<div align="center">
<h1><a href="https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx">rtx</a></h1>
<a href="https://crates.io/crates/rtx-cli"><img alt="Crates.io" src="https://img.shields.io/crates/v/rtx-cli?style=for-the-badge"></a>
<a href="https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx/blob/main/LICENSE"><img alt="GitHub" src="https://img.shields.io/github/license/jdxcode/rtx?color=%2332CD32&style=for-the-badge"></a>
<a href="https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx/actions/workflows/rtx.yml"><img alt="GitHub Workflow Status" src="https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/jdxcode/rtx/rtx.yml?color=%2332CD32&style=for-the-badge"></a>
<a href="https://codecov.io/gh/jdxcode/rtx"><img alt="Codecov" src="https://img.shields.io/codecov/c/github/jdxcode/rtx?color=%2332CD32&style=for-the-badge"></a>
<a href="https://discord.gg/mABnUDvP57"><img alt="Discord" src="https://img.shields.io/discord/1066429325269794907?color=%23738ADB&style=for-the-badge"></a>
<p><em>Polyglot runtime manager (asdf rust clone)</em></p>
</div>

## Features

- **asdf-compatible** - rtx is compatible with asdf plugins and `.tool-versions` files. It can be used as a drop-in replacement.
- **Polyglot** - compatible with any language, so no more figuring out how nvm, nodenv, pyenv, etc work individually—just use 1 tool.
- **Fast** - rtx is written in Rust and is very fast. 20x-200x faster than asdf.
- **No shims** - shims cause problems, they break `which`, and add overhead. By default, rtx
  does not use them—however you can if you want to.
- **Fuzzy matching and aliases** - It's enough to just say you want "v20" of node, or the "lts"
  version. rtx will figure out the right version without you needing to specify an exact version.
- **Arbitrary env vars** - Set custom env vars when in a project directory like `NODE_ENV=production` or `AWS_PROFILE=staging`.

## 30 Second Demo

The following shows using rtx to install different versions
of [nodejs](https://nodejs.org).
Note that calling `which node` gives us a real path to node, not a shim.

[![demo](./docs/demo.gif)](./docs/demo.gif)

## Quickstart

Install rtx on macOS (other methods [here](#installation)):

```sh-session
$ curl https://rtx.pub/rtx-latest-macos-arm64 > ~/bin/rtx
$ chmod +x ~/bin/rtx
$ rtx --version
rtx 1.28.6
```

Hook rtx into to your shell (pick the right one for your shell):

```sh-session
echo 'eval "$(~/bin/rtx activate bash)"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'eval "$(~/bin/rtx activate zsh)"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo '~/bin/rtx activate fish | source' >> ~/.config/fish/config.fish
```

> **Warning**
>
> If you use direnv with `layout python` or other logic that needs to reference rtx runtimes inside
> of an `.envrc`, see the [direnv section](#direnv) below.

Install a runtime and set it as the default:

```sh-session
$ rtx install nodejs@20
$ rtx global nodejs@20
$ node -v
v20.0.0
```

## Table of Contents

<!-- AUTO-GENERATED-CONTENT:START (TOC:collapse=true&collapseText=Click to expand&maxDepth=3) -->
<details>
<summary>Click to expand</summary>

- [Features](#features)
- [30 Second Demo](#30-second-demo)
- [Quickstart](#quickstart)
- [About](#about)
  - [What do I use this for?](#what-do-i-use-this-for)
  - [How it works](#how-it-works)
  - [Common commands](#common-commands)
- [Installation](#installation)
  - [Standalone](#standalone)
  - [Homebrew](#homebrew)
  - [Cargo](#cargo)
  - [npm](#npm)
  - [GitHub Releases](#github-releases)
  - [apt](#apt)
  - [dnf](#dnf)
  - [yum](#yum)
  - [apk](#apk)
  - [aur](#aur)
  - [nix](#nix)
- [Other Shells](#other-shells)
  - [Bash](#bash)
  - [Fish](#fish)
  - [Nushell](#nushell)
  - [Xonsh](#xonsh)
  - [Something else?](#something-else)
- [Uninstalling](#uninstalling)
- [Shebang](#shebang)
- [Configuration](#configuration)
  - [`.tool-versions`](#tool-versions)
  - [Legacy version files](#legacy-version-files)
  - [Global config: `~/.config/rtx/config.toml`](#global-config-configrtxconfigtoml)
  - [[experimental] `.rtx.toml`](#experimental-rtxtoml)
  - [Environment variables](#environment-variables)
- [Aliases](#aliases)
- [Plugins](#plugins)
  - [Plugin Options](#plugin-options)
- [Versioning](#versioning)
  - [Calver Breaking Changes](#calver-breaking-changes)
- [Directories](#directories)
  - [`~/.config/rtx`](#configrtx)
  - [`~/.cache/rtx`](#cachertx)
  - [`~/.local/share/rtx`](#localsharertx)
- [Templates](#templates)
- [&#91;experimental&#93; Config Environments](#experimental-config-environments)
- [IDE Integration](#ide-integration)
- [&#91;experimental&#93; Core Plugins](#experimental-core-plugins)
- [FAQs](#faqs)
  - [I don't want to put a `.tool-versions` file into my project since git shows it as an untracked file.](#i-dont-want-to-put-a-tool-versions-file-into-my-project-since-git-shows-it-as-an-untracked-file)
  - [What does `rtx activate` do?](#what-does-rtx-activate-do)
  - [`rtx activate` doesn't work in `~/.profile`, `~/.bash_profile`, `~/.zprofile`](#rtx-activate-doesnt-work-in-profile-bash_profile-zprofile)
  - [rtx is failing or not working right](#rtx-is-failing-or-not-working-right)
  - [Windows support?](#windows-support)
  - [How do I use rtx with http proxies?](#how-do-i-use-rtx-with-http-proxies)
  - [How do the shorthand plugin names map to repositories?](#how-do-the-shorthand-plugin-names-map-to-repositories)
  - [How do I migrate from asdf?](#how-do-i-migrate-from-asdf)
  - [How compatible is rtx with asdf?](#how-compatible-is-rtx-with-asdf)
  - [rtx isn't working with tmux](#rtx-isnt-working-with-tmux)
  - [How do I disable/force CLI color output?](#how-do-i-disableforce-cli-color-output)
  - [Is rtx secure?](#is-rtx-secure)
- [Comparison to asdf](#comparison-to-asdf)
  - [Performance](#performance)
  - [Environment variables in rtx](#environment-variables-in-rtx)
  - [UX](#ux)
  - [CI/CD](#cicd)
  - [GitHub Actions](#github-actions)
- [Shims](#shims)
- [direnv](#direnv)
  - [rtx inside of direnv (`use rtx` in `.envrc`)](#rtx-inside-of-direnv-use-rtx-in-envrc)
  - [Do you need direnv?](#do-you-need-direnv)
- [Cache Behavior](#cache-behavior)
  - [Plugin/Runtime Cache](#pluginruntime-cache)
- [Commands](#commands)
  - [`rtx activate [OPTIONS] [SHELL_TYPE]`](#rtx-activate-options-shell_type)
  - [`rtx alias get <PLUGIN> <ALIAS>`](#rtx-alias-get-plugin-alias)
  - [`rtx alias ls [OPTIONS]`](#rtx-alias-ls-options)
  - [`rtx alias set <PLUGIN> <ALIAS> <VALUE>`](#rtx-alias-set-plugin-alias-value)
  - [`rtx alias unset <PLUGIN> <ALIAS>`](#rtx-alias-unset-plugin-alias)
  - [`rtx bin-paths`](#rtx-bin-paths)
  - [`rtx cache clear`](#rtx-cache-clear)
  - [`rtx completion [SHELL]`](#rtx-completion-shell)
  - [`rtx current [PLUGIN]`](#rtx-current-plugin)
  - [`rtx deactivate`](#rtx-deactivate)
  - [`rtx direnv activate`](#rtx-direnv-activate)
  - [`rtx doctor`](#rtx-doctor)
  - [`rtx env [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...`](#rtx-env-options-runtime)
  - [`rtx exec [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]... [-- <COMMAND>...]`](#rtx-exec-options-runtime----command)
  - [`rtx global [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...`](#rtx-global-options-runtime)
  - [`rtx implode [OPTIONS]`](#rtx-implode-options)
  - [`rtx install [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...`](#rtx-install-options-runtime)
  - [`rtx latest <RUNTIME>`](#rtx-latest-runtime)
  - [`rtx local [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...`](#rtx-local-options-runtime)
  - [`rtx ls [OPTIONS]`](#rtx-ls-options)
  - [`rtx ls-remote <PLUGIN> [PREFIX]`](#rtx-ls-remote-plugin-prefix)
  - [`rtx plugins install [OPTIONS] [NAME] [GIT_URL]`](#rtx-plugins-install-options-name-git_url)
  - [`rtx plugins link [OPTIONS] <NAME> [PATH]`](#rtx-plugins-link-options-name-path)
  - [`rtx plugins ls [OPTIONS]`](#rtx-plugins-ls-options)
  - [`rtx plugins ls-remote [OPTIONS]`](#rtx-plugins-ls-remote-options)
  - [`rtx plugins uninstall <PLUGIN>...`](#rtx-plugins-uninstall-plugin)
  - [`rtx plugins update [PLUGIN]...`](#rtx-plugins-update-plugin)
  - [`rtx prune [OPTIONS] [PLUGINS]...`](#rtx-prune-options-plugins)
  - [`rtx reshim`](#rtx-reshim)
  - [`rtx self-update`](#rtx-self-update)
  - [`rtx settings get <KEY>`](#rtx-settings-get-key)
  - [`rtx settings ls`](#rtx-settings-ls)
  - [`rtx settings set <KEY> <VALUE>`](#rtx-settings-set-key-value)
  - [`rtx settings unset <KEY>`](#rtx-settings-unset-key)
  - [`rtx shell [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...`](#rtx-shell-options-runtime)
  - [`rtx trust [OPTIONS] [CONFIG_FILE]`](#rtx-trust-options-config_file)
  - [`rtx uninstall <RUNTIME>...`](#rtx-uninstall-runtime)
  - [`rtx version`](#rtx-version)
  - [`rtx where <RUNTIME>`](#rtx-where-runtime)
  - [`rtx which [OPTIONS] <BIN_NAME>`](#rtx-which-options-bin_name)

</details>
<!-- AUTO-GENERATED-CONTENT:END -->

## About

_New developer? Try reading the [Beginner's Guide](https://dev.to/jdxcode/beginners-guide-to-rtx-ac4) for a gentler introduction._

rtx is a tool for managing programming language and tool versions. For example, use this to install
a particular version of node.js and ruby for a project. Using `rtx activate`, you can have your
shell automatically switch to the correct node and ruby versions when you `cd` into the project's
directory. Other projects on your machine can use a different set of versions.

rtx is inspired by [asdf](https://asdf-vm.com) and uses asdf's vast [plugin ecosystem](https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-plugins)
under the hood. However, it is _much_ faster than asdf and has a more friendly user experience.
For more on how rtx compares to asdf, [see below](#comparison-to-asdf).

