtap_tsprecs = []
+    wtap_comment_types = []
+    wtap_rec_types = []
+    wtap_presence_flags = []
+    with open(os.path.join(src_root, 'wiretap', 'wtap.h'), encoding='utf-8') as wtap_f:
+        for line in wtap_f:
+            m = re.search(r'#define WTAP_ENCAP_([A-Z0-9_]+)\s+(-?\d+)', line)
+            if m:
+                wtap_encaps.append(f'\n\t["{m.group(1)}"] = {m.group(2)}')
+
+            m = re.search(r'#define WTAP_TSPREC_([A-Z0-9_]+)\s+(\d+)', line)
+            if m:
+                wtap_tsprecs.append(f'\n\t["{m.group(1)}"] = {m.group(2)}')
+
+            m = re.search(r'#define WTAP_COMMENT_([A-Z0-9_]+)\s+(0x\d+)', line)
+            if m:
+                wtap_comment_types.append(f'\n\t["{m.group(1)}"] = {m.group(2)}')
+
+            m = re.search(r'#define REC_TYPE_([A-Z0-9_]+)\s+(\d+)\s+\/\*\*<([^\*]+)\*\/', line)
+            if m:
+                wtap_rec_types.append(f'\n\t["{m.group(1)}"] = {m.group(2)},  --{m.group(3)}')
+
+            m = re.search(r'#define WTAP_HAS_([A-Z0-9_]+)\s+(0x\d+)\s+\/\*\*<([^\*]+)\*\/', line)
+            if m:
+                wtap_presence_flags.append(f'\n\t["{m.group(1)}"] = {int(m.group(2), 16)},  --{m.group(3)}')
+
+    replacements['WTAP_ENCAPS'] += ','.join(wtap_encaps) + '\n}\nwtap = wtap_encaps -- for bw compatibility\n'
+    replacements['WTAP_TSPRECS'] += ','.join(wtap_tsprecs) + '\n}\n'
+    replacements['WTAP_COMMENT_TYPES'] += ','.join(wtap_comment_types) + '\n}\n'
+    replacements['WTAP_REC_TYPES'] += ''.join(wtap_rec_types) + '\n}\n'
+    replacements['WTAP_PRESENCE_FLAGS'] += ''.join(wtap_presence_flags) + '\n}\n'
+
+    frametypes = []
+    ftypes = []
+    with open(os.path.join(src_root, 'epan', 'ftypes', 'ftypes.h'), encoding='utf-8') as ftypes_f:
+        for line in ftypes_f:
+            m = re.match(r'\s+FT_FRAMENUM_([A-Z0-9a-z_]+)\s*,', line)
+            if m:
+                idx = len(frametypes)
+                frametypes.append(f'\n\t["{m.group(1)}"] = {idx}');
+                continue
+
+            m = re.match(r'\s+FT_([A-Z0-9a-z_]+)\s*,', line)
+            if m:
+                idx = len(ftypes)
+                ftypes.append(f'\n\t["{m.group(1)}"] = {idx}');
+
+    replacements['FT_TYPES'] += ','.join(ftypes) + '\n}\n'
+    replacements['FT_FRAME_TYPES'] += ','.join(frametypes) + '\n}\n'
+
+
+    bases = []
+    encodings = []
+    expert = []
+    expert_group = []
+    expert_severity = []
+    expert_state = ExpertState.NONE
+    prev_comment = ''
+    with open(os.path.join(src_root, 'epan', 'proto.h'), encoding='utf-8') as proto_f:
+        for line in proto_f:
+            skip_this = False
+
+            m = re.match(r'\s+(?:BASE|SEP|ABSOLUTE_TIME)_([A-Z_]+)[ ]*=[ ]*([0-9]+)[,\s]+(?:\/\*\*< (.*?) \*\/)?', line)
+            if m:
+                bases.append(f'\n\t["{m.group(1)}"] = {m.group(2)},  -- {m.group(3)}')
+
+            m = re.match(r'#define\s+BASE_(RANGE_STRING)[ ]*((?:0x)?[0-9]+)[ ]+(?:\/\*\*< (.*?) \*\/)?', line)
+            if m:
+                # Handle BASE_RANGE_STRING
+                bases.append(f'\n\t["{m.group(1)}"] = {int(m.group(2), 16)},  -- {m.group(3)}')
+
+            m = re.match(r'^#define\s+BASE_(UNIT_STRING)[ ]*((?:0x)?[0-9]+)[ ]+(?:\/\*\*< (.*?) \*\/)?', line)
+            if m:
+                # Handle BASE_UNIT_STRING as a valid base value in Lua
+                bases.append(f'\n\t["{m.group(1)}"] = {int(m.group(2), 16)},  -- {m.group(3)}')
+
+            if re.match(r'#define\s+PI_GROUP_MASK ', line):
+                expert_state = ExpertState.IN_GROUP
+                skip_this = True
+
+            if re.match(r'.define\s+PI_SEVERITY_MASK ', line):
+                expert_state = ExpertState.IN_SEVERITY
+                skip_this = True
+
+            m = re.search(r'/\*\* (.*?) \*\/', line)
+            if m:
+                prev_comment = m.group(1)
+
+            m = re.match(r'#define\s+(PI_([A-Z_]+))\s+((0x)?[0-9A-Fa-f]+)', line)
+            if m:
+                name = m.group(1)
+                abbr = m.group(2)
+                value = int(m.group(3), 16)
+
+                # I'm keeping this here for backwards-compatibility
+                expert.append(f'\n{name} = {value}')
+
+                if not skip_this and expert_state == ExpertState.IN_GROUP:
+                    expert_group.append(f'\n\t\t-- {prev_comment}\n\t\t["{abbr}"] = {value},')
+                elif not skip_this and expert_state == ExpertState.IN_SEVERITY:
+                    expert_severity.append(f'\n\t\t-- {prev_comment}\n\t\t["{abbr}"] = {value},')
+
+            m = re.match(r'^.define\s+(ENC_[A-Z0-9_]+)\s+((0x)?[0-9A-Fa-f]+)', line)
+            if m:
+                encodings.append(f'\n{m.group(1)} = {int(m.group(2), 16)}')
+
+    menu_groups = []
+    in_stat_group_enum = False
+    with open(os.path.join(src_root, 'epan', 'stat_groups.h'), encoding='utf-8') as stat_groups_f:
+        for line in stat_groups_f:
+            # need to skip matching words in comments, and get to the enum
+            if re.match(r'^typedef enum register_stat_group_e \{', line):
+                in_stat_group_enum = True
+            elif re.match('^\} register_stat_group_t\;/', line):
+                in_stat_group_enum = False
+            # the problem here is we need to pick carefully, so we don't break existing scripts
+            if in_stat_group_enum:
+                m = re.search('REGISTER_([A-Z0-9_]+)_GROUP_([A-Z0-9_]+),? ', line)
+                if m:
+                    idx = len(menu_groups)
+                    menu_groups.append(f'\nMENU_{m.group(1)}_{m.group(2)} = {idx}')
+
+    replacements['BASES'] += ''.join(bases) + '\n}\n'
+    replacements['ENCODINGS'] += ''.join(encodings) + '\n\n'
+    replacements['EXPERT'] += ''.join(expert) + '\n\n'
+    replacements['EXPERT_TABLE'] += '\n\t-- Expert event groups\n\tgroup = {'
+    replacements['EXPERT_TABLE'] += ''.join(expert_group) + '\n\t},'
+    replacements['EXPERT_TABLE'] += '\n\t-- Expert severity levels\n\tseverity = {'
+    replacements['EXPERT_TABLE'] += ''.join(expert_severity) + '\n\t},\n}\n'
+    replacements['MENU_GROUPS'] += ''.join(menu_groups) + '\n\n'
+    replacements['MENU_GROUPS'] += '''\
+-- Old / deprecated menu groups. These shoudn't be used in new code.
+MENU_ANALYZE_UNSORTED = MENU_PACKET_ANALYZE_UNSORTED
+MENU_ANALYZE_CONVERSATION = MENU_ANALYZE_CONVERSATION_FILTER
+MENU_STAT_CONVERSATION = MENU_STAT_CONVERSATION_LIST
+MENU_STAT_ENDPOINT = MENU_STAT_ENDPOINT_LIST
+MENU_STAT_RESPONSE = MENU_STAT_RESPONSE_TIME
+MENU_STAT_UNSORTED = MENU_PACKET_STAT_UNSORTED
+'''
+
+    with open(args.output, mode='w', encoding='utf-8') as out_f:
+        out_f.write(template.substitute(replacements))
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    main()
diff --git a/epan/wslua/template-init.lua b/epan/wslua/template-init.lua
index 796bd8eb77..6d272bbfc2 100644
--- a/epan/wslua/template-init.lua
+++ b/epan/wslua/template-init.lua
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ function package.prepend_path(name)
     package.path = name .. sep .. "?.lua;" .. package.path
 end
 
