10 ms·

Show HN: I made a multiple runtime version manager that can be used on Windows

86 points by aooohan 2y ago

vfox is a cross-platform version manager(similar to nvm, fvm, sdkman, asdf-vm, etc.), extendable via plugins. It allows you to different versions for different projects, different versions for different shell. It also supports to lock runtime version for project or shell and support for existing config files .node-version, .nvmrc, .sdkmanrc for easy migration. Available Plugins: https://vfox.lhan.me/plugins/available.html https://vfox.lhan.me/plugins/available.html Supported Shell: Powershell、Clink、Cmder、Bash、ZSH

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eclipsetheworld 2y ago
This looks really cool! Working on multiple projects with different versions before tools like pyenv or nvm existed was a real challenge. As someone working with different programming languages as well, this tool looks like the next logical step.
- devmor 2y ago
  pyenv is still the best solution to this problem I have yet to see - wish it existed for everything
  - tyingq 2y ago
    It does have upsides. Though the python runtime version management story suffers from being fragmented. It gets complex if you add poetry, IDEs, different types of shells (gitbash, power shell, zsh, etc), things that have their own ideas of environments (Jupyter as one example).
  - aooohan 2y ago
    Honestly, the python plugin is a bit problematic on Windows at the moment, the next plugin version should fix that. But on unix it is also built using python-build. For me, a light python user, there is no difference between using vfox and using pyenv.
- rjzzleep 2y ago
  asdf works great for that purpose. And you can either use a single .tool-versions file or enable legacy support for compatibility with pyenv rbenv etc. Plus is supports many more tools than just the language vms https://asdf-vm.com/ https://asdf-vm.com/
  - aooohan 2y ago
    But it does nothing for Windows.
  - magnio 2y ago
    I wanted to like asdf but 1. it's slow, and 2. not available on Windows proper (non-WSL). Same with mise (https://github.com/jdx/mise https://github.com/jdx/mise) which builds on asdf. Volta exists but alas, it's only for JavaScript.
tiffanyh 2y ago
Cygwin? I'm not exactly understanding the use case for this. Is this like a modern day Cygwin? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygwin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygwin
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- aooohan 2y ago
  No, these are two completely different tools. Compared to Cygwin, vfox is just a small tool which is more like scoop. Simply put, while scoop can only install the latest version, vfox can install any version, and has some extra features for project development, such as using different versions for different projects, automatic switching between versions, and so on.
tambourine_man 2y ago
This looks super interesting, I’ve been thinking of building something like this for a while. A list of available runtimes would be nice to have. Thanks for sharing.
ahai 2y ago
This management tool vfox looks very flexible, especially when it comes to plugin builds, I found that it already supports versioning of a lot of major software, and software that I don't use often can be built very quickly according to the manual and without having to upgrade the tool's version, it looks very silky smooth, and also supports multiple platforms, which is going to be very easy to use. I can't wait to use it and hopefully it will help me be more efficient.
SEXMCNIGGA22020 2y ago
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happyweasel 2y ago
Can someone please explain to me what this does? I have 25y exp in the industry but I did not Understand the use cases by reading the GitHub page..
- newzisforsukas 2y ago
  > A cross-platform and extendable version manager with support for Java, Node.js, Flutter, .Net & more Seems pretty clear to me?
- Dobbs 2y ago
  You are working on project A, and project B. Project A uses python 2.6, project B uses python 3. You want a simple way to switch back and forth without reinstalling everything every time you switch between them. This setups a way to quickly and if I'm understanding correctly automatically switching between the two versions of the tool. Replace python with many other tools from Java, node, etc.
- httpsterio 2y ago
  it allows you to install multiple versions of different code compilers and interpreters and change which version is used. so for example you can install nodejs lts and latest side by side and then easily swap which version is currently used when running node. There are already tools like nvm (node version manager) that does the same but this one works for multiple tools instead of just one.
- WorldMaker 2y ago
  It's a tool for managing environments for side-by-side installs of different versions of developer tools. Say you've got multiple projects you are working on and some need Node v18 and others Node v20 and some of each need Python 3.10 or Python 3.11 depending. You can handle switching side-by-side Node installs with a tool called nvm and there are lots for side-by-side Python switching (pyenv, pip env, conda, so many more), but maybe sometimes you want to manage both together ("this project uses Node v18 and Python 3.11"). This a tool for doing that combined development environment switching, supporting plugins for a number of ecosystems like Node and Python. It's an alternative approach to what containers do. (Or an alternative to strict version policies such as "all Node and Python should be done with current LTS, no exceptions".) There are similar tools on Linux, so the noteworthy thing about this one is it is Windows native.
Kuinox 2y ago
I do not understand the usecase for dotnet, since the dotnet SDK self select the correct version to run the project. You never need to change the version yourself. On my current machine: PS C:\Users\username> dotnet --list-sdks 7.0.408 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk] 8.0.101 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk] 8.0.104 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk] 8.0.204 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk] 8.0.300-preview.24118.4 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk] IMO it's a better way to handle this sort of problem: the SDK self select which version should run, according to your project config.
- AaronFriel 2y ago
  For runtimes with tooling like .NET has, it's a niche use case. At $dayjob, we have to support non-current compilers/SDKs for five different languages and runtimes where our tool will invoke (shell out, often) the CLIs for those tools. When triaging a bug report, it's great to have a version manager to use exactly the customer's version of the CLI. Likewise, we need to make sure all of our examples and templates build even if the user has an old version, and the surest way to validate that is to hide newer CLIs and tools, and to test on the range of binaries that a customer could have installed.
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lxe 2y ago
Killer features are 1. windows support, and 2. reading .tool-versions file, meaning that you can migrate from asdf with no issues.
- aooohan 2y ago
  Yes! Compared to asdf, vfox has made some UX improvements to make the commands more concise.
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- SirFatty 2y ago
  Yes, how did you know?
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ddsgtuuuu 2y ago
What are the benefits of this over dev containers? (I just do BE and web stuff, so maybe it's just not for my use case)
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Onavo 2y ago
The battle of Rust versus Go https://github.com/jdx/mise https://github.com/jdx/mise
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86 points by aooohan 2y ago