It uses the same `.tool-versions` file that asdf uses. It's also compatible with idiomatic version
files like `.node-version` and `.ruby-version`. See [Legacy Version Files](#legacy-version-files) below.

### What do I use this for?

Typically, developers would use rtx to manage versions of their dev tools for _local_ development.
The main purpose of using rtx is being able to have different versions of languages for different projects
on the same machine. (For example, one project might require python-3.10 and another python-3.11).

Using rtx in production is less common but still a supported use-case. Usually a production setup
won't have different directories for different projects with different dev tool requirements.
That said, using `.tool-versions`/`.rtx.toml` config in production provides parity with local
development
so rtx is still definitely useful in production setups. See the [GitHub Action](#github-actions) for
an example of using rtx in production.

### How it works

rtx hooks into your shell (with `rtx activate zsh`) and sets the `PATH`
environment variable to point your shell to the correct runtime binaries. When you `cd` into a
directory containing a `.tool-versions`/`.rtx.toml` file, rtx will automatically set the
appropriate tool versions in `PATH`.

After activating, every time your prompt starts it will call `rtx hook-env` to fetch new
environment variables.
This should be very fast. It exits early if the directory wasn't changed or `.tool-versions`/`.rtx.toml` files haven't been modified.

Unlike asdf which uses shim files to dynamically locate runtimes when they're called, rtx modifies
`PATH` ahead of time so the runtimes are called directly. This is not only faster since it avoids
any overhead, but it also makes it so commands like `which node` work as expected. This also
means there isn't any need to run `asdf reshim` after installing new runtime binaries.

You should note that rtx does not directly install these tools.
Instead, it leverages plugins to install runtimes.
See [plugins](#plugins) below.

### Common commands

    rtx install nodejs@20.0.0  Install a specific version number
    rtx install nodejs@20      Install a fuzzy version number
    rtx local nodejs@20        Use node-20.x in current project
    rtx global nodejs@20       Use node-20.x as default

    rtx install nodejs         Install the version specified in .tool-versions
    rtx local nodejs@latest    Use latest node in current directory
    rtx global nodejs@system   Use system node as default

    rtx x nodejs@20 -- node app.js  Run `node app.js` with the PATH pointing to node-20.x

## Installation

### Standalone

Note that it isn't necessary for `rtx` to be on `PATH`. If you run the activate script in your rc
file, rtx will automatically add itself to `PATH`.

```
curl https://rtx.pub/install.sh | sh
```

or if you're allergic to `| sh`:

```
curl https://rtx.pub/rtx-latest-macos-arm64 > /usr/local/bin/rtx
```

It doesn't matter where you put it. So use `~/bin`, `/usr/local/bin`, `~/.local/share/rtx/bin/rtx`
or whatever.

Supported architectures:

- `x64`
- `arm64`

Supported platforms:

- `macos`
- `linux`

If you need something else, compile it with [cargo](#cargo).
[Windows isn't currently supported.](https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx/discussions/66)

### Homebrew

```
brew install rtx
```

Alternatively, use the custom tap (which is updated immediately after a release)):

```
brew install jdxcode/tap/rtx
```

### Cargo

Build from source with Cargo:

```
cargo install rtx-cli
```

Do it faster with [cargo-binstall](https://github.com/cargo-bins/cargo-binstall):

```
cargo install cargo-binstall
cargo binstall rtx-cli
```

Build from the latest commit in main:

```
cargo install rtx-cli --git https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx --branch main
```

### npm

rtx is available on npm as a precompiled binary. This isn't a node.js package—just distributed
via npm. This is useful for JS projects that want to setup rtx via `package.json` or `npx`.

```
npm install -g rtx-cli
```

Use npx if you just want to test it out for a single command without fully installing:

```
npx rtx-cli exec python@3.11 -- python some_script.py
```

### GitHub Releases

Download the latest release from [GitHub](https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx/releases).

```
curl https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx/releases/download/v1.28.6/rtx-v1.28.6-linux-x64
mv rtx-v1.27.10-linux-x64 /usr/local/bin/rtx
```

### apt

For installation on Ubuntu/Debian:

```
wget -qO - https://rtx.pub/gpg-key.pub | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/rtx-archive-keyring.gpg 1> /dev/null
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/rtx-archive-keyring.gpg arch=amd64] https://rtx.pub/deb stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/rtx.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y rtx
```

> **Warning**
>
> If you're on arm64 you'll need to run the following:
>
> ```
> echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/rtx-archive-keyring.gpg arch=arm64] https://rtx.pub/deb stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/rtx.list
> ```

### dnf

For Fedora, CentOS, Amazon Linux, RHEL and other dnf-based distributions:

```
dnf install -y dnf-plugins-core
dnf config-manager --add-repo https://rtx.pub/rpm/rtx.repo
dnf install -y rtx
```

### yum

```
yum install -y yum-utils
yum-config-manager --add-repo https://rtx.pub/rpm/rtx.repo
yum install -y rtx
```

### apk

For Alpine Linux:

```
apk add rtx
```

_rtx lives in the [community repository](https://gitlab.alpinelinux.org/alpine/aports/-/blob/master/community/rtx/APKBUILD)._

### aur

For Arch Linux:

```
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/rtx.git
cd rtx
makepkg -si
```

### nix

For NixOS or those using the Nix package manager:

```nix
{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixpkgs-unstable";
    flake-utils.url = "github:numtide/flake-utils";
    rtx-flake = {
      url = "github:jdxcode/rtx";
      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
      inputs.flake-utils.follows = "flake-utils";
    };
  };

  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, flake-utils, rtx-flake }:
    flake-utils.lib.eachDefaultSystem(system:
      let
        pkgs = import nixpkgs {
          inherit system;
          overlays = [ rtx-flake.overlay ];
        };
      in {
        devShells.default = pkgs.mkShell {
          name = "my-dev-env";
          nativeBuildInputs = with pkgs; [
            rtx
          ];
        };
      }
    );
}
```

You can also import the package directly using
`rtx-flake.packages.${system}.rtx`. It supports all default Nix
systems.

## Other Shells

### Bash

```
echo 'eval "$(rtx activate bash)"' >> ~/.bashrc
```

### Fish

```
echo 'rtx activate fish | source' >> ~/.config/fish/config.fish
```

### Nushell

```sh-session
do {
  let rtxpath = $"($nu.config-path | path dirname | path join "rtx.nu")";
  run-external rtx activate nu --redirect-stdout | save $rtxpath -f;
  $"\nsource "($rtxpath)"" | save $nu.config-path --append
}
```

### Xonsh

Since `.xsh` files are [not compiled](https://github.com/xonsh/xonsh/issues/3953) you may shave a bit off startup time by using a pure Python import: add the code below to, for example, `~/.config/xonsh/rtx.py` config file and `import rtx` it in `~/.config/xonsh/rc.xsh`:

```xsh
from pathlib        	import Path
from xonsh.built_ins	import XSH

ctx = XSH.ctx
rtx_init = subprocess.run([Path('~/bin/rtx').expanduser(),'activate','xonsh'],capture_output=True,encoding="UTF-8").stdout
XSH.builtins.execx(rtx_init,'exec',ctx,filename='rtx')
```

Or continue to use `rc.xsh`/`.xonshrc`:

```xsh
echo 'execx($(~/bin/rtx activate xonsh))' >> ~/.config/xonsh/rc.xsh # or ~/.xonshrc
```

Given that `rtx` replaces both shell env `$PATH` and OS environ `PATH`, watch out that your configs don't have these two set differently (might throw `os.environ['PATH'] = xonsh.built_ins.XSH.env.get_detyped('PATH')` at the end of a config to make sure they match)

### Something else?

Adding a new shell is not hard at all since very little shell code is
in this project.
[See here](https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx/tree/main/src/shell) for how
the others are implemented. If your shell isn't currently supported
I'd be happy to help you get yours integrated.

## Uninstalling

Use `rtx implode` to uninstall rtx. This will remove the rtx binary and all of its data. Use
`rtx implode --help` for more information.

Alternatively, manually remove the following directories to fully clean up:

- `~/.local/share/rtx` (can also be `RTX_DATA_DIR` or `XDG_DATA_HOME/rtx`)
- `~/.config/rtx` (can also be `RTX_CONFIG_DIR` or `XDG_CONFIG_HOME/rtx`)
- on Linux: `~/.cache/rtx` (can also be `RTX_CACHE_DIR` or `XDG_CACHE_HOME/rtx`)
- on macOS: `~/Library/Caches/rtx` (can also be `RTX_CACHE_DIR`)

## Shebang

You can specify a tool and its version in a shebang without needing to first
setup `.tool-versions`/`.rtx.toml` config:

```typescript
#!/usr/bin/env -S rtx x nodejs@20 -- node
// "env -S" allows multiple arguments in a shebang
console.log(`Running node: ${process.version}`);
```

This can also be useful in environments where rtx isn't activated
(such as a non-interactive session).

