Zig Version Manager

Manage Zig and ZLS versions with project detection, safe cleanup, and automation-friendly output.

# Install via curl

$curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hendriknielaender/zvm/main/install.sh | bash

⚡ Installation

Install via Homebrew:

$ brew tap hendriknielaender/zvm && brew install zvm

Install via Curl:

$ curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hendriknielaender/zvm/main/install.sh | bash

Install via PowerShell:

> irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hendriknielaender/zvm/master/install.ps1 | iex

Shell Setup

After installation, configure your shell environment:

# Get shell-specific configuration
$ zvm env

# Example output:
# Add this to your ~/.bashrc, ~/.profile, or ~/.zshrc:
export PATH="/home/user/.local/share/zvm/bin:$PATH"

⚡ Usage Guide

Command	Description	Example
install, i	Install a Zig or ZLS version	zvm install 0.16.0
use, u	Switch to a Zig or ZLS version	zvm use 0.16.0
list, ls	List installed versions	zvm list --all
list-remote	List available Zig or ZLS versions	zvm list-remote --zls
remove, rm	Remove an installed version	zvm --yes remove 0.15.2
clean	Clean cache and unused versions	zvm clean --all
upgrade	Upgrade zvm itself	zvm upgrade

Examples

# Install a stable Zig release
zvm install 0.16.0

# Install master/development build
zvm install master

# Install ZLS (Language Server)
zvm install --zls 0.16.0

Management

# Switch to specific version
zvm use 0.16.0

# List installed Zig and ZLS versions
zvm list --all

# Remove old version without prompting
zvm --yes remove 0.15.2

⚡ Auto-version Detection

zvm automatically detects the required Zig version from your project's build.zig.zon file.

build.zig.zon

.{
    .name = "my-project",
    .version = "0.1.0",
    .minimum_zig_version = "0.16.0",
    .dependencies = .{},
}

1. Detect

Reads minimum_zig_version from your zon file.

2. Install

Fetches the version if it is not present.

3. Apply

Runs your Zig command with the matching binary.

⚡ Configuration

Global Options

Flag	Description
--json	Output machine-readable JSON
--plain	Tabular pipeline output without headers or color
--quiet	Suppress non-error output
--verbose	Show debug output on stderr
--trace	Show HTTP details and file paths while debugging
--yes	Skip confirmation prompts for destructive operations
--no-input	Refuse to prompt; fail fast in automation
--no-color	Disable colored output
--color	Force colored output
--help, -h	Show help
--version	Show version

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
ZVM_HOME	Override zvm install/data directory	platform data dir
XDG_DATA_HOME	Base data directory on Unix when ZVM_HOME is unset	~/.local/share
ZVM_DEBUG	Legacy verbose logging alias	false
NO_COLOR	Disable colored output when set	unset
ZVM_DOWNLOAD_TIMEOUT_SECONDS	Per-mirror download timeout with fallback	1800