kerl ==== Easy building and installing of [Erlang/OTP](http://www.erlang.org) instances Kerl aims to be shell agnostic and its only dependencies, excluding what's required to actually build Erlang/OTP, are `curl` and `git`. All is done so that, once a specific release has been built, creating a new installation is as fast as possible. Downloading ----------- You can download the script directly from github: $ curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kerl/kerl/master/kerl Then ensure it is executable $ chmod a+x kerl and drop it in your $PATH Optionally download and install kerl's bash_completion file from https://github.com/kerl/kerl/raw/master/bash_completion/kerl Optionally download and install kerl's zsh-completion file from https://github.com/kerl/kerl/raw/master/zsh_completion/_kerl How it works ------------ Kerl keeps tracks of the releases it downloads, builds and installs, allowing easy installations to new destinations (without complete rebuilding) and easy switches between Erlang/OTP installations. By default, kerl downloads source tarballs from the [official Erlang website](http://www.erlang.org), but you can tell kerl to download tarballs of Erlang source code from the tags pushed to the [official source code](https://github.com/erlang/otp) by setting `KERL_BUILD_BACKEND=git` Usage ----- List the available releases (kerl ignores releases < 10): $ kerl list releases Getting the available releases from erlang.org... R10B-0 R10B-2 R10B-3 R10B-4 R10B-5 R10B-6 R10B-7 R10B-8 R10B-9 R11B-0 R11B-1 R11B-2 R11B-3 R11B-4 R11B-5 R12B-0 R12B-1 R12B-2 R12B-3 R12B-4 R12B-5 R13A R13B R13B01 R13B02 R13B03 R13B04 R14A R14B R14B01 R14B02 Run "./kerl update releases" to update this list from erlang.org Pick your choice and build it: $ kerl build R14B02 r14b02 Downloading otp_src_R14B02.tar.gz to /home/evax/.kerl/archives (curl progresses...) Verifying archive checksum... (curl progresses...) Checksum verified (229fb8f193b09ac04a57a9d7794349b7) Extracting source code Building Erlang/OTP R14B02 (r14b02), please wait... Erlang/OTP R14B02 has been successfully built Note that named builds allow you to have different builds for the same Erlang/OTP release with different configure options: $ KERL_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS=--enable-hipe kerl build R14B02 r14b02_hipe Verifying archive checksum... Checksum verified (229fb8f193b09ac04a57a9d7794349b7) Extracting source code Building Erlang/OTP R14B02 (r14b02_hipe), please wait... Erlang/OTP R14B02 (r14b02_hipe) has been successfully built (Note that kerl uses the otp_build script internally, and `./otp_build configure` disables HiPE on linux) You can verify your build has been registered: $ kerl list builds R14B02,r14b02 R14B02,r14b02_hipe Now install a build to some location: $ kerl install r14b02 /path/to/install/dir/ Installing Erlang/OTP R14B02 (r14b02) in /path/to/install/dir... You can activate this installation running the following command: . /path/to/install/dir/activate Later on, you can leave the installation typing: kerl_deactivate Here again you can check the installation's been registered: $ kerl list installations r14b02 /path/to/install/dir And at last activate it: $ . /path/to/install/dir/activate Activation will backup your $PATH, prepend it with the installation's bin/ directory. Thus it's only valid for the current shell session, and until you activate another installation or call `kerl_deactivate`. You're now ready to work with your r14b02 installation: $ erl -version Erlang (SMP,ASYNC_THREADS,HIPE) (BEAM) emulator version 5.8.3 When you're done just call the shell function: $ kerl_deactivate Anytime you can check which installation, if any, is currently active with: $ kerl active No Erlang/OTP kerl installation is currently active You can get an overview of the current kerl state with: $ kerl status Available builds: R14B02,r14b02 R14B02,r14b02_hipe ---------- Available installations: r14b02 /path/to/install/dir ---------- Currently active installation: The current active installation is: /path/to/install/dir You can delete builds and installations with the following commands: $ kerl delete build r14b02 The r14b02 build has been deleted $ kerl delete installation /path/to/install/dir The installation in /path/to/install/dir has been deleted You can easily deploy an installation to another host having `ssh` and `rsync` access with the following command: $ kerl deploy anotherhost /path/to/install/dir Cloning Erlang/OTP r14b02 (/path/to/install/dir) to anotherhost (/path/to/install/dir) ... On anotherhost, you can activate this installation running the following command: . /path/to/install/dir/activate Later on, you can leave the installation typing: kerl_deactivate Building from a git source -------------------------- You can build Erlang directly from a git repository with a command of the form `kerl build git ` where `` can be either a branch, a tag or a commit id that will be passed to `git checkout`: $ kerl build git https://github.com/erlang/otp.git dev r14b02_dev Checking Erlang/OTP git repositoy from https://github.com/erlang/otp.git... Building Erlang/OTP r14b02_dev from git, please wait... Erlang/OTP r14b02_dev from git has been successfully built Tuning ------ You can tune kerl using the .kerlrc file in your $HOME directory. You can set the following variables: - `KERL_BUILD_BACKEND` which source code download provider to use - (`tarball` - default) erlang.org or github (`git`) - `KERL_DOWNLOAD_DIR` where to put downloaded files, defaults to $HOME/.kerl/archives - `KERL_BUILD_DIR` where to hold the builds, defaults to $HOME/.kerl/builds - `KERL_DEFAULT_INSTALL_DIR` if set in ~/.kerlrc, install builds to this dir if no path is provided on installs, (recommend `$KERL_BASE_DIR/installs`) - `KERL_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS` options to pass to Erlang's `./configure` script, e.g. `--without-termcap` - `KERL_CONFIGURE_APPLICATIONS` if non-empty, subset of applications used in the builds (and subsequent installations) process, e.g. `kernel stdlib sasl` - `KERL_CONFIGURE_DISABLE_APPLICATIONS` if non-empty, subset of applications disabled in the builds (and subsequent installations) process, e.g. `odbc` - `KERL_SASL_STARTUP` use SASL system startup instead of minimal - `KERL_DEPLOY_SSH_OPTIONS` if additional options are required, e.g. `-qx -o PasswordAuthentication=no` - `KERL_DEPLOY_RSYNC_OPTIONS` if additional options are required, e.g. `--delete` - `KERL_ENABLE_PROMPT` if set, the prompt will be prefixed with the name of the active build - `KERL_BUILD_DOCS` if set, will build documentation from source code repository - `KERL_USE_AUTOCONF` use autoconf in the builds process (**note**: implied by the `git` build backend) ### Options for tarball builds only ### These options only work when `KERL_BUILD_BACKEND=tarball` (the default) **and** if `KERL_BUILD_DOCS` is not set. That is, they are *strictly* for backward compatibility. They will probably be removed in a future release. - `KERL_INSTALL_MANPAGES` if non-empty will install manpages into `/install/path/man` - `KERL_INSTALL_HTMLDOCS` if non-empty will install HTML docs into `/install/path/html` If you want documentation for git based builds, set `KERL_BUILD_DOCS=yes` - and if you don't want to download 120MB of docs from erlang.org, also set `KERL_BUILD_DOCS=yes` Note on .kerlrc --------------- Since .kerlrc is a dot file for `/bin/sh`, running shell commands inside the .kerlrc will affect the shell and environment variables for the commands being executed later. For example, the shell `export` commands in .kerlrc will affect *your login shell environment* when activating `curl`. Use with care. Fish shell support ------------------ kerl has basic support for the fish shell. To activate an installation: source /path/to/install/dir/activate.fish Deactivation is the same as in other shells: kerl_deactivate Please note: if you've installed a build with an older version of kerl (1.2.0 older) it won't have the `activate.fish` script. Glossary -------- Here are the abstractions kerl is handling: - **releases**: Erlang/OTP releases from [erlang.org](http://erlang.org) - **builds**: the result of configuring and compiling releases or git repositories - **installations**: the result of deploying builds to filesystem locations (also referred to as "sandboxes") Commands reference ------------------ ### build kerl build kerl build git Creates a named build either from an official Erlang/OTP release or from a git repository. $ kerl build R14B02 r14b02 $ kerl build git https://github.com/erlang/otp dev r14b02_dev #### Tuning ##### Configure options You can specify the configure options to use when building Erlang/OTP with the `KERL_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS` variable, either in your $HOME/.kerlrc file or prepending it to the command line. $ KERL_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS=--enable-hipe kerl build R14B02 r14b02_hipe ##### Configure applications If non-empty, you can specify the subset of applications to use when building (and subsequent installing) Erlang/OTP with the `KERL_CONFIGURE_APPLICATIONS` variable, either in your $HOME/.kerlrc file or prepending it to the command line. $ KERL_CONFIGURE_APPLICATIONS="kernel stdlib sasl" kerl build R15B01 r15b01_minimal ##### Configure disable applications If non-empty, you can specify the subset of applications to disable when building (and subsequent installing) Erlang/OTP with the `KERL_CONFIGURE_DISABLE_APPLICATIONS` variable, either in your $HOME/.kerlrc file or prepending it to the command line. $ KERL_CONFIGURE_DISABLE_APPLICATIONS="odbc" kerl build R16B02 r16b02_no_odbc ##### Enable autoconf You can enable the use of `autoconf` in the build process setting `KERL_USE_AUTOCONF=yes` in your $HOME/.kerlrc file **Note**: `autoconf` is always enabled for git builds ##### Using shell export command in .kerlrc Configure variables which includes spaces such as those in `CFLAGS` cannot be passed on with `KERL_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS`. In such a case you can use shell `export` command to define the environment variables for `./configure`. Note well: this method has a side effect to change your shell execution environment after activating a kerl installation of Erlang/OTP. Here is an example of .kerlrc for building Erlang/OTP for FreeBSD with clang compiler: # for clang export CC=clang CXX=clang CFLAGS="-g -O3 -fstack-protector" LDFLAGS="-fstack-protector" # compilation options KERL_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS="--disable-native-libs --enable-vm-probes --with-dynamic-trace=dtrace --with-ssl=/usr/local --with-javac --enable-hipe --enable-kernel-poll --with-wx-config=/usr/local/bin/wxgtk2u-2.8-config --without-odbc --enable-threads --enable-sctp --enable-smp-support" #### Building documentation Prior to kerl 1.0, kerl always downloaded prepared documentation from erlang.org. Now if `KERL_BUILD_DOCS=yes` is set, kerl will build the man pages and HTML documentation from the source repository in which is working. **Note**: This variable takes precedent over the other documentation parameters. ### install kerl install [path] Installs a named build to the specified filesystem location. $ kerl install r14b02 /srv/otp/r14b02 If path is omitted the current working directory will be used. However, if `KERL_DEFAULT_INSTALL_DIR` is defined in ~/.kerlrc, `KERL_DEFAULT_INSTALL_DIR/` will be used instead. #### Install location restrictions **WARNING**: kerl assumes the given installation directory is for its sole use. If you later delete it with the `kerl delete` command, the whole directory will be deleted, along with anything you may have added to it! So please only install kerl in an empty (or non-existant) directory. If you attempt to install kerl in `$HOME` or `.erlang` or `$KERL_BASE_DIR`, then kerl will give you an error and refuse to proceed. If you try to install kerl in a directory that exists and is not empty, kerl will give you an error. #### Tuning ##### SASL startup You can have