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Tool specification

3 min

Since proto is a toolchain for multiple tools, each with differing version formats, we must align them on a standard specification that can resolve and store safely. To handle this, we've implemented our own solution called the tool and version specification. This specification currently supports semantic and calendar based versions, each with their own guidelines and caveats.

info

If you're implementing a plugin for a specific tool that has a different version format, you'll need to re-format it into one of the specifications below.

Backendsv0.47.0​

A backend is an internal system that allows proto to use plugins from 3rd-party package/version managers within proto, greatly expanding the amount of tools that proto can install and support. This functionality is achieved through special WASM plugins under the hood.

To make use of a backend, prefix the version in .prototools with the backend's unique identifier. For example, we can install Zig via asdf.

.prototools
zig = "asdf:0.13.0"

The approach above only utilizes the backend for that specific version. If you want to utilize the backend for all versions (without using the version prefix), you can use the tools.*.backend setting.

.prototools
zig = "0.13.0"

[tools.zig]
backend = "asdf"

asdf​

The asdf backend will utilize the asdf version manager for downloading and installing a tool, loading versions, and locating executables. This backend implementation does not use the asdf binary itself, and instead emulates the environment as best we can. Because of this, some tools may not be usable through proto.

The latest-stable, exec-env, exec-path, post-*, pre-*, and help.* asdf scripts are currently not supported by this backend.

Semantic versions​

The most common format is semver, also known as a semantic version. This format requires major, minor, and patch numbers, with optional pre-release and build metadata.

.prototools
tool = "1.2.3"

Syntax​

  • <major>.<minor>.<patch> - 1.2.3
  • <major>.<minor>.<patch>-<pre> - 1.2.3-alpha.0
  • <major>.<minor>.<patch>-<pre>+<build> - 1.2.3-alpha.0+nightly456
  • <major>.<minor>.<patch>+<build> - 1.2.3+nightly456

Guidelines​

  • major, minor, patch - 0-9 of any length
  • pre, build - a-z, 0-9, -, .

Learn more about this format!

Calendar versionsv0.37.0​

Another popular format is calver, also known as a calendar version, which uses the calendar year, month, and day as version numbers. This format also supports pre-release and build metadata, but with different syntax than semver.

.prototools
tool = "2025-02-26"

Syntax​

  • <year>-<month> - 2024-02
  • <year>-<month>-<day> - 2024-02-26
  • <year>-<month>-<day>.<build> - 2024-02-26.123
  • <year>-<month>-<day>_<build> - 2024-02-26_123
  • <year>-<month>-<day>.<build>-<pre> - 2024-02-26.123-alpha.0
  • <year>-<month>-<day>_<build>-<pre> - 2024-02-26_123-alpha.0
  • <year>-<month>-<day>-<pre> - 2024-02-26-alpha.0

Guidelines​

  • year - 0-9 of 1-4 length
    • If the year is not YYYY format, it will use the year 2000 as the base. For example, 24 becomes 2024, and 124 becomes 2124.
  • month - 0-9 of 1-2 length
    • Supports with and without a leading zero (02 vs 2).
    • Does not support invalid months (0 or 13).
  • day - 0-9 of 1-2 length
    • Can be omitted, even with build/pre.
    • Supports with and without a leading zero (02 vs 2).
    • Does not support invalid days (0 or 32).
  • build - 0-9 of any length
    • Also known as a "micro" number.
    • The leading dot . format is preferred.
  • pre - a-z, 0-9, -, .

Learn more about this format!

Requirements and ranges​

Besides an explicit version, we also support partial versions known as version requirements or version ranges. These are quite complex as we need to support both semver and calver in unison, as well as support partial/incomplete numbers (missing patch/day, missing minor/month, etc). We do our best to support as many combinations as possible.

.prototools
tool-a = "^1"
tool-b = "~2.1"
tool-c = ">=2000-10"

Syntax​

  • Requirement - [<op>]<pattern> - 1.2.3, >4.5, ~3, ^2000-10, etc
  • AND range - <requirement>[,] <requirement> ... - >=1, <2, ^1.3 <=1.3.9, etc
  • OR range - <requirement> || <requirement> ... - ^1.2 || ^2.3, ~2000-10 || ~2010-2, etc

Guidelines​

  • op - =, >, >=, <=, <, ~, ^
    • If omitted, defaults to ~ when not in a range.
  • pattern
    • Dot-separated semver, with optional major and patch numbers.
    • Dash-separated calver, with optional month and day numbers.
    • Pre-release and build metadata are only supported when suffixed to full versions.