avm

avm is a CLI for managing multiple versions of multiple development tools with a shared workflow.

Supported Tools

Built-in general tools:

• go: Go programming language
• node: Node.js JavaScript runtime
• liberica: Liberica Java JDK/JRE
• pnpm: Fast, disk space efficient package manager for Node.js
• dotnet: .NET SDK and runtimes

Use avm tool to list all supported tools, and avm tool <tool> to inspect platform/flavor values and install examples.

Command Model

General tool commands follow this shape:

avm <subcommand> <tool> [args]

Examples:

avm install node --lts-only # Install the latest LTS version
avm get-vers go --platform x64-linux # Install the latest non-prerelease x64 Linux (no matter what platform it runs on) version.
avm install dotnet --platform arm64-mac --flavor sdk
avm install liberica --platform x64-linux --flavor jdk
avm install pnpm -x 10 # Install the latest non-prerelease version in the 10.x.x series.

Usage Notes

• avm does not modify shell environment variables.
• Use avm path <tool> [tag] or avm entry-path <tool> [tag] and wire paths in your shell config.
• entry-path may point to an executable binary or to a runtime entry file that should be invoked by the corresponding runtime.
• Tags and aliases are filesystem-based and can be managed with alias, copy, remove, and clean.
  • This means an alias tag can point to arbitary versions while having the same path
• For offline installation:
  1. Run avm get-downinfo <tool> ... to obtain URL/hash metadata.
  2. Download the archive.
  3. Run avm install-local <tool> <archive> <target_tag> [--hash ...].

Example: Multiple Versions, Alias, and Paths

This example uses node; the workflow is identical for other tools.

Install two versions:

avm install node -x 22 # Install NodeJS 22.x.x
avm install node -x 24 # Install NodeJS 24.x.x

Create an alias that points to a specific installed version:

avm alias node arm64-mac_24.14.0 default

Show the alias path and the concrete version path:

avm path node default
avm path node arm64-mac_24.14.0

Point the same alias at a different installed version:

avm alias node arm64-mac_22.22.0 default

The alias path stays the same but now points to the other version:

avm path node default
avm path node arm64-mac_22.22.0

If you wire your shell to use the alias path (for example $(avm path node default)), updating the alias switches the tool version without changing the path.

The default tag is treated specially. It is the default tag to run with avm run and avm path if no extra arguments are provided and can be set automatically during installation with the --default option.

Configuration

Print effective config file path:

avm config-path

You can also override config path via environment variable CONFIG_PATH.

Config format (toml):

# Optional: Storage directory for AVM data, including installed tools.
# Default: OS-specific local data directory.
data_path = "/path/to/data"

# Optional: URL prefix replacement rules for downloads.
[[mirrors]]
from = "https://origin.example.com/tool"
to = "https://mirror.example.com/tool"

# Optional: Override the default platform for tools that support platform selection
# (currently: go, node, liberica, dotnet).
# By default, AVM uses the compile-target platform baked into the avm binary at build time.
# The value must be a valid platform string for the tool (see `avm tool <tool>` for available platforms).
# If the value does not match any supported platform of the tool, it is ignored
# and fallback uses that same compile-target platform.
# Resolution order: tool-specific entry -> global -> compile-target platform.
[default-platform]
global = "x64-linux"    # applies to all tools that support platform selection
dotnet = "arm64-mac"    # tool-specific override (takes precedence over global)
go = "arm64-mac"        # tool-specific override (takes precedence over global)

Roadmap

• Liberica JDK/JRE
• Go
• Node.js
• pnpm
  • Manage multiple pnpm versions is needed based on real-world usage scenarios.
• .NET
• Python
• gcc
• clang
• Feature: External Alias

Won't consider:

• Rust: please use rustup instead.
• Python: please use uv instead. Since uv is occupied by OpenAI, I'll support it as an alternative.
• MSVC: I don't want to reverse-engineer what have the installer from Microsoft done.