## Configuration

### `.tool-versions`

The `.tool-versions` file is used to specify the runtime versions for a project. An example of this
is:

```
nodejs      20.0.0       # comments are allowed
ruby        3            # can be fuzzy version
shellcheck  latest       # also supports "latest"
jq          1.6
erlang      ref:master   # compile from vcs ref
golang      prefix:1.19  # uses the latest 1.19.x version—needed in case "1.19" is an exact match
shfmt       path:./shfmt # use a custom runtime
nodejs      lts          # use lts version of nodejs (not supported by all plugins)

# The following syntax is experimental and subject to change
nodejs      lts!-2       # install 2 versions behind the latest lts (e.g.: 18 if lts is 20)
python      latest!-0.1  # install python-3.10 if the latest is 3.11
```

Create `.tool-versions` files manually, or use [`rtx local`](#rtx-local-options-runtime) to create them
automatically.
See [the asdf docs](https://asdf-vm.com/manage/configuration.html#tool-versions) for more info on this file format.

### Legacy version files

rtx supports "legacy version files" just like asdf. They're language-specific files like `.node-version`
and `.python-version`. These are ideal for setting the runtime version of a project without forcing
other developers to use a specific tool like rtx/asdf.

They support aliases, which means you can have an `.nvmrc` file with `lts/hydrogen` and it will work
in rtx and nvm. Here are some of the supported legacy version files:

| Plugin    | "Legacy" (Idiomatic) Files                         |
| --------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| crystal   | `.crystal-version`                                 |
| elixir    | `.exenv-version`                                   |
| golang    | `.go-version`, `go.mod`                            |
| java      | `.java-version`                                    |
| nodejs    | `.nvmrc`, `.node-version`                          |
| python    | `.python-version`                                  |
| ruby      | `.ruby-version`, `Gemfile`                         |
| terraform | `.terraform-version`, `.packer-version`, `main.tf` |
| yarn      | `.yarnrc`                                          |

In rtx these are enabled by default. You can disable them with `rtx settings set legacy_version_file false`.
There is a performance cost to having these when they're parsed as it's performed by the plugin in
`bin/parse-version-file`. However these are [cached](#cache-behavior) so it's not a huge deal.
You may not even notice.

> **Note**
>
> asdf calls these "legacy version files" so we do too. I think this is a bad name since it implies
> that they shouldn't be used—which is definitely not the case IMO. I prefer the term "idiomatic"
> version files since they're version files not specific to asdf/rtx and can be used by other tools.
> (`.nvmrc` being a notable exception, which is tied to a specific tool.)

### Global config: `~/.config/rtx/config.toml`

rtx can be configured in `~/.config/rtx/config.toml`. The following options are available:

```toml
[settings]
# whether to prompt to install plugins and runtimes if they're not already installed
missing_runtime_behavior = 'warn' # other options: 'ignore', 'warn', 'prompt', 'autoinstall'

# plugins can read the versions files used by other version managers (if enabled by the plugin)
# for example, .nvmrc in the case of nodejs's nvm
legacy_version_file = true         # enabled by default (different than asdf)

# configure `rtx install` to always keep the downloaded archive
always_keep_download = false        # deleted after install by default

# configure how frequently (in minutes) to fetch updated plugin repository changes
# this is updated whenever a new runtime is installed
# (note: this isn't currently implemented but there are plans to add it: https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx/issues/128)
plugin_autoupdate_last_check_duration = '1 week' # set to 0 to disable updates

# config files with these prefixes will be trusted by default
trusted_config_paths = [
    '~/work/my-trusted-projects',
]

verbose = false     # set to true to see full installation output, see `RTX_VERBOSE`
asdf_compat = false # set to true to ensure .tool-versions will be compatible with asdf, see `RTX_ASDF_COMPAT`
jobs = 4            # number of plugins or runtimes to install in parallel. The default is `4`.
raw = false         # set to true to directly pipe plugins to stdin/stdout/stderr

shorthands_file = '~/.config/rtx/shorthands.toml' # path to the shorthands file, see `RTX_SHORTHANDS_FILE`
disable_default_shorthands = false # disable the default shorthands, see `RTX_DISABLE_DEFAULT_SHORTHANDS`

experimental = false # enable experimental features such as shims
shims_dir = '~/.local/share/rtx/shims' # [experimental] directory where shims are stored
log_level = 'debug' # log verbosity, see `RTX_LOG_LEVEL`

[alias.nodejs]
my_custom_node = '20'  # makes `rtx install nodejs@my_custom_node` install node-20.x
                       # this can also be specified in a plugin (see below in "Aliases")
```

These settings can also be managed with `rtx settings ls|get|set|unset`.

### [experimental] `.rtx.toml`

`.rtx.toml` is a new config file that replaces both the global config and the `.tool-versions`
file. It allows for functionality that is not possible with `.tool-versions`, such as:

- setting arbitrary env vars while inside the directory
- passing options to plugins like `virtualenv='.venv'` for [rtx-python](https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx-python#virtualenv-support).
- specifying custom plugin urls

Here is what the `.rtx.toml` looks like:

```toml
[env]
# supports arbitrary env vars so rtx can be used like direnv/dotenv
NODE_ENV = 'production'

[tools]
# specify single or multiple versions
terraform = '1.0.0'
erlang = ['23.3', '24.0']

# supports everything you can do with .tool-versions currently
nodejs = ['16', 'prefix:20', 'ref:master', 'path:~/.nodes/14']

# send arbitrary options to the plugin, passed as:
# RTX_TOOL_OPTS__VENV=.venv
python = {version='3.10', virtualenv='.venv'}

[plugins]
# specify a custom repo url
# note this will only be used if the plugin does not already exist
python = 'https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx-python'

[settings] # project-local settings
verbose = true
missing_runtime_behavior = 'warn'
shims_dir = '~/.rtx/shims'

[alias.nodejs] # project-local aliases
my_custom_node = '20'
```

`.rtx.toml` is currently experimental and may change in minor versions of rtx. It does not
require setting `experimental = true` to use, however.

#### `[env]` - Arbitrary Environment Variables

The `[env]` section of .rtx.toml allows setting arbitrary environment variables.
These can be simple key/value entries like this:

```toml
[env]
NODE_ENV = 'production'
```

`PATH` is treated specially, it needs to be defined as an array in `env_path`:

```toml
env_path = [
    # adds an absolute path
    "~/.local/share/bin",
    # adds a path relative to the .rtx.toml, not PWD
    "./node_modules/.bin",
]
```

_Note: `env_path` is a top-level key, it does not go inside of `[env]`._

Environment variable values can be templates, see [Templates](#templates) for details.

```toml
[env]
LD_LIBRARY_PATH = "/some/path:{{env.LD_LIBRARY_PATH}}"
```

`env_file` can be used to specify a [dotenv](https://dotenv.org) file to load:

```toml
env_file = '.env'
```

_Note: `env_file` goes at the top of the file, above `[env]`._

```toml
[env]
NODE_ENV = false # unset a previously set NODE_ENV
```

### Environment variables

rtx can also be configured via environment variables. The following options are available:

#### `RTX_MISSING_RUNTIME_BEHAVIOR`

This is the same as the `missing_runtime_behavior` config option in `~/.config/rtx/config.toml`.

```
RTX_MISSING_RUNTIME_BEHAVIOR=ignore rtx install nodejs@20
RTX_NODEJS_VERSION=20 rtx exec -- node --version
```

#### `RTX_DATA_DIR`

This is the directory where rtx stores plugins and tool installs. The default location is `~/.local/share/rtx`.

#### `RTX_CACHE_DIR`

This is the directory where rtx stores internal cache. The default location is `~/.cache/rtx` on
Linux and
`~/Library/Caches/rtx` on macOS.

#### `RTX_CONFIG_FILE`

This is the path to the config file. The default is `~/.config/rtx/config.toml`.
(Or `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/config.toml` if that is set)

#### `RTX_DEFAULT_TOOL_VERSIONS_FILENAME`

Set to something other than ".tool-versions" to have rtx look for `.tool-versions` files but with
a different name.

#### `RTX_DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILENAME`

Set to something other than `.rtx.toml` to have rtx look for `.rtx.toml` config files with a different name.

#### [experimental] `RTX_ENV`

Enables environment-specific config files such as `.rtx.development.toml`.
Use this for different env vars or different tool versions in
development/staging/production environments. See
[Config Environments](#experimental-config-environments) for more on how
to use this feature.

#### `RTX_${PLUGIN}_VERSION`

Set the version for a runtime. For example, `RTX_NODEJS_VERSION=20` will use nodejs@20.x regardless
of what is set in `.tool-versions`/`.rtx.toml`.

#### `RTX_LEGACY_VERSION_FILE`

Plugins can read the versions files used by other version managers (if enabled by the plugin)
for example, `.nvmrc` in the case of nodejs's nvm. See [legacy version files](#legacy-version-files) for more
information.

#### `RTX_USE_TOML`

Set to `1` to default to using `.rtx.toml` in `rtx local` instead of `.tool-versions` for
configuration. This will be default behavior once we hit the [Calver](#versioning) release.

#### `RTX_TRUSTED_CONFIG_PATHS`

This is a list of paths that rtx will automatically mark as
trusted. They can be separated with `:`.

#### `RTX_LOG_LEVEL=trace|debug|info|warn|error`

These change the verbosity of rtx.

You can also use `RTX_DEBUG=1`, `RTX_TRACE=1`, and `RTX_QUIET=1` as well as
`--log-level=trace|debug|info|warn|error`.

#### `RTX_LOG_FILE=~/.rtx/rtx.log`

Output logs to a file.

#### `RTX_LOG_FILE_LEVEL=trace|debug|info|warn|error`

Same as `RTX_LOG_LEVEL` but for the log _file_ output level. This is useful if you want
to store the logs but not have them litter your display.

#### `RTX_VERBOSE=1`

This shows the installation output during `rtx install` and `rtx plugin install`.
This should likely be merged so it behaves the same as `RTX_DEBUG=1` and we don't have
2 configuration for the same thing, but for now it is its own config.

#### `RTX_ASDF_COMPAT=1`

Only output `.tool-versions` files in `rtx local|global` which will be usable by asdf.
This disables rtx functionality that would otherwise make these files incompatible with asdf.

#### `RTX_JOBS=1`

Set the number plugins or runtimes to install in parallel. The default is `4`.

#### `RTX_RAW=1`

Set to "1" to directly pipe plugin scripts to stdin/stdout/stderr. By default stdin is disabled
because when installing a bunch of plugins in parallel you won't see the prompt. Use this if a
plugin accepts input or otherwise does not seem to be installing correctly.

Sets `RTX_JOBS=1` because only 1 plugin script can be executed at a time.

#### `RTX_SHORTHANDS_FILE=~/.config/rtx/shorthands.toml`

Use a custom file for the shorthand aliases. This is useful if you want to share plugins within
an organization.

The file should be in this toml format:

```toml
elixir = "https://github.com/my-org/rtx-elixir.git"
nodejs = "https://github.com/my-org/rtx-nodejs.git"
```

#### `RTX_DISABLE_DEFAULT_SHORTHANDS=1`

Disables the shorthand aliases for installing plugins. You will have to specify full urls when
installing plugins, e.g.: `rtx plugin install nodejs https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-nodejs.git`

Currently this disables the following:

- `--fuzzy` as default behavior (`rtx local nodejs@20` will save exact version)

#### `RTX_HIDE_UPDATE_WARNING=1`

This hides the warning that is displayed when a new version of rtx is available.

#### `RTX_CONFIRM=yes|no`

This will automatically answer yes or no to prompts. This is useful for scripting.

#### `RTX_EXPERIMENTAL=1`

Enables experimental features such as shims.

#### [experimental] `RTX_SHIMS_DIR=~/.local/share/rtx/shims`

Set a directory to output shims when running `rtx reshim`. Requires `experimental = true`.

## Aliases

rtx supports aliasing the versions of runtimes. One use-case for this is to define aliases for LTS
versions of runtimes. For example, you may want to specify `lts/hydrogen` as the version for nodejs@20.x.
So you can use the runtime with `nodejs lts/hydrogen` in `.tool-versions`.

User aliases can be created by adding an `alias.<PLUGIN>` section to `~/.config/rtx/config.toml`:

```toml
[alias.nodejs]
my_custom_20 = '20'
```

Plugins can also provide aliases via a `bin/list-aliases` script. Here is an example showing node.js
versions:

```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash

echo "lts/hydrogen 18"
echo "lts/gallium 16"
echo "lts/fermium 14"
```

> **Note:**
>
> Because this is rtx-specific functionality not currently used by asdf it isn't likely to be in any
> plugin currently, but plugin authors can add this script without impacting asdf users.

## Plugins

rtx uses asdf's plugin ecosystem under the hood. These plugins contain shell scripts like
`bin/install` (for installing) and `bin/list-all` (for listing all of the available versions).

See https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-plugins for the list of built-in plugins shorthands. See asdf's
[Create a Plugin](https://asdf-vm.com/plugins/create.html) for how to create your own or just learn
more about how they work.

### Plugin Options

rtx has support for "plugin options" which is configuration specified in `.rtx.toml` to change behavior
of plugins. One example of this is virtualenv on python runtimes:

```toml
[tools]
python = {version='3.11', virtualenv='.venv'}
```

This will be passed to all plugin scripts as `RTX_TOOL_OPTS__VIRTUALENV=.venv`. The user can specify
any option and it will be passed to the plugin in that format.

Currently this only supports simple strings, but we can make it compatible with more complex types
(arrays, tables) fairly easily if there is a need for it.

## Versioning

rtx is currently a new project and is under very rapid development. Slight behavior changes may
occur between releases.
Features marked as "experimental" may change significantly or be removed entirely.

Starting June 1, 2023\*, rtx will move to [Calver](https://calver.org/) versioning (`2023.6.1`). After the move to Calver, rtx's design will become mostly permanent and you will be able to rely on
its behavior for the long term.
Breaking changes will be few but when they do happen,
they will be communicated in the CLI with plenty of notice whenever possible.

Rather than have semver major releases to communicate change in large releases,
new functionality and changes can be opted-into with settings like `experimental = true`.
This way plugin authors and users can
test out new functionality immediately without waiting for a major release.

The numbers in Calver (YYYY.MM.RELEASE) simply represent the date of the release—not compatibility
or how many new features were added.
Each release will be small and incremental.

_\*This plan is tentative and the details may change, but the rough idea of making many changes now so we can have stability later is the goal._

### Calver Breaking Changes

When we switch to Calver, we'll immediately make some notable design changes to rtx. This will
be the first and last time that such a change is made and I actually want to make sure we make
as many as we can—because we'll be stuck with these decisions.

Here are a list of the changes that will be made:

- `rtx local` will default to creating `.rtx.toml` instead of `.tool-versions`. (If the config
  already exists the format will be preserved.)
- `rtx global` will modify `~/.config/rtx/config.toml` instead of `~/.tool-versions`. This path
  can be changed with `RTX_CONFIG_FILE`.
- `~/.tool-versions` will become simply another `.tool-versions` instead of being a special file
  that is read anywhere such as from `/tmp`.
- (more to be added)

## Directories

The following are the directories that rtx uses.
These are the default directories, see
[Configuration](#configuration) for information on changing the locations.

> **Tip**
>
> If you often find yourself using these directories (as I do), I suggest setting all of them to `~/.rtx` for easy access.

### `~/.config/rtx`

This directory stores the global configuration file `~/.config/rtx/config.toml`.

### `~/.cache/rtx`

_On macOS this is `~/Library/Caches/rtx`._

Stores internal cache that rtx uses for things like the list of all available versions of a
plugin.
See [Cache Behavior](#cache-behavior) for more information.

### `~/.local/share/rtx`

This is the main directory that rtx uses and is where plugins and tools are installed into.
It is nearly identical to `~/.asdf` in asdf, so much so that you may be able to get by
symlinking these together and using asdf and rtx simultaneously. (Supporting this isn't a
project goal, however).

#### `~/.local/share/rtx/downloads`

This is where plugins may optionally cache downloaded assets such as tarballs. Use the
`always_keep_downloads` setting to prevent rtx from removing files from here.

#### `~/.local/share/rtx/plugins`

rtx installs plugins to this directory when running `rtx plugins install`. If you are working on a
plugin, I suggest
symlinking it manually by running:

```
ln -s ~/src/rtx-my-tool ~/.local/share/rtx/plugins/my-tool
```

#### `~/.local/share/rtx/installs`

This is where tools are installed to when running `rtx install`. For example, `rtx install
nodejs@20.0.0` will install to `~/.local/share/rtx/installs/nodejs/20.0.0` For example, `rtx
install 0.0` will install to `~/.local/share/rtx/installs/nodejs/20.0.0`.

This will also create other symlinks to this directory for version prefixes ("20" and "20.15")
and matching aliases ("lts", "latest").
For example:

```
20 -> ./20.15.0
20.15 -> ./20.15.0
latest -> ./20.15.0
lts -> ./20.15.0
```

#### `~/.local/share/rtx/shims`

This will be the default location for storing shims. Currently this functionality is marked as
experimental, however, and this needs to be manually set with `shims_dir`.

## Templates

> **Warning**
>
> This functionality is experimental and may change in the future.

Templates are used in the following locations:

- `.tool-versions` files
- `.rtx.toml` files for most configuration
- _(Submit a ticket if you want to see it used elsewhere!)_

The following context objects are available inside templates:

- `env: HashMap<String, String>` – current environment variables
- `config_root: PathBuf` – directory containing the `.rtx.toml` file

As well as these functions:

- `exec(command: &str) -> String` – execute a command and return the output

Templates are parsed with [tera](https://tera.netlify.app/docs)—which is quite powerful. For
example, this snippet will get the directory name of the project:

```toml
[env]
PROJECT_NAME = "{{config_root | split(pat='/') | last}}"
```

Here's another using `exec()`:

```toml
[aliases]
current = "{{exec(command='node --version')}}"
```

## [experimental] Config Environments

It's possible to have separate `.rtx.toml` files in the same directory for different
environments like `development` and `production`. To enable, set
`experimental = true` in `~/.config/rtx/config.toml`, then set `RTX_ENV` to an environment like
`development` or `production`. rtx will then look for a `.rtx.{RTX_ENV}.toml` file in the current directory.

rtx will also look for "local" files like `.rtx.local.toml` and `.rtx.{RTX_ENV}.local.toml` in
the current directory. These are intended to not be committed to version control.
(Add `rtx.*.local.toml` to your `.gitignore` file.)

The priority of these files goes in this order (bottom overrides top):

* `.rtx.toml`
* `.rtx.local.toml`
* `.rtx.{RTX_ENV}.toml`
* `.rtx.{RTX_ENV}.local.toml`

Use `rtx doctor` to see which files are being used.

_Note that currently modifying `RTX_DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILENAME` to something other than `.rtx.toml`
will not work with this feature. For now, it will disable it entirely. This may change in the
future._

## IDE Integration

IDEs work better with shims than they do environment variable modifications. The simplest way to setup rtx
to work inside of an IDE is to enable the experimental shims functionality, then set the shims directory:

```
rtx settings set experimental true
rtx settings set shims_dir ~/.local/share/rtx/shims
```

_Note: this directory will be the default when shims is no longer experimental._

Then you need to add them to PATH. For IntelliJ and VSCode—and likely others, you can modify `~/.zprofile`
with the following:

```
export PATH="$HOME/.local/share/rtx/shims:$PATH"
```

This won't work for all of rtx's functionality. For example, arbitrary env vars in `[env]` will only be set
if a shim is executed. For this we need tighter integration with the IDE and a custom plugin. If you feel
ambitious, take a look at existing direnv extensions for your IDE and see if you can modify it to work for rtx.
Direnv and rtx work similarly and there should be a direnv extension that can be used as a starting point.

Alternatively, you may be able to get tighter integration with a direnv extension and using the
[`use_rtx`](#direnv) direnv function.

## [experimental] Core Plugins

If you have `experimental = true` in your settings, rtx will include some plugins built into the CLI. These are new and will improve over time. They can be easily overridden by
installing a plugin with the same name, e.g.: `rtx plugin install python`.

You can see the core plugins with `rtx plugin ls --core`.

* [Python](./docs/python.md)
* [NodeJS](./docs/nodejs.md)
* ~Ruby~ - coming soon
* ~Java~ - coming soon

## FAQs

### I don't want to put a `.tool-versions` file into my project since git shows it as an untracked file.

You can make git ignore these files in 3 different ways:

- Adding `.tool-versions` to project's `.gitignore` file. This has the downside that you need to commit the change to the ignore file.
- Adding `.tool-versions` to project's `.git/info/exclude`. This file is local to your project so there is no need to commit it.
- Adding `.tool-versions` to global gitignore (`core.excludesFile`). This will cause git to ignore `.tool-versions` files in all projects. You can explicitly add one to a project if needed with `git add --force .tool-versions`.

### What does `rtx activate` do?

It registers a shell hook to run `rtx hook-env` every time the shell prompt is displayed.
You may think that is excessive and it should only run on `cd`, however there are many
situations where it needs to run without the directory changing, for example if the `.rtx.toml`
was modified.

`rtx hook-env` will exit early in different situations if no changes have been made. This prevents
blocking your shell every time you run a command. You can run `rtx hook-env` yourself to see what it
outputs, however it is likely nothing if you're in a shell that has already been activated.

`rtx activate` also creates a shell function (in most shells) called `rtx`. This is a trick that makes it possible for `rtx shell`
and `rtx deactivate` to work without wrapping them in `eval "$(rtx shell)"`.

### `rtx activate` doesn't work in `~/.profile`, `~/.bash_profile`, `~/.zprofile`

`rtx activate` should only be used in `rc` files. These are the interactive ones used when
a real user is using the terminal. (As opposed to being executed by an IDE or something).
Because rtx only calls `hook-env` when the prompt is displayed, calling `rtx activate` in a
non-interactive session means the prompt will never be shown.

For this setup, consider using shims instead which will route calls to the correct directory
by looking at `PWD`. You can also call `rtx exec` instead of expecting things to be directly on PATH.
You can also run `rtx env` in a non-interactive shell, however that will only setup the global tools.
It won't modify the environment variables when entering into a different project.

Also see the [shebang](#shebang) example for a way to make scripts call rtx to get the runtime.
That is another way to use rtx without activation.

### rtx is failing or not working right

First try setting `RTX_DEBUG=1` or `RTX_TRACE=1` and see if that gives you more information.
You can also set `RTX_LOG_FILE_LEVEL=debug RTX_LOG_FILE=/path/to/logfile` to write logs to a file.

If something is happening with the activate hook, you can try disabling it and calling `eval "$(rtx hook-env)"` manually.
It can also be helpful to use `rtx env` which will just output environment variables that would be set.
Also consider using [shims](#shims) which can be more compatible.

If runtime installation isn't working right, try using the `--raw` flag which will install things in
series and connect stdin/stdout/stderr directly to the terminal. If a plugin is trying to interact
with you for some reason this will make it work.

Of course check the version of rtx with `rtx --version` and make sure it is the latest. Use `rtx self-update`
to update it. `rtx cache clean` can be used to wipe the internal cache and `rtx implode` can be used
to remove everything except config.

Before submitting a ticket, it's a good idea to test what you were doing with asdf. That way we can rule
out if the issue is with rtx or if it's with a particular plugin. For example, if `rtx install python@latest`
doesn't work, try running `asdf install python latest` to see if it's an issue with asdf-python.

Lastly, there is `rtx doctor` which will show diagnostic information and any warnings about issues
detected with your setup. If you submit a bug report, please include the output of `rtx doctor`.

### Windows support?

This is something we'd like to add! https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx/discussions/66

It's not a near-term goal and it would require plugin modifications, but it should be feasible.

### How do I use rtx with http proxies?

Short answer: just set `http_proxy` and `https_proxy` environment variables. These should be lowercase.

rtx doesn't really do anything with http itself. The only exception to that is checking for new versions
and `rtx self-update`. It uses `git` to clone plugins and the plugins themselves generally will download
files with `curl` or `wget`.

However this is really up to the plugin. If you're having a proxy-related issue installing something
you should post an issue on the plugin's repo.

### How do the shorthand plugin names map to repositories?

e.g.: how does `rtx plugin install nodejs` know to fetch [https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-nodejs](https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-nodejs)?

asdf maintains [an index](https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-plugins) of shorthands that rtx uses as a base.
This is regularly updated every time that rtx has a release. This repository is stored directly into
the codebase [here](./src/default_shorthands.rs). The bottom of that file contains modifications that
rtx makes. For example, we add `node` which points to the same plugin as `nodejs` and change `python`
to point to [rtx-python](https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx-python) which is a fork of [asdf-python](https://github.com/danhper/asdf-python)
with some rtx features like virtualenv support.

Over time I suspect that more plugins will be forked like rtx-python as we're able to offer more rtx-specific
enhancements.

### How do I migrate from asdf?

First, just install rtx with `rtx activate` like in the getting started guide and remove asdf from your
shell rc file.

Then you can just run `rtx install` in a directory with an asdf `.tool-versions` file and it will
install the runtimes. You could attempt to avoid this by copying the internal directory from asdf over
to rtx with `cp -r ~/.asdf ~/.local/share/rtx`. That _should_ work because they use the same structure,
however this isn't officially supported or regularly tested. Alternatively you can set `RTX_DATA_DIR=~/.asdf`
and see what happens.

### How compatible is rtx with asdf?

rtx should be able to read/install any `.tool-versions` file used by asdf. Any asdf plugin
should be usable in rtx. The commands in rtx are slightly
different, such as `rtx install nodejs@20.0.0` vs `asdf install nodejs 20.0.0`—this is done so
multiple tools can be specified at once. However, asdf-style syntax is still supported: (`rtx
install nodejs 20.0.0`). This is the case for most commands, though the help for the command may
say that asdf-style syntax is supported.

When in doubt, just try asdf syntax and see if it works. If it doesn't open a ticket. It may
not be possible to support every command identically, but
we should attempt to make things as consistent as possible.

This isn't important for usability reasons so much as making it so plugins continue to work that
call asdf commands.

If you need to switch to/from asdf or work in a project with asdf users, you can set
[`RTX_ASDF_COMPAT=1`](#rtxasdfcompat1). That prevents
rtx from writing `.tool-versions` files that will not be
compatible with asdf. Also consider using `.rtx.toml` instead which won't conflict with asdf setups.

### rtx isn't working with tmux

It's been reported that PATH doesn't work correctly with tmux. The fix seems to be calling `hook-env`
right after activating:

```bash
eval "$(rtx activate bash)"
eval "$(rtx hook-env)"
```

This can also be useful if you need to use a runtime right away in an rc file. The default behavior
of `rtx activate` is that it will only run `hook-env` when the shell is about to be displayed, not
immediately after activating. Not calling `hook-env` immediately appears to work better with direnv.

### How do I disable/force CLI color output?

rtx uses [console.rs](https://docs.rs/console/latest/console/fn.colors_enabled.html) which
honors the [clicolors spec](https://bixense.com/clicolors/):

* `CLICOLOR != 0`: ANSI colors are supported and should be used when the program isn’t piped.
* `CLICOLOR == 0`: Don’t output ANSI color escape codes.
* `CLICOLOR_FORCE != 0`: ANSI colors should be enabled no matter what.

### Is rtx secure?

Not as much as it should be, though currently a bit more secure than asdf. Work will happen in this area as secure
supply chains are incredibly important. See [SECURITY.md](./SECURITY.md) for more information.

## Comparison to asdf

rtx is mostly a clone of asdf, but there are notable areas where improvements have been made.

### Performance

asdf made (what I consider) a poor design decision to use shims that go between a call to a runtime
and the runtime itself. e.g.: when you call `node` it will call an asdf shim file `~/.asdf/shims/node`,
which then calls `asdf exec`, which then calls the correct version of node.

These shims have terrible performance, adding ~120ms to every runtime call. rtx does not use shims and instead
updates `PATH` so that it doesn't have any overhead when simply calling binaries. These shims are the main reason that I wrote this. Note that in the demo gif at the top of this README
that `rtx` isn't actually used when calling `node -v` for this reason. The performance is
identical to running node without using rtx.

I don't think it's possible for asdf to fix these issues. The author of asdf did a great writeup
of [performance problems](https://stratus3d.com/blog/2022/08/11/asdf-performance/). asdf is written
in bash which certainly makes it challenging to be performant, however I think the real problem is the
shim design. I don't think it's possible to fix that without a complete rewrite.

rtx does call an internal command `rtx hook-env` every time the directory has changed, but because
it's written in Rust, this is very quick—taking ~10ms on my machine. 4ms if there are no changes, 14ms if it's
a full reload.

tl;dr: asdf adds overhead (~120ms) when calling a runtime, rtx adds a small amount of overhead (~10ms)
when the prompt loads.

### Environment variables in rtx

asdf only helps manage runtime executables. However, some tools are managed via environment variables
(notably Java which switches via `JAVA_HOME`). This isn't supported very well in asdf and requires
a separate shell extension just to manage.

However asdf _plugins_ have a `bin/exec-env` script that is used for exporting environment variables
like [`JAVA_HOME`](https://github.com/halcyon/asdf-java/blob/master/bin/exec-env). rtx simply exports
the environment variables from the `bin/exec-env` script in the plugin but places them in the shell
for _all_ commands. In asdf it only exports those commands when the shim is called. This means if you
call `java` it will set `JAVA_HOME`, but not if you call some Java tool like `mvn`.

This means we're just using the existing plugin script but because rtx doesn't use shims it can be
used for more things. It would be trivial to make a plugin that exports arbitrary environment
variables like [dotenv](https://github.com/motdotla/dotenv) or [direnv](https://github.com/direnv/direnv).

### UX

Some commands are the same in asdf but others have been changed. Everything that's possible
in asdf should be possible in rtx but may use slightly different syntax. rtx has more forgiving commands,
such as using fuzzy-matching, e.g.: `rtx install nodejs@20`. While in asdf you _can_ run
`asdf install nodejs latest:20`, you can't use `latest:20` in a `.tool-versions` file or many other places.
In `rtx` you can use fuzzy-matching everywhere.

asdf requires several steps to install a new runtime if the plugin isn't installed, e.g.:

```sh-session
asdf plugin add nodejs
asdf install nodejs latest:20
asdf local nodejs latest:20
```

In `rtx` this can all be done in a single step to set the local runtime version. If the plugin
and/or runtime needs to be installed it will prompt:

[![asciicast](https://asciinema.org/a/564031.svg)](https://asciinema.org/a/564031)

I've found asdf to be particularly rigid and difficult to learn. It also made strange decisions like
having `asdf list all` but `asdf latest --all` (why is one a flag and one a positional argument?).
`rtx` makes heavy use of aliases so you don't need to remember if it's `rtx plugin add nodejs` or
`rtx plugin install nodejs`. If I can guess what you meant, then I'll try to get rtx to respond
in the right way.

That said, there are a lot of great things about asdf. It's the best multi-runtime manager out there
and I've really been impressed with the plugin system. Most of the design decisions the authors made
were very good. I really just have 2 complaints: the shims and the fact it's written in Bash.

### CI/CD

Using rtx in CI/CD is a great way to synchronize tool versions for dev/build.

### GitHub Actions

Use [`jdxcode/rtx-action`](https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx-action):

```yaml
jobs:
  lint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: jdxcode/rtx-action@v1
      - run: node -v # will be the node version from `.rtx.toml`/`.tool-versions`
```

## Shims

While the PATH design of rtx works great in most cases, there are some situations where shims are
preferable. One example is when calling rtx binaries from an IDE.

To support this, there is experimental support for using rtx in a "shim" mode. To use:

```sh-session
$ rtx settings set experimental true
$ rtx settings set shims_dir ~/.rtx/shims
$ rtx i nodejs@20.0.0
$ rtx reshim
$ ~/.rtx/shims/node -v
v20.0.0
```

## direnv

[direnv](https://direnv.net) and rtx both manage environment variables based on directory. Because they both analyze
the current environment variables before and after their respective "hook" commands are run, they can sometimes conflict with each other.

If you have an issue, it's likely to do with the ordering of PATH. This means it would
really only be a problem if you were trying to manage the same tool with direnv and rtx. For example,
you may use `layout python` in an `.envrc` but also be maintaining a `.tool-versions` file with python
in it as well.

A more typical usage of direnv would be to set some arbitrary environment variables, or add unrelated
binaries to PATH. In these cases, rtx will not interfere with direnv.

### rtx inside of direnv (`use rtx` in `.envrc`)

If you do encounter issues with `rtx activate`, or just want to use direnv in an alternate way,
this is a simpler setup that's less likely to cause issues—at the cost of functionality.

This may be required if you want to use direnv's `layout python` with rtx. Otherwise there are
situations where rtx will override direnv's PATH. `use rtx` ensures that direnv always has control.

To do this, first use `rtx` to build a `use_rtx` function that you can use in `.envrc` files:

```
rtx direnv activate > ~/.config/direnv/lib/use_rtx.sh
```

Now in your `.envrc` file add the following:

```sh-session
use rtx
```

direnv will now call rtx to export its environment variables. You'll need to make sure to add `use_rtx`
to all projects that use rtx (or use direnv's `source_up` to load it from a subdirectory). You can also add `use rtx` to `~/.config/direnv/direnvrc`.

Note that in this method direnv typically won't know to refresh `.tool-versions` files
unless they're at the same level as a `.envrc` file. You'll likely always want to have
a `.envrc` file next to your `.tool-versions` for this reason. To make this a little
easier to manage, I encourage _not_ actually using `.tool-versions` at all, and instead
setting environment variables entirely in `.envrc`:

```
export RTX_NODEJS_VERSION=20.0.0
export RTX_PYTHON_VERSION=3.11
```

Of course if you use `rtx activate`, then these steps won't have been necessary and you can use rtx
as if direnv was not used.

If you continue to struggle, you can also try using the [experimental shims feature](#shims).

### Do you need direnv?

While making rtx compatible with direnv is, and will always be a major goal of this project, I also
want rtx to be capable of replacing direnv if needed. This is why rtx includes support for managing
env vars and [virtualenv](https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx-python#experimental-virtualenv-support)
for python using `.rtx.toml`.

If you find you continue to need direnv, please open an issue and let me know what it is to see if
it's something rtx could support. rtx will never be as capable as direnv with a DSL like `.envrc`,
but I think we can handle enough common use cases to make that unnecessary for most people.

## Cache Behavior

rtx makes use of caching in many places in order to be efficient. The details about how long to keep
cache for should eventually all be configurable. There may be gaps in the current behavior where
things are hardcoded, but I'm happy to add more settings to cover whatever config is needed.

Below I explain the behavior it uses around caching. If you're seeing behavior where things don't appear
to be updating, this is a good place to start.

### Plugin/Runtime Cache

Each plugin has a cache that's stored in `~/$RTX_CACHE_DIR/<PLUGIN>`. It stores
the list of versions available for that plugin (`rtx ls-remote <PLUGIN>`), the legacy filenames (see below),
the list of aliases, the bin directories within each runtime installation, and the result of
running `exec-env` after the runtime was installed.

Remote versions are updated daily by default. The file is zlib messagepack, if you want to view it you can
run the following (requires [msgpack-cli](https://github.com/msgpack/msgpack-cli)).

```sh-session
cat ~/$RTX_CACHE_DIR/nodejs/remote_versions.msgpack.z | perl -e 'use Compress::Raw::Zlib;my $d=new Compress::Raw::Zlib::Inflate();my $o;undef $/;$d->inflate(<>,$o);print $o;' | msgpack-cli decode
```

Note that the caching of `exec-env` may be problematic if the script isn't simply exporting
static values. The vast majority of `exec-env` scripts only export static values, but if you're
working with a plugin that has a dynamic `exec-env` submit
a ticket and we can try to figure out what to do.

Caching `exec-env` massively improved the performance of rtx since it requires calling bash
every time rtx is initialized. Ideally, we can keep this
behavior.

