# asdf

Extendable version manager with support for Ruby, Node.js, Elixir, Erlang & more

Repository: https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/asdf
Homepage: https://asdf-vm.com/
Language: Go
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: version-manager, ruby, multiple-languages, cli, shell, asdf-vm, bash, elvish, fish, node, nushell, powershell, zsh, elixir, erlang, golang, python
Last push: 2026-08-12T01:47:40+00:00
Link (homepage): https://asdf-vm.com/
Link (site_page): https://asdf-vm.com/guide/getting-started.html

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 96/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 92, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4295, "days_push": 22, "days_rel": 57, "gap_med": 16, "n_releases_24m": 14}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 25548, forks 940 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:38.261934+00:00)

## What it is
asdf is an extendable CLI version manager that manages multiple language runtime versions (Ruby, Node.js, Elixir, Erlang, Go, Python, and more) through a plugin system. It uses a single .tool-versions file per project and automatically switches runtime versions as you change directories.

## Use cases
- manage multiple runtime versions with one cli tool
- replace nvm rbenv pyenv with a single version manager
- pin per-project tool versions in a shared config file
- automatically switch language versions when entering a project directory
- add support for new languages via plugins
- install tool versions in ci/cd from a .tool-versions file

## When to choose
- you work across multiple languages and want one consistent version manager
- you want a single per-project config file instead of .nvmrc/.ruby-version/.node-version scattered around
- you need shell auto-switching of runtime versions per directory
- you want a large plugin ecosystem covering many runtimes and tools

## When to avoid
- you only use one language and prefer its native version manager (nvm, pyenv, rustup)
- you need to manage versions of tools without git available, since asdf depends on git
- you want prebuilt toolchain binaries with no compilation, as some plugins build from source

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: cli, package-manager, developer-tools, version-control, plugin-system, configuration-management
- domain: developer-tools, programming-languages
- platform: windows, cli, cross-platform
- tags: version-manager, runtime-versions, tool-versions, shell-integration, polyglot, nvm-alternative, rbenv-alternative, per-project-config, command-line, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- asdf-vm/asdf (main) score 96
- asdf-vm/asdf-plugins (infra) score 75

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:38.261934+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T16:56:02.199412+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:38.261934+00:00, sha 48b60ff98d0e)
  - homepage: https://asdf-vm.com/ (fetched 2026-08-29T07:52:44.926237+00:00, sha 867efcf056d7)
  - site_page: https://asdf-vm.com/guide/getting-started.html (fetched 2026-08-29T07:52:44.935222+00:00, sha 18dc3d96b722)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.