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eclipsetheworld 2y ago

This looks really cool! Working on multiple projects with different versions before tools like pyenv or nvm existed was a real challenge. As someone working with different programming languages as well, this tool looks like the next logical step.

devmor 2y ago
pyenv is still the best solution to this problem I have yet to see - wish it existed for everything
- tyingq 2y ago
  It does have upsides. Though the python runtime version management story suffers from being fragmented. It gets complex if you add poetry, IDEs, different types of shells (gitbash, power shell, zsh, etc), things that have their own ideas of environments (Jupyter as one example).
- aooohan 2y ago
  Honestly, the python plugin is a bit problematic on Windows at the moment, the next plugin version should fix that. But on unix it is also built using python-build. For me, a light python user, there is no difference between using vfox and using pyenv.
rjzzleep 2y ago
asdf works great for that purpose. And you can either use a single .tool-versions file or enable legacy support for compatibility with pyenv rbenv etc. Plus is supports many more tools than just the language vms https://asdf-vm.com/ https://asdf-vm.com/
- aooohan 2y ago
  But it does nothing for Windows.
- magnio 2y ago
  I wanted to like asdf but 1. it's slow, and 2. not available on Windows proper (non-WSL). Same with mise (https://github.com/jdx/mise https://github.com/jdx/mise) which builds on asdf. Volta exists but alas, it's only for JavaScript.

tiffanyh 2y ago

Cygwin? I'm not exactly understanding the use case for this. Is this like a modern day Cygwin? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygwin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygwin

deleted 2y ago
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aooohan 2y ago
No, these are two completely different tools. Compared to Cygwin, vfox is just a small tool which is more like scoop. Simply put, while scoop can only install the latest version, vfox can install any version, and has some extra features for project development, such as using different versions for different projects, automatic switching between versions, and so on.

tambourine_man 2y ago

This looks super interesting, I’ve been thinking of building something like this for a while. A list of available runtimes would be nice to have. Thanks for sharing.

ahai 2y ago

This management tool vfox looks very flexible, especially when it comes to plugin builds, I found that it already supports versioning of a lot of major software, and software that I don't use often can be built very quickly according to the manual and without having to upgrade the tool's version, it looks very silky smooth, and also supports multiple platforms, which is going to be very easy to use. I can't wait to use it and hopefully it will help me be more efficient.

SEXMCNIGGA22020 2y ago

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SEXMCNIGGA8997 2y ago

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happyweasel 2y ago

Can someone please explain to me what this does? I have 25y exp in the industry but I did not Understand the use cases by reading the GitHub page..

newzisforsukas 2y ago
> A cross-platform and extendable version manager with support for Java, Node.js, Flutter, .Net & more Seems pretty clear to me?
Dobbs 2y ago
You are working on project A, and project B. Project A uses python 2.6, project B uses python 3. You want a simple way to switch back and forth without reinstalling everything every time you switch between them. This setups a way to quickly and if I'm understanding correctly automatically switching between the two versions of the tool. Replace python with many other tools from Java, node, etc.
httpsterio 2y ago
it allows you to install multiple versions of different code compilers and interpreters and change which version is used. so for example you can install nodejs lts and latest side by side and then easily swap which version is currently used when running node. There are already tools like nvm (node version manager) that does the same but this one works for multiple tools instead of just one.
WorldMaker 2y ago
It's a tool for managing environments for side-by-side installs of different versions of developer tools. Say you've got multiple projects you are working on and some need Node v18 and others Node v20 and some of each need Python 3.10 or Python 3.11 depending. You can handle switching side-by-side Node installs with a tool called nvm and there are lots for side-by-side Python switching (pyenv, pip env, conda, so many more), but maybe sometimes you want to manage both together ("this project uses Node v18 and Python 3.11"). This a tool for doing that combined development environment switching, supporting plugins for a number of ecosystems like Node and Python. It's an alternative approach to what containers do. (Or an alternative to strict version policies such as "all Node and Python should be done with current LTS, no exceptions".) There are similar tools on Linux, so the noteworthy thing about this one is it is Windows native.

Kuinox 2y ago

I do not understand the usecase for dotnet, since the dotnet SDK self select the correct version to run the project. You never need to change the version yourself. On my current machine: PS C:\Users\username> dotnet --list-sdks 7.0.408 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk] 8.0.101 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk] 8.0.104 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk] 8.0.204 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk] 8.0.300-preview.24118.4 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk] IMO it's a better way to handle this sort of problem: the SDK self select which version should run, according to your project config.

AaronFriel 2y ago
For runtimes with tooling like .NET has, it's a niche use case. At $dayjob, we have to support non-current compilers/SDKs for five different languages and runtimes where our tool will invoke (shell out, often) the CLIs for those tools. When triaging a bug report, it's great to have a version manager to use exactly the customer's version of the CLI. Likewise, we need to make sure all of our examples and templates build even if the user has an old version, and the surest way to validate that is to hide newer CLIs and tools, and to test on the range of binaries that a customer could have installed.
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lxe 2y ago

Killer features are 1. windows support, and 2. reading .tool-versions file, meaning that you can migrate from asdf with no issues.