<!-- RTX:COMMANDS -->
## Commands

### `rtx activate [OPTIONS] [SHELL_TYPE]`

```
Initializes rtx in the current shell

This should go into your shell's rc file.
Otherwise, it will only take effect in the current session.
(e.g. ~/.bashrc)

Usage: activate [OPTIONS] [SHELL_TYPE]

Arguments:
  [SHELL_TYPE]
          Shell type to generate the script for

          [possible values: bash, fish, nu, xonsh, zsh]

Options:
      --status
          Show "rtx: <PLUGIN>@<VERSION>" message when changing directories

Examples:
  $ eval "$(rtx activate bash)"
  $ eval "$(rtx activate zsh)"
  $ rtx activate fish | source
  $ execx($(rtx activate xonsh))
```
### `rtx alias get <PLUGIN> <ALIAS>`

```
Show an alias for a plugin

This is the contents of an alias.<PLUGIN> entry in ~/.config/rtx/config.toml

Usage: get <PLUGIN> <ALIAS>

Arguments:
  <PLUGIN>
          The plugin to show the alias for

  <ALIAS>
          The alias to show

Examples:
 $ rtx alias get nodejs lts/hydrogen
 20.0.0
```
### `rtx alias ls [OPTIONS]`

```
List aliases
Shows the aliases that can be specified.
These can come from user config or from plugins in `bin/list-aliases`.

For user config, aliases are defined like the following in `~/.config/rtx/config.toml`:

  [alias.nodejs]
  lts = "20.0.0"

Usage: ls [OPTIONS]

Options:
  -p, --plugin <PLUGIN>
          Show aliases for <PLUGIN>

Examples:
  $ rtx aliases
  nodejs    lts/hydrogen   20.0.0
```
### `rtx alias set <PLUGIN> <ALIAS> <VALUE>`

```
Add/update an alias for a plugin

This modifies the contents of ~/.config/rtx/config.toml

Usage: set <PLUGIN> <ALIAS> <VALUE>

Arguments:
  <PLUGIN>
          The plugin to set the alias for

  <ALIAS>
          The alias to set

  <VALUE>
          The value to set the alias to

Examples:
  $ rtx alias set nodejs lts/hydrogen 18.0.0
```
### `rtx alias unset <PLUGIN> <ALIAS>`

```
Clears an alias for a plugin

This modifies the contents of ~/.config/rtx/config.toml

Usage: unset <PLUGIN> <ALIAS>

Arguments:
  <PLUGIN>
          The plugin to remove the alias from

  <ALIAS>
          The alias to remove

Examples:
  $ rtx alias unset nodejs lts/hydrogen
```
### `rtx bin-paths`

```
List all the active runtime bin paths

Usage: bin-paths
```
### `rtx cache clear`

```
Deletes all cache files in rtx

Usage: clear
```
### `rtx completion [SHELL]`

```
Generate shell completions

Usage: completion [SHELL]

Arguments:
  [SHELL]
          Shell type to generate completions for

          [possible values: bash, elvish, fish, powershell, zsh]

Examples:
  $ rtx completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/rtx
  $ rtx completion zsh  > /usr/local/share/zsh/site-functions/_rtx
  $ rtx completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/rtx.fish
```
### `rtx current [PLUGIN]`

```
Shows current active and installed runtime versions

This is similar to `rtx ls --current`, but this only shows the runtime
and/or version. It's designed to fit into scripts more easily.

Usage: current [PLUGIN]

Arguments:
  [PLUGIN]
          Plugin to show versions of e.g.: ruby, nodejs

Examples:
  # outputs `.tool-versions` compatible format
  $ rtx current
  python 3.11.0 3.10.0
  shfmt 3.6.0
  shellcheck 0.9.0
  nodejs 20.0.0

  $ rtx current nodejs
  20.0.0

  # can output multiple versions
  $ rtx current python
  3.11.0 3.10.0
```
### `rtx deactivate`

```
Disable rtx for current shell session

This can be used to temporarily disable rtx in a shell session.

Usage: deactivate

Examples:
  $ rtx deactivate bash
  $ rtx deactivate zsh
  $ rtx deactivate fish
  $ execx($(rtx deactivate xonsh))
```
### `rtx direnv activate`

```
Output direnv function to use rtx inside direnv

See https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx#direnv for more information

Because this generates the legacy files based on currently installed plugins,
you should run this command after installing new plugins. Otherwise
direnv may not know to update environment variables when legacy file versions change.

Usage: activate

Examples:
  $ rtx direnv activate > ~/.config/direnv/lib/use_rtx.sh
  $ echo 'use rtx' > .envrc
  $ direnv allow
```
### `rtx doctor`

```
Check rtx installation for possible problems.

Usage: doctor

Examples:
  $ rtx doctor
  [WARN] plugin nodejs is not installed
```
### `rtx env [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...`

```
Exports env vars to activate rtx a single time

Use this if you don't want to permanently install rtx. It's not necessary to
use this if you have `rtx activate` in your shell rc file.

Usage: env [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...

Arguments:
  [RUNTIME]...
          Runtime version to use

Options:
  -s, --shell <SHELL>
          Shell type to generate environment variables for

          [possible values: bash, fish, nu, xonsh, zsh]

Examples:
  $ eval "$(rtx env -s bash)"
  $ eval "$(rtx env -s zsh)"
  $ rtx env -s fish | source
  $ execx($(rtx env -s xonsh))
```
### `rtx exec [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]... [-- <COMMAND>...]`

```
Execute a command with runtime(s) set

use this to avoid modifying the shell session or running ad-hoc commands with the rtx runtimes
set.

Runtimes will be loaded from .tool-versions, though they can be overridden with <RUNTIME> args
Note that only the plugin specified will be overridden, so if a `.tool-versions` file
includes "nodejs 20" but you run `rtx exec python@3.11`; it will still load nodejs@20.

The "--" separates runtimes from the commands to pass along to the subprocess.

Usage: exec [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]... [-- <COMMAND>...]

Arguments:
  [RUNTIME]...
          Runtime(s) to start e.g.: nodejs@20 python@3.10

  [COMMAND]...
          Command string to execute (same as --command)

Options:
  -c, --command <C>
          Command string to execute

      --cd <CD>
          Change to this directory before executing the command

          [short aliases: C]

Examples:
  $ rtx exec nodejs@20 -- node ./app.js  # launch app.js using node-20.x
  $ rtx x nodejs@20 -- node ./app.js     # shorter alias

  # Specify command as a string:
  $ rtx exec nodejs@20 python@3.11 --command "node -v && python -V"

  # Run a command in a different directory:
  $ rtx x -C /path/to/project nodejs@20 -- node ./app.js
```
### `rtx global [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...`

```
Sets/gets the global runtime version(s)

Displays the contents of ~/.tool-versions after writing.
The file is `$HOME/.tool-versions` by default. It can be changed with `$RTX_CONFIG_FILE`.
If `$RTX_CONFIG_FILE` is set to anything that ends in `.toml`, it will be parsed as `.rtx.toml`.
Otherwise, it will be parsed as a `.tool-versions` file.
A future v2 release of rtx will default to using `~/.config/rtx/config.toml` instead.

Use `rtx local` to set a runtime version locally in the current directory.

Usage: global [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...

Arguments:
  [RUNTIME]...
          Runtime(s) to add to .tool-versions
          e.g.: nodejs@20
          If this is a single runtime with no version, the current value of the global
          .tool-versions will be displayed

Options:
      --pin
          Save exact version to `~/.tool-versions`
          e.g.: `rtx local --pin nodejs@20` will save `nodejs 20.0.0` to ~/.tool-versions

      --fuzzy
          Save fuzzy version to `~/.tool-versions`
          e.g.: `rtx local --fuzzy nodejs@20` will save `nodejs 20` to ~/.tool-versions
          this is the default behavior unless RTX_ASDF_COMPAT=1

      --remove <PLUGIN>
          Remove the plugin(s) from ~/.tool-versions

      --path
          Get the path of the global config file

Examples:
  # set the current version of nodejs to 20.x
  # will use a fuzzy version (e.g.: 20) in .tool-versions file
  $ rtx global --fuzzy nodejs@20

  # set the current version of nodejs to 20.x
  # will use a precise version (e.g.: 20.0.0) in .tool-versions file
  $ rtx global --pin nodejs@20

  # show the current version of nodejs in ~/.tool-versions
  $ rtx global nodejs
  20.0.0
```
### `rtx implode [OPTIONS]`

```
Removes rtx CLI and all related data

Skips config directory by default.

Usage: implode [OPTIONS]

Options:
      --config
          Also remove config directory

      --dry-run
          List directories that would be removed without actually removing them
```
### `rtx install [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...`

```
Install a tool version

This will install a tool version to `~/.local/share/rtx/installs/<PLUGIN>/<VERSION>`
It won't be used simply by being installed, however.
For that, you must set up a `.tool-version` file manually or with `rtx local/global`.
Or you can call a tool version explicitly with `rtx exec <TOOL>@<VERSION> -- <COMMAND>`.

Runtimes will be installed in parallel. To disable, set `--jobs=1` or `RTX_JOBS=1`

Usage: install [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...

Arguments:
  [RUNTIME]...
          Tool version(s) to install e.g.: nodejs@20

Options:
  -p, --plugin <PLUGIN>
          Only install tool version(s) for <PLUGIN>

  -f, --force
          Force reinstall even if already installed

  -v, --verbose...
          Show installation output

Examples:
  $ rtx install nodejs@20.0.0  # install specific nodejs version
  $ rtx install nodejs@20      # install fuzzy nodejs version
  $ rtx install nodejs         # install version specified in .tool-versions or .rtx.toml
  $ rtx install                # installs everything specified in .tool-versions or .rtx.toml
```
### `rtx latest <RUNTIME>`

```
Gets the latest available version for a plugin

Usage: latest <RUNTIME>

Arguments:
  <RUNTIME>
          Runtime to get the latest version of

Examples:
  $ rtx latest nodejs@20  # get the latest version of nodejs 20
  20.0.0

  $ rtx latest nodejs     # get the latest stable version of nodejs
  20.0.0
```
### `rtx local [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...`

```
Sets/gets tool version in local .tool-versions or .rtx.toml

Use this to set a tool's version when within a directory
Use `rtx global` to set a runtime version globally
This uses `.tool-version` by default unless there is a `.rtx.toml` file or if `RTX_USE_TOML`
is set. A future v2 release of rtx will default to using `.rtx.toml`.

Usage: local [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...

Arguments:
  [RUNTIME]...
          Runtimes to add to .tool-versions/.rtx.toml
          e.g.: nodejs@20
          if this is a single runtime with no version,
          the current value of .tool-versions/.rtx.toml will be displayed

Options:
  -p, --parent
          Recurse up to find a .tool-versions file rather than using the current directory only
          by default this command will only set the runtime in the current directory ("$PWD/.tool-versions")

      --pin
          Save exact version to `.tool-versions`
          e.g.: `rtx local --pin nodejs@20` will save `nodejs 20.0.0` to .tool-versions

      --fuzzy
          Save fuzzy version to `.tool-versions` e.g.: `rtx local --fuzzy nodejs@20` will save `nodejs 20` to .tool-versions This is the default behavior unless RTX_ASDF_COMPAT=1

