proto - Pluggable Multi-Language Version Manager

proto is a next-generation version manager for multiple programming languages. It provides a unified interface for managing Node.js, npm, pnpm, yarn, Bun, Deno, Rust, Go, Python, and 800+ tools via plugins.

When to Use proto

• Managing language/tool versions across projects
• Pinning versions in .prototools for team consistency
• Installing and running tools without global pollution
• Replacing nvm, pyenv, rustup, gvm with a single tool

Installation

# Linux, macOS, WSL
bash <(curl -fsSL https://moonrepo.dev/install/proto.sh)

# Specific version, non-interactive
bash <(curl -fsSL https://moonrepo.dev/install/proto.sh) 1.2.3 --yes

Shell Setup

# Add to shell profile
eval "$(proto activate bash)"   # Bash
eval "$(proto activate zsh)"    # Zsh

Quick Reference

Core Commands

proto install <tool>           # Install tool
proto install node 20.10.0     # Install specific version
proto install node --build     # Build from source (v0.45+)
proto run <tool>               # Run with detected version
proto exec node pnpm -- cmd    # Bootstrap multi-tool env (v0.53+)
proto pin <tool> <version>     # Pin version locally
proto pin <tool> --global      # Pin globally
proto versions <tool>          # List available versions
proto outdated                 # Check for updates
proto clean                    # Remove unused tools
proto upgrade                  # Upgrade proto itself
proto diagnose                 # Identify installation issues
proto debug config             # List all .prototools files
proto debug env                # Show environment info

Configuration: .prototools

# .prototools
node = "20.10.0"
npm = "10.2.0"
pnpm = "8.12.0"
yarn = "4.0.0"
bun = "1.0.0"
deno = "1.40.0"
rust = "1.75.0"
go = "1.21.0"
python = "3.12.0"

[plugins]
my-tool = "https://example.com/plugin.wasm"

[settings]
auto-install = true
auto-clean = true
detect-strategy = "prefer-prototools"

[env]
NODE_ENV = "development"

Version Specifiers

Supported Tools (Built-in)

JavaScript/TypeScript

proto install node     # Node.js runtime
proto install npm      # npm package manager
proto install pnpm     # pnpm package manager
proto install yarn     # Yarn package manager
proto install bun      # Bun runtime
proto install deno     # Deno runtime

Systems Languages

proto install rust     # Rust (includes cargo)
proto install go       # Go

Other

proto install python   # Python (includes pip)

Version Detection Order

1. CLI argument: proto run node 18.0.0
2. Environment variable: PROTONODEVERSION=18.0.0
3. Local .prototools (current + parent dirs)
4. Ecosystem files: .nvmrc, .node-version, package.json engines
5. Global .prototools: ~/.proto/.prototools

Common Workflows

Pin Versions for Team

# Pin to local .prototools
proto pin node 20.10.0
proto pin pnpm 8.12.0

# Pin globally (user default)
proto pin node 20 --global

Install All Tools

# Install everything from .prototools
proto install

Check for Updates

proto outdated                    # Check for updates
proto outdated --update --latest  # Update .prototools

Run with Specific Version

proto run node 18 -- script.js    # Override version
PROTO_NODE_VERSION=18 proto run node  # Via env var

Proto Exec (v0.53+)

Bootstrap an environment with multiple tools:

# Run command with multiple tools
proto exec node@24 pnpm@10 [email protected] -- pnpm run app:start

# