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.

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.

.asdfrc

The .asdfrc file defines the user's machine specific configuration.

${HOME}/.asdfrc is the default location used by asdf. This can be set with the Environment Variable ASDF_CONFIG_FILE.

The below file shows the required format with the default values:

legacy_version_file = no
use_release_candidates = no
always_keep_download = no
plugin_repository_last_check_duration = 60
disable_plugin_short_name_repository = no
concurrency = auto

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 default	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 default	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 default	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 default	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.

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 default	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.

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.

concurrency

The default number of cores to use during compilation.

Options	Description
integer	Number of cores to use when compiling the source code
auto	Calculate the number of cores using nproc, then sysctl hw.ncpu, then /proc/cpuinfo or else 1

Note: the environment variable ASDF_CONCURRENCY take precedence if set.

Plugin Hooks

It is possible to execute custom code:

• Before or after a plugin is installed, reshimed, updated, or uninstalled
• Before or after a plugin command is executed

For example, if a plugin called foo is installed and provides a bar executable, then the following hooks can be used to execute custom code first:

pre_foo_bar = echo Executing with args: $@

The following patterns are supported:

• pre_<plugin_name>_<command>
• pre_asdf_download_<plugin_name>
• {pre,post}_asdf_{install,reshim,uninstall}_<plugin_name>
  • $1: full version
• {pre,post}_asdf_plugin_{add,update,remove,reshim}
  • $1: plugin name
• {pre,post}_asdf_plugin_{add,update,remove}_<plugin_name>

See Create a Plugin for specifics on what command hooks are ran before or after what commands.

Environment Variables

Setting environment variables varies depending on your system and Shell. Default locations depend upon your installation location and method (Git clone, Homebrew, AUR).

Environment variables should generally be set before sourcing asdf.sh/asdf.fish etc. For Elvish set above use asdf.

The following describe usage with a Bash Shell.

ASDF_CONFIG_FILE

Path to the .asdfrc configuration file. Can be set to any location. Must be an absolute path.

• If Unset: $HOME/.asdfrc will be used.
• Usage: export ASDF_CONFIG_FILE=/home/john_doe/.config/asdf/.asdfrc

ASDF_DEFAULT_TOOL_VERSIONS_FILENAME

The filename of the file storing the tool names and versions. Can be any valid filename. Typically, you should not set this value unless you want to ignore .tool-versions files.

• If Unset: .tool-versions will be used.
• Usage: export ASDF_DEFAULT_TOOL_VERSIONS_FILENAME=tool_versions

ASDF_DIR

The location of asdf core scripts. Can be set to any location. Must be an absolute path.

• If Unset: the parent directory of the bin/asdf executable is used.
• Usage: export ASDF_DIR=/home/john_doe/.config/asdf

ASDF_DATA_DIR

The location where asdf will install plugins, shims and tool versions. Can be set to any location. Must be an absolute path.

• If Unset: $HOME/.asdf if it exists, or else the value of ASDF_DIR
• Usage: export ASDF_DATA_DIR=/home/john_doe/.asdf

ASDF_CONCURRENCY

Number of cores to use when compiling the source code. If set, this value takes precedence over the asdf config concurrency value.

• If Unset: the asdf config concurrency value is used.
• Usage: export ASDF_CONCURRENCY=32

ASDF_FORCE_PREPEND

Whether or not to prepend the asdf shims and path directories to the front-most (highest-priority) part of the PATH.

• If Unset: On macOS, defaults to yes; but on other systems, defaults to no
• If yes: Force asdf directories to the front of the PATH
• If set to any string other than yes: Do not force asdf directories to the front of the PATH
• Usage: ASDF_FORCE_PREPEND=no . "<path-to-asdf-directory>/asdf.sh"

Full Configuration Example

Following a simple asdf setup with:

• a Bash Shell
• an installation location of $HOME/.asdf
• installed via Git
• NO environment variables set
• NO custom .asdfrc file

would result in the following outcomes:

Configuration	Value	Calculated by
config file location	$HOME/.asdfrc	ASDF_CONFIG_FILE is empty, so use $HOME/.asdfrc
default tool versions filename	.tool-versions	ASDF_DEFAULT_TOOL_VERSIONS_FILENAME is empty, so use .tool-versions
asdf dir	$HOME/.asdf	ASDF_DIR is empty, so use parent dir of bin/asdf
asdf data dir	$HOME/.asdf	ASDF_DATA_DIR is empty so use $HOME/.asdf as $HOME exists.
concurrency	auto	ASDF_CONCURRENCY is empty, so rely on concurrency value from the default configuration
legacy_version_file	no	No custom .asdfrc, so use the default configuration
use_release_candidates	no	No custom .asdfrc, so use the default configuration
always_keep_download	no	No custom .asdfrc, so use the default configuration
plugin_repository_last_check_duration	60	No custom .asdfrc, so use the default configuration
disable_plugin_short_name_repository	no	No custom .asdfrc, so use the default configuration

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.