g

Simple go version manager, gluten-free.

Why?

Existing version managers build go from source, have too many dependencies, pollute the PATH, and/or require you to use a specific shell environment. g aims to be as unobtrusive and portable as possible.

g is inspired by tj/n - which I have contributed to in the past - and borrows some of its code.

Features

Works no matter what shell you use as long as $GOPATH and $GOROOT are exported, which are not specific to g but idiomatic to go.
No need to source functions in your shell config.
Single bash script that ideally lives where your go binaries live.
Downloads pre-built binaries so it is fast and...
...requires no git, no mercurial, no gcc, no xcode, etc.
curl and wget first-class support alike.
Colorful UI and interactive but safe to pipe and use in automated scripts.
Get started with a single line.

Requirements

macOS, Linux or BSD environment - should work just fine on Bash for Windows (WSL).
Bash 3+, check with bash --version
Either curl or wget, check with curl -V or wget -V respectively.

Not strictly necessary, but highly recommended, to completely remove any previous go installation — just to prevent any weird outcome.

Install

Single line

IMPORTANT: Before you continue, I encourage you to read the install script; never trust someone telling you to run random commands.

That said, you can install g with a single command:

curl -sSL https://git.io/g-install | bash

If you use wget instead:

wget -qO- https://git.io/g-install | bash

That will download the g script, put it inside $GOPATH/bin/, give it execution rights with chmod, and configure your default shell's initialization file, setting the GOPATH & GOROOT environment variables and adding $GOPATH/bin to the PATH.

NOTE: You must restart your current shell session for it to read these new env vars in order to use g. Alternatively, you can source your shell's init file, usually with the source command, but that will depend on the specific shell you use. For example, if you use zsh:

source ~/.zshrc

Shell support

The install script currently supports the following shells:

bash
zsh
fish

That doesn't mean you cannot use g with other shells like tcsh, just proceed with the manual installation.

The install script is going to select your default shell for configuration. You might see what your default shell is by running:

echo $SHELL

If you wish to configure a diff shell, you might pass it as arguments:

curl -sSL https://git.io/g-install | bash -s -- fish

You might as well configure several shells, but that's usually not required:

curl -sSL https://git.io/g-install | bash -s -- fish bash zsh

Changing defaults

By default, these go environment variables are used:

GOROOT: $HOME/.go
GOPATH: $HOME/go

$GOPATH/bin is added to the PATH and there's where g is copied to.

You might set those variables before running the install script. For example, in bash and zsh:

export GOROOT=~/.local/share/golang
export GOPATH=~/MyProjects/go-projects
curl -sSL https://git.io/g-install | bash

In fish:

set -gx GOROOT ~/.local/share/golang
set -gx GOPATH ~/MyProjects/go-projects
curl -sSL https://git.io/g-install | bash

Manually

Make sure to export the $GOPATH & $GOROOT environment variables and add $GOPATH/bin to your PATH.
Grab a copy of the ./bin/g script and put it anywhere available in your PATH — inside $GOPATH/bin/ is a good option.
Give the script execution rights with chmod +x $GOPATH/bin/g.
Restart your shell session to make sure the env variables are loaded.

Usage

  Usage: g [COMMAND] [options] [args]

  Commands:

    g                           Open interactive UI with installed versions
    g install <version>         Install go <version>
    g install latest            Install or activate the latest go release
    g install -a 386 latest     Force 32 bit architecture
    g install -o darwin latest  Override operating system
    g run <version>             Run a given version of go
    g which <version>           Output bin path for <version>
    g remove <version ...>      Remove the given version(s)
    g prune                     Remove all versions except the current version
    g list                      Output installed go versions
    g list-all                  Output all available go versions
    g help                      Display help information, same as g --help

  Options:

    -h, --help              Display help information and exit
    -v, --version           Output current version of g and exit
    -q, --quiet             Disable curl output (if available)
    -d, --download          Download only
    -c, --no-color          Force disabled color output
    -y, --non-interactive   Prevent prompts
    -o, --os                Override operating system
    -a, --arch              Override system architecture

TODO

The alternatives (and why I don't like them)

https://github.com/moovweb/gvm
- Too many features.
- Builds from source, i.e, requires gcc, make, xcode, etc.
- Requires git and mercurial.
- Requires bootstrapping, i.e., install go 1.4 first.
- Specific to a shell, i.e., doesn't work with fishshell.
https://github.com/hit9/oo
- Pretty much same as gvm.
https://github.com/kennyp/asdf-golang
- Requires asdf.
https://github.com/andrewkroh/gvm
- Bash, batch and powershell support only.
- Cumbersome to use.
https://github.com/MakeNowJust/govm
- Builds from source.
- Requires python 2.

Contributing

Please read CONTRIBUTING.md. ♥

Acknowledgments

Every contributor to this project.
The n project, which g is inspired by and based on.
The n-install project, which g is also based on.

License

MIT ♥

gnoejuan/g

g