asdf/docs/manage/configuration.md

Configuration

Configuration of asdf encompasses both the sharable .tool-versions files as well as user specific customisations with .asdfrc and Environment Variables.

.tool-versions

Whenever .tool-versions file is present in a directory, the tool versions it declares will be used in that directory and any subdirectories.

::: warning Note

Global defaults can be set in the file $HOME/.tool-versions

:::

This is what a .tool-versions file looks like:

ruby 2.5.3
nodejs 10.15.0

You can also include comments:

ruby 2.5.3 # This is a comment
# This is another comment
nodejs 10.15.0

The versions can be in the following format:

• 10.15.0 - an actual version. Plugins that support downloading binaries, will download binaries.
• ref:v1.0.2-a or ref:39cb398vb39 - tag/commit/branch to download from github and compile
• path:~/src/elixir - a path to custom compiled version of a tool to use. For use by language developers and such.
• system - this keyword causes asdf to passthrough to the version of the tool on the system that is not managed by asdf.

::: tip

Multiple versions can be set by separating them with a space. For example, to use Python 3.7.2, fallback to Python 2.7.15 and finally to the system Python, the following line can be added to .tool-versions.

python 3.7.2 2.7.15 system

:::

To install all the tools defined in a .tool-versions file run asdf install with no other arguments in the directory containing the .tool-versions file.

To install a single tool defined in a .tool-versions file run asdf install <name> in the directory containing the .tool-versions file. The tool will be installed at the version specified in the .tool-versions file.

Edit the file directly or use asdf local (or asdf global) which updates it.

$HOME/.asdfrc

Add an .asdfrc file to your home directory and asdf will use the settings specified in the file. The file below shows the required format with the default values to demonstrate:

@code :no-line-numbers

legacy_version_file

Plugins with support can read the versions files used by other version managers, for example, .ruby-version in the case of Ruby's rbenv.

Options	Description
no	Use .tool-versions to read versions
yes	Use plugin fallback to legacy version files (.ruby-version) if available

use_release_candidates

Configure the asdf update command to upgrade to the latest Release Candidate instead of the latest Semantic Version.

Options	Description
no	Semantic Version is used
yes	Release Candidate is used

always_keep_download

Configure the asdf install command to keep or delete the source code or binary it downloads.

Options	Description
no	Delete source code or binary after successful install
yes	Keep source code or binary after install

plugin_repository_last_check_duration

Configure the duration (in minutes) between asdf plugin repository syncs. Trigger events result in a check of the duration. If more time has elapsed since the last sync than specified in the duration, a new sync occurs.

Options	Description
integer in range 1 to 999999999 60 is	Sync on trigger event if duration (in minutes) since last sync has been exceeded
0	Sync on each trigger event
never	Never sync

Sync events occur when the following commands are executed:

• asdf plugin add <name>
• asdf plugin list all

asdf plugin add <name> <git-url> does NOT trigger a plugin sync.

::: warning Note

Setting the value to never does not stop the plugin repository from being initially synced, for that behaviour see disable_plugin_short_name_repository.

:::

disable_plugin_short_name_repository

Disable synchronization of the asdf plugin short-name repository. Sync events will exit early if the short-name repository is disabled.

Options	Description
no	Clone or update the asdf plugin repository on sync events
yes	Disable the plugin short-name repository

Sync events occur when the following commands are executed:

• asdf plugin add <name>
• asdf plugin list all

asdf plugin add <name> <git-url> does NOT trigger a plugin sync.

::: warning Note

Disabling the plugin short-name repository does not remove the repository if it has already synced. Remove the plugin repo with rm --recursive --trash $ASDF_DATA_DIR/repository.

Disabling the plugin short-name repository does not remove plugins previously installed from this source. Plugins can be removed with asdf plugin remove <name>. Removing a plugin will remove all installed versions of the managed tool.

:::

Environment Variables

• ASDF_CONFIG_FILE - Defaults to ~/.asdfrc as described above. Can be set to any location.
• ASDF_DEFAULT_TOOL_VERSIONS_FILENAME - The filename of the file storing the tool names and versions. Defaults to .tool-versions. Can be any valid filename. Typically you should not override the default value unless you know you want asdf to ignore .tool-versions files.
• ASDF_DIR - Defaults to ~/.asdf - Location of the asdf scripts. If you install asdf to some other directory, set this to that directory. For example, if you are installing via the AUR, you should set this to /opt/asdf-vm. This must be set to an absolute path like ~/.asdf, ${HOME}/.asdf, /home/my/working/dir/.asdf.
• ASDF_DATA_DIR - Defaults to ~/.asdf - Location where asdf install plugins, shims and installs. Can be set to any location before sourcing asdf.sh or asdf.fish mentioned in the section above. For Elvish, this can be set above use asdf. This must be set to an absolute path like ~/.asdf, ${HOME}/.asdf, /home/my/working/dir/.asdf.

Internal Configuration

Users should not worry about this section as it describes configuration internal to asdf useful for Package Managers and integrators.

• $ASDF_DIR/asdf_updates_disabled: Updates via the asdf update command are disabled when this file is present (content irrelevant). This is used by Package Managers like Pacman or Homebrew to ensure the correct update method is used for the particular installation.