Shims & PATH >= 0.5.0

vfox manage versions by manipulating PATH directly, but some IDEs don't read the PATH environment variable, so we need some extra operations to let the IDE used.

Shims Directory

This directory is used to store all shims of global SDK.

Location: $HOME/.version-fox/shims

$ vfox use -g nodejs@14.17.0
$ ~/.version-fox/shims/node -v
v14.17.0

WARNING

vfox only handles all binary files in the installation directory. If you install binary files through other installation tools (npm), the shims directory will not contain them.

Take nodejs as an example:

$ vfox use -g nodejs@14.17.0
$ npm install -g prettier@3.1.0
$ ~/.version-fox/shims/node -v
v14.17.0
$ ~/.version-fox/shims/prettier -v # File not found!!!!

Do not intend to provide the ability to rebuild shim. Please use the current soft link.

Shim Implementation

• Windows: .exe and .shim files
• Unix: Soft link

Take nodejs as an example:

• Windows: node.exe and node.shim
• Unix: .version-fox/shims/node -> .version-fox/cache/nodejs/v-14.17.0/nodejs-14.17.0/bin/node

current Soft Link

vfox will create a soft link current in the $HOME/.version-fox/cache/<sdk>/ directory, pointing to the corresponding SDK.

Location: $HOME/.version-fox/cache/<sdk>/current

Take Nodejs as an example:

$ vfox use -g nodejs@14.17.0
$ npm install -g prettier@3.1.0
$ ~/.version-fox/cache/nodejs/current/node -v
v14.17.0
$ ~/.version-fox/cache/nodejs/current/prettier -v  # Ok!!!
3.1.0

TIP

vfox's core for version management is also implemented through the current soft link.

When you switch on Shell, a soft link is actually created to point to the corresponding SDK version, and the current soft link is stored in the temporary directory of the current Shell, as well as configured to PATH, to achieve version switching.