-%WTAP_ENCAPS%
+${WTAP_ENCAPS}
 
 --
 -- Generate the wtap_filetypes items for file types, for backwards
@@ -90,31 +90,31 @@ end
 --
 wtap_filetypes = get_wtap_filetypes()
 
-%WTAP_TSPRECS%
+${WTAP_TSPRECS}
 
-%WTAP_COMMENTTYPES%
+${WTAP_COMMENT_TYPES}
 
-%FT_TYPES%
+${FT_TYPES}
 
 -- the following table is since 2.0
-%FT_FRAME_TYPES%
+${FT_FRAME_TYPES}
 
 -- the following table is since 1.12
-%WTAP_REC_TYPES%
+${WTAP_REC_TYPES}
 
 -- the following table is since 1.11.3
-%WTAP_PRESENCE_FLAGS%
+${WTAP_PRESENCE_FLAGS}
 
-%BASES%
+${BASES}
 
-%ENCODINGS%
+${ENCODINGS}
 
-%EXPERT%
+${EXPERT}
 
 -- the following table is since 1.11.3
-%EXPERT_TABLE%
+${EXPERT_TABLE}
 
-%MENU_GROUPS%
+${MENU_GROUPS}
 
 -- the possible values for Pinfo's p2p_dir attribute
 P2P_DIR_UNKNOWN = -1