      --remove <PLUGIN>
          Remove the plugin(s) from .tool-versions

      --path
          Get the path of the config file

Examples:
  # set the current version of nodejs to 20.x for the current directory
  # will use a precise version (e.g.: 20.0.0) in .tool-versions file
  $ rtx local nodejs@20

  # set nodejs to 20.x for the current project (recurses up to find .tool-versions)
  $ rtx local -p nodejs@20

  # set the current version of nodejs to 20.x for the current directory
  # will use a fuzzy version (e.g.: 20) in .tool-versions file
  $ rtx local --fuzzy nodejs@20

  # removes nodejs from .tool-versions
  $ rtx local --remove=nodejs

  # show the current version of nodejs in .tool-versions
  $ rtx local nodejs
  20.0.0
```
### `rtx ls [OPTIONS]`

```
List installed and/or currently selected tool versions

Usage: ls [OPTIONS]

Options:
  -p, --plugin <PLUGIN>
          Only show tool versions from [PLUGIN]

  -c, --current
          Only show tool versions currently specified in a .tool-versions/.rtx.toml

  -i, --installed
          Only show tool versions that are installed Hides missing ones defined in .tool-versions/.rtx.toml but not yet installed

      --json
          Output in json format

Examples:
  $ rtx ls
  ⏵  nodejs     20.0.0 (set by ~/src/myapp/.tool-versions)
  ⏵  python     3.11.0 (set by ~/.tool-versions)
     python     3.10.0

  $ rtx ls --current
  ⏵  nodejs     20.0.0 (set by ~/src/myapp/.tool-versions)
  ⏵  python     3.11.0 (set by ~/.tool-versions)

  $ rtx ls --parseable
  nodejs 20.0.0
  python 3.11.0

  $ rtx ls --json
  {
    "nodejs": [
      {
        "version": "20.0.0",
        "install_path": "/Users/jdx/.rtx/installs/nodejs/20.0.0",
        "source": {
          "type": ".rtx.toml",
          "path": "/Users/jdx/.rtx.toml"
        }
      }
    ],
    "python": [...]
  }
```
### `rtx ls-remote <PLUGIN> [PREFIX]`

```
List runtime versions available for install

note that the results are cached for 24 hours
run `rtx cache clean` to clear the cache and get fresh results

Usage: ls-remote <PLUGIN> [PREFIX]

Arguments:
  <PLUGIN>
          Plugin to get versions for

  [PREFIX]
          The version prefix to use when querying the latest version
          same as the first argument after the "@"

Examples:
  $ rtx ls-remote nodejs
  18.0.0
  20.0.0

  $ rtx ls-remote nodejs@20
  20.0.0
  20.1.0

  $ rtx ls-remote nodejs 20
  20.0.0
  20.1.0
```
### `rtx plugins install [OPTIONS] [NAME] [GIT_URL]`

```
Install a plugin

note that rtx automatically can install plugins when you install a runtime
e.g.: `rtx install nodejs@20` will autoinstall the nodejs plugin

This behavior can be modified in ~/.config/rtx/config.toml

Usage: install [OPTIONS] [NAME] [GIT_URL]

Arguments:
  [NAME]
          The name of the plugin to install
          e.g.: nodejs, ruby
          Can specify multiple plugins: `rtx plugins install nodejs ruby python`

  [GIT_URL]
          The git url of the plugin

Options:
  -f, --force
          Reinstall even if plugin exists

  -a, --all
          Install all missing plugins
          This will only install plugins that have matching shorthands.
          i.e.: they don't need the full git repo url

  -v, --verbose...
          Show installation output

Examples:
  # install the nodejs via shorthand
  $ rtx plugins install nodejs

  # install the nodejs plugin using a specific git url
  $ rtx plugins install nodejs https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx-nodejs.git

  # install the nodejs plugin using the git url only
  # (nodejs is inferred from the url)
  $ rtx plugins install https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx-nodejs.git

  # install the nodejs plugin using a specific ref
  $ rtx plugins install nodejs https://github.com/jdxcode/rtx-nodejs.git#v1.0.0
```
### `rtx plugins link [OPTIONS] <NAME> [PATH]`

```
Symlinks a plugin into rtx

This is used for developing a plugin.

Usage: link [OPTIONS] <NAME> [PATH]

Arguments:
  <NAME>
          The name of the plugin
          e.g.: nodejs, ruby

  [PATH]
          The local path to the plugin
          e.g.: ./rtx-nodejs

Options:
  -f, --force
          Overwrite existing plugin

Examples:
  # essentially just `ln -s ./rtx-nodejs ~/.local/share/rtx/plugins/nodejs`
  $ rtx plugins link nodejs ./rtx-nodejs

  # infer plugin name as "nodejs"
  $ rtx plugins link ./rtx-nodejs
```
### `rtx plugins ls [OPTIONS]`

```
List installed plugins

Can also show remotely available plugins to install.

Usage: ls [OPTIONS]

Options:
  -c, --core
          The built-in plugins only
          Normally these are not shown

  -u, --urls
          Show the git url for each plugin
          e.g.: https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-nodejs.git

Examples:
  $ rtx plugins ls
  nodejs
  ruby

  $ rtx plugins ls --urls
  nodejs                        https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-nodejs.git
  ruby                          https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-ruby.git
```
### `rtx plugins ls-remote [OPTIONS]`

```
List all available remote plugins

These are fetched from https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-plugins

Examples:
  $ rtx plugins ls-remote


Usage: ls-remote [OPTIONS]

Options:
  -u, --urls
          Show the git url for each plugin e.g.: https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-nodejs.git

      --only-names
          Only show the name of each plugin by default it will show a "*" next to installed plugins
```
### `rtx plugins uninstall <PLUGIN>...`

```
Removes a plugin

Usage: uninstall <PLUGIN>...

Arguments:
  <PLUGIN>...
          Plugin(s) to remove

Examples:
  $ rtx uninstall nodejs
```
### `rtx plugins update [PLUGIN]...`

```
Updates a plugin to the latest version

note: this updates the plugin itself, not the runtime versions

Usage: update [PLUGIN]...

Arguments:
  [PLUGIN]...
          Plugin(s) to update

Examples:
  $ rtx plugins update              # update all plugins
  $ rtx plugins update nodejs       # update only nodejs
  $ rtx plugins update nodejs@beta  # specify a ref
```
### `rtx prune [OPTIONS] [PLUGINS]...`

```
Delete unused versions of tools

rtx tracks which config files have been used in ~/.local/share/rtx/tracked_config_files
Versions which are no longer the latest specified in any of those configs are deleted.
Versions installed only with environment variables (`RTX_<PLUGIN>_VERSION`) will be deleted,
as will versions only referenced on the command line (`rtx exec <PLUGIN>@<VERSION>`).

Usage: prune [OPTIONS] [PLUGINS]...

Arguments:
  [PLUGINS]...
          Prune only versions from these plugins

Options:
      --dry-run
          Do not actually delete anything

Examples:
  $ rtx prune --dry-run
  rm -rf ~/.local/share/rtx/versions/nodejs/20.0.0
  rm -rf ~/.local/share/rtx/versions/nodejs/20.0.1
```
### `rtx reshim`

```
[experimental] rebuilds the shim farm

this requires that the shims_dir is set

Usage: reshim

Examples:
  $ rtx settings set experimental true
  $ rtx settings set shims_dir ~/.rtx/shims
  $ rtx reshim
  $ ~/.rtx/shims/node -v
  v20.0.0
```
### `rtx self-update`

```
Updates rtx itself

Uses whatever package manager was used to install rtx or just downloads
a binary from GitHub Releases if rtx was installed manually.
Supports: standalone, brew, deb, rpm

Usage: self-update
```
### `rtx settings get <KEY>`

```
Show a current setting

This is the contents of a single entry in ~/.config/rtx/config.toml

Note that aliases are also stored in this file
but managed separately with `rtx aliases get`

Usage: get <KEY>

Arguments:
  <KEY>
          The setting to show

Examples:
  $ rtx settings get legacy_version_file
  true
```
### `rtx settings ls`

```
Show current settings

This is the contents of ~/.config/rtx/config.toml

Note that aliases are also stored in this file
but managed separately with `rtx aliases`

Usage: ls

Examples:
  $ rtx settings
  legacy_version_file = false
```
### `rtx settings set <KEY> <VALUE>`

```
Add/update a setting

This modifies the contents of ~/.config/rtx/config.toml

Usage: set <KEY> <VALUE>

Arguments:
  <KEY>
          The setting to set

  <VALUE>
          The value to set

Examples:
  $ rtx settings set legacy_version_file true
```
### `rtx settings unset <KEY>`

```
Clears a setting

This modifies the contents of ~/.config/rtx/config.toml

Usage: unset <KEY>

Arguments:
  <KEY>
          The setting to remove

Examples:
  $ rtx settings unset legacy_version_file
```
### `rtx shell [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...`

```
Sets a tool version for the current shell session

Only works in a session where rtx is already activated.

Usage: shell [OPTIONS] [RUNTIME]...

Arguments:
  [RUNTIME]...
          Runtime version(s) to use

Options:
  -u, --unset
          Removes a previously set version

Examples:
  $ rtx shell nodejs@20
  $ node -v
  v20.0.0
```
### `rtx trust [OPTIONS] [CONFIG_FILE]`

```
Marks a config file as trusted

This means rtx will parse the file with potentially dangerous
features enabled.

This includes:
- environment variables
- templates
- `path:` plugin versions

Usage: trust [OPTIONS] [CONFIG_FILE]

Arguments:
  [CONFIG_FILE]
          The config file to trust

Options:
      --untrust
          No longer trust this config

Examples:
  # trusts ~/some_dir/.rtx.toml
  $ rtx trust ~/some_dir/.rtx.toml

  # trusts .rtx.toml in the current or parent directory
  $ rtx trust
```
### `rtx uninstall <RUNTIME>...`

```
Removes runtime versions

Usage: uninstall <RUNTIME>...

Arguments:
  <RUNTIME>...
          Runtime(s) to remove

Examples:
  $ rtx uninstall nodejs@18.0.0 # will uninstall specific version
  $ rtx uninstall nodejs        # will uninstall current nodejs version
```
### `rtx version`

```
Show rtx version

Usage: version
```
### `rtx where <RUNTIME>`

```
Display the installation path for a runtime

Must be installed.

Usage: where <RUNTIME>

Arguments:
  <RUNTIME>
          Runtime(s) to look up
          e.g.: ruby@3
          if "@<PREFIX>" is specified, it will show the latest installed version
          that matches the prefix
          otherwise, it will show the current, active installed version

Examples:
  # Show the latest installed version of nodejs
  # If it is is not installed, errors
  $ rtx where nodejs@20
  /home/jdx/.local/share/rtx/installs/nodejs/20.0.0

  # Show the current, active install directory of nodejs
  # Errors if nodejs is not referenced in any .tool-version file
  $ rtx where nodejs
  /home/jdx/.local/share/rtx/installs/nodejs/20.0.0
```
### `rtx which [OPTIONS] <BIN_NAME>`

```
Shows the path that a bin name points to

Usage: which [OPTIONS] <BIN_NAME>

Arguments:
  <BIN_NAME>


Options:
      --plugin
          Show the plugin name instead of the path

      --version
          Show the version instead of the path

Examples:
  $ rtx which node
  /home/username/.local/share/rtx/installs/nodejs/20.0.0/bin/node
  $ rtx which node --plugin
  nodejs
  $ rtx which node --version
  20.0.0
```
<!-- RTX:COMMANDS -->
