Install.sh script

Introduction

The dlang.org/install.sh script is the official D compiler version manager. It supports DMD, GDC and LDC on FreeBSD, Linux, macOS and Windows (although not every combination is available). It provides a convenient way to fetch and install a D compiler, and switch between installed versions, without requiring administrative privileges. Its features include:

• Maintaining one or more portable compiler installations in a directory of choice (default ~/dlang on POSIX, %USERPROFILE%/dlang on Windows).
• Maintaining the latest stable version of the D package manager, dub.
• Self-updating via install.sh update.
• Supporting nested activation of compilers. Activating a compiler will set up the relevant environment variables, and offer means to revert the modified variables to their prior values.
• Supporting the Fish shell, in addition to Bash-compatible shells.
• Verifying binary signatures via the D keyring (automatic if gpg is installed)
• For dmd, installation of the following versions is supported:
  • dmd - latest stable version
  • dmd-beta - latest beta version
  • dmd-nightly - the latest nightly release
  • dmd-<version> - specific official release (including beta releases)
  • dmd-branch - experimental compiler branches
• For ldc, installation of the following versions is supported:
  • ldc - latest stable version
  • ldc-beta - latest beta version
  • ldc-latest-ci - latest build version (built on every commit to master by CIs)
  • ldc-<version> - specific official release (including beta releases)
• For gdc, installation of the following versions is supported:
  • gdc - latest stable version, Linux only

Content

• Downloading the installer
• On FreeBSD, Linux and macOS
• On Windows
• Using Git BASH
• Using MSYS BASH
• Usage
• Installation
• Activation
• On POSIX
• On Windows
• Uninstallation
• Listing available compilers
• Update

Downloading the installer

• On FreeBSD, Linux and macOS
• On Windows
• Using Git BASH
• Using MSYS BASH

Downloading on FreeBSD, Linux and macOS

mkdir -p ~/dlang && wget https://dlang.org/install.sh -O ~/dlang/install.sh

Alternatively, the script can be invoked directly:

curl https://dlang.org/install.sh | bash -s

In this case the installer makes a copy of itself at ~/dlang/install.sh. If no arguments are provided, the latest DMD compiler will be installed.

Downloading on Windows

The instructions above work unaltered when using a POSIX-like environment on Windows, such as Cygwin or MSYS2, but then compilers are installed inside that environment. For better integration with a typical Windows development environment, you may follow the instructions below instead, which makes compilers available from the Windows Command Prompt.

mkdir %USERPROFILE%\dlang
powershell.exe -Command "wget https://dlang.org/install.sh -OutFile %USERPROFILE%\dlang\install.sh"

The script is interpreted by bash.exe, which comes as part of MSYS2 as well as Git for Windows. The following two sections provide two alternatives for defining %BASH% so that the POSIX-tailored examples further down will work from the Windows command prompt by replacing "~/dlang/install.sh" with "%BASH% %USERPROFILE%\dlang\install.sh". With either one of these alternatives, this will work:

%BASH% %USERPROFILE%\dlang\install.sh --help

Using Git BASH

Download and install Git for Windows to "C:\Program Files\Git" and 7-Zip to "C:\Program Files\7-Zip". 7z.exe needs to be in the PATH:

set PATH=%PATH%;C:\Program Files\7-Zip
set BASH="\Program Files\Git\usr\bin\bash.exe"

Using MSYS BASH

Follow the installation instructions for MSYS2. We'll assume MSYS2 is now available in C:\msys64, which is the default for the 64-bit installer. This will install the necessary decompression tools:

C:\msys64\usr\bin\pacman.exe --sync unzip p7zip
set BASH=C:\msys64\usr\bin\bash.exe

Usage

~/dlang/install.sh [<command>] [<args>]

• Installation
• Activation
• On POSIX
• On Windows
• Uninstallation
• Listing available compilers
• Update

Global options

-p --path

Changes the install location (default ~/dlang on POSIX, %USERPROFILE/dlang on Windows)

-v

Produces more verbose output

-h

Displays a help page

Install

~/dlang/install.sh install <compiler>

Download and install a D compiler. By default the latest release of the DMD compiler is selected.

Options

-a --activate

Prints the path to the activate script

dmd|ldc|gdc

Installs the latest version of a compiler

dmd|ldc|gdc-<version>

Installs a specific version of a compiler (e.g. dmd-2.071.1, ldc-1.1.0-beta2)

dmd|ldc-beta

Installs the latest beta version of a compiler

dmd-nightly

Installs DMD nightly

dmd-2017-02-10

Installs specific DMD nightly

Examples

~/dlang/install.sh
~/dlang/install.sh dmd
~/dlang/install.sh install dmd
~/dlang/install.sh install dmd-2.071.1
~/dlang/install.sh install ldc-1.1.0-beta2
~/dlang/install.sh install dmd-beta
~/dlang/install.sh install dmd-nightly

An installed compiler can be used directly, but the exact path varies between compiler vendors:

~/dlang/<installed-dmd-compiler>/bin64/dmd
~/dlang/<installed-ldc-compiler>/ldc2

Therefore it is recommended to activate a compiler after installation.

Activate

Once a compiler is installed, it can be activated for the current session. Supplying the -a or --activate option to the install command will print the path to the appropriate activation script: either a shell script or a Windows batch file.

In POSIX environments

~/dlang/install.sh install <compiler> -a

This will show where to find the activate script (or activate.fish for users of the Fish shell.) The script should be executed in the current shell:

source ~/dlang/<installed-compiler>/activate

This will set up the PATH, LIBRARY_PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, DMD, DC, and PS1 environment variables. It's also possible to combine this into one command:

source $(~/dlang/install.sh dmd -a)

The activated compiler can be removed from the current session by restoring the previous environment:

deactivate

On the Windows command line

%BASH% %USERPROFILE%\dlang\install.sh install <compiler> -a

This will show where to find the activate.bat file. Calling it will change the PATH environment variable, and show how to restore its prior value.

%USERPROFILE%\dlang\<installed-compiler>\activate.bat

To install and activate %COMPILER% in a batch file, this will do:

set INSTALL=%BASH% %USERPROFILE%\dlang\install.sh install %COMPILER%
%INSTALL%
for /f "usebackq tokens=*" %%a in (%INSTALL% -a) do call %%a

Uninstall

Uninstall a D compiler.

~/dlang/install.sh uninstall <compiler>

Examples

~/dlang/install.sh uninstall dmd
~/dlang/install.sh uninstall dmd-2.071.1
~/dlang/install.sh uninstall ldc-1.1.0-beta2

List

List all installed D compilers.

~/dlang/install.sh list

Update

Update the installer itself and the keyring.

~/dlang/install.sh update