SASL started automatically setting `KERL_SASL_STARTUP=yes` in your $HOME/.kerlrc file or prepending it to the command line. ##### Manpages installation You can have manpages installed automatically setting `KERL_INSTALL_MANPAGES=yes` in your $HOME/.kerlrc file or prepending it to the command line. **Note**: for git-based builds, you want to set `KERL_BUILD_DOCS=yes` ##### HTML docs installation You can have HTML docs installed automatically setting `KERL_INSTALL_HTMLDOCS=yes` in your $HOME/.kerlrc file or prepending it to the command line. *Note*: for git-based builds, you want to set `KERL_BUILD_DOCS=yes` #### Documentation installation Man pages will be installed to `[path]/man` and HTML docs will be installed in `[path]/html`. The kerl `activate` script manipulates the MANPATH of the current shell such that `man 3 gen_server` or `erl -man gen_server` should work perfectly. (Do not fret - `kerl_deactivate` restores your shell's MANPATH to whatever its original value was.) ### deploy kerl deploy <[user@]host> [directory] [remote_directory] Deploys the specified installation to the given host and location. $ kerl deploy anotherhost /path/to/install/dir If remote_directory is omitted the specified directory will be used. If directory and remote_directory is omitted the current working directory will be used. *NOTE*: kerl assumes the specified host is accessible via `ssh` and `rsync`. #### Tuning ##### Additional SSH options You can have additional options given to `ssh` by setting them in the `KERL_DEPLOY_SSH_OPTIONS` variable in your $HOME/.kerlrc file or on the command line, e.g. `KERL_DEPLOY_SSH_OPTIONS='-qx -o PasswordAuthentication=no'`. ##### Additional RSYNC options You can have additional options given to `rsync` by setting them in the `KERL_DEPLOY_RSYNC_OPTIONS` variable in your $HOME/.kerlrc file or on the command line, e.g. `KERL_DEPLOY_RSYNC_OPTIONS='--delete'`. ### update kerl update releases If `KERL_BUILD_BACKEND=tarball` this command fetches the up-to-date list of OTP releases from erlang.org. If it is set to `KERL_BUILD_BACKEND=git` this command fetches an up-to-date list of OTP tags from the official OTP github repository. ### list kerl list Lists the releases, builds or installations available. ### delete kerl delete build kerl delete installation Deletes the specified build or installation. ``` $ kerl delete build r14b02 The r14b02 build has been deleted ``` ``` $ kerl delete installation /srv/otp/r14b02 The installation in /srv/otp/r14b02 has been deleted ``` ### active kerl active Prints the path of the currently active installation, if any. $ kerl active The current active installation is: /srv/otp/r14b02 ### status kerl status Prints the available builds and installations as well as the currently active installation. $ kerl status Available builds: R14B02,r14b02 git,r14b02_dev ---------- Available installations: r14b02 /srv/otp/r14b02 r14b02 /srv/otp/r14b02_dev ---------- No Erlang/OTP kerl installation is currently active Changelog --------- 16 July 2016 - 1.3.1 - Fix argument order in archive unpacking (#146) - When building, show output of unmet dependencies or other build prerequisites (#148) 1 July 2016 - 1.3.0 - basic fish shell support (#91) 28 June 2016 - 1.2.0 - Make curl output more robust if using a .curlrc (#137) - Apply patches to build older Erlangs (#138) - Add a command to output a version string (#140) - Do not assume success for metadata file writes (#142) - Fix a grammar problem (#145) 20 May 2016 - 1.1.1 - Remove valid directory check when doing a remote deployment. - Various get_otp_version() regex cleanup/fixes 14 May 2016 - 1.1.0 - Remove support for Mac OS X Lion. Stop setting CFLAGS for better compiler optimizations. (#132) 14 May 2016 - 1.0.1 - Be much more careful about installing into and removing directories. (#127) - Make `OTP_GITHUB_URL` and `KERL_BUILD_BACKEND` controllable from .kerlrc (#130) 2 May 2016 - 1.0 - Support builds from git tags (#122) - Support documentation builds/installs from source code (#126)