zv (zig version) manager

zv is a blazing-fast, cross-platform, simple-to-use compiler toolchain manager for Zig, written in Rust. zv aims to be a fast and dependable manager for Zig and ZLS, both system-wide and project-specific, with either inline syntax zig +<version> or by using a .zigversion file in your project root. A version can be a semver, master, or latest for the latest stable. These values are fetched from the cached Ziglang download index available at Zig official index.

With zv binaries, you can now build with the master branch without changing your default system Zig version:

zig +master build

Caching is built-in, so you never have to wait any longer than strictly necessary.

You can also specify a version number, e.g., zig +0.15.1. With zv, you also have the option of pinning per-project Zig versions using a .zigversion file, which takes the same format as + would for inline Zig commands. You can have a project with these contents:

# file .zigversion
0.15.1

which will always use version 0.15.1 when you run any zig command inside it. How cool is that?

It also doubles as a project template starter, providing multiple variants of a Zig project, from a barebones template with a very trimmed-down build.zig and main.zig file, or the standard Zig project template. Find out more with zv init --help.

zv prefers community mirrors for downloads, as that's the official recommendation, with minisign and shasum verification done before any toolchain is installed.

Installation

# From crates.io
cargo install zv

# From GitHub
cargo install --git --locked https://github.com/weezy20/zv

Usage

All zv data lives in ZV_DIR, including Zig versions, temporary downloads, cache files, and zv itself, which you can set as a custom path.

If not set, the default zv directory is $HOME/.zv on Unix-like systems and $USERPROFILE/.zv on Windows. zv is aware of emulated shells and WSL, so it always picks the correct default location for ZV_DIR.

# Run zv setup as a one-time step to set up directories and environment zv needs.
# Interactive mode is enabled by default, providing clear prompts about system changes.
# Interactive mode is automatically disabled in CI environments or when TTY is not available.

# First, preview changes:
zv setup --dry-run | zv setup -d

# Then, once you're happy, run:
zv setup # This applies those changes with interactive prompts and self-installs zv from your current invocation to <ZV_DIR>/bin in case versions mismatch

# For automation or CI environments:
zv setup --no-interactive

# To get help about a particular subcommand:
zv <subcommand> -h (short help) | --help (long help)
# E.g.:
zv setup --help

# To check out zv stats:
zv

Once zv setup is finished, you can remove the cargo-installed binary if you used cargo: cargo uninstall zv. zv will automatically install itself in ZV_DIR/bin after making sure that has been included in your PATH, so there's no need for a second binary.

Upgrading can be done the same way. You install zv from cargo or build it yourself and run zv setup to find and replace your existing installation. This is only temporary until zv upgrade is implemented, after which this won't be required.

Use zv for project creation:

zv init [project_name]                 # Create a new Zig project with a name
zv init                                # Create a new Zig project in the current working directory
zv init --zig | -z                     # Create a new Zig project using the standard template provided by `zig init`

Use zv as your Zig compiler toolchain manager:

# Version selection - basic usage
# pass in -f or --force-ziglang to download using `ziglang.org` instead of community mirrors (default & recommended)
zv use <version | master | stable | latest> # Select a Zig version to use. Can be a semver, master (branch)
zv use 0.13.0                               # Use a specific semantic version
zv use 0.14 -f                              # Use a version (auto-completes to 0.14.0) & downloads from `ziglang.org` due to -f
zv use master                               # Use master branch build (queries network to find the latest master build)
zv use stable                               # Use latest stable release (refers to cached index)
zv use latest                               # Use latest stable release (queries network to fetch the latest stable)

# Per-project Zig config
zig +<version> [...zig args]            # Run Zig using a specific <version> (fetches and downloads version if not present locally)
zig +master [...zig args]               # Run Zig using master build. (If already cached, no download, but a network request is made to verify version)
zig [...zig args]                       # Uses current configured Zig or prefers version from `.zigversion` file in the repository adjacent to `build.zig`.

# Management commands
zv list  | ls                          # List installed Zig versions
zv clean | rm                          # Remove Zig versions interactively. Additionally cleans up downloads cache, temporary download artifacts.
zv clean | rm <version | all>          # Clean up all zv-managed installations using `all` or just a single one (e.g., zv clean 0.14).
zv clean 0.14,0.14.0                   # Clean up multiple Zig installations using a comma-separated list.
zv clean --except <version>            # Clean up every version except the version mentioned as argument to --except <version>
zv rm master                           # Clean up the `master` branch toolchain.
zv setup                               # Set up shell environment for zv with interactive prompts (use --no-interactive for automation)
zv sync                                # Resync community mirrors list from [ziglang.org/download/community-mirrors.txt]; also force resync of index to fetch latest nightly builds.
zv help                                # Detailed instructions for zv. Use `--help` for long help or `-h` for short help with a subcommand.

minisign verification is done using jedisct1/rust-minisign-verify — a small minisign library in pure Rust.

It also supports NO_COLOR for non-TTY environments.

I hope you enjoy using it! ♥

Customizing ZV behaviour:

🔧 Environment Variables for customizing zv

Tips:

• If you prefer some mirrors to others, you can put it as rank = 1 on your preferred mirrors (Default is rank 1 for all mirros) or lower the rank of mirrors that you don't want. rank is a range from 1..255, lower is better and more preferred when doing random selection. The mirrors file is generated at <ZV_DIR>/mirrors.toml

• Currently zv use master will only install the master as present in zig-index. This means that older master installations still remain under the masters folder and can be selected via zv use master@<older master version> which can be obtained via zv ls. Note, installing older master versions like this doesn't work because for master we exclusively consult the information in the zig-index. However, there's no reason this can't be supported in the future with a separate dev@<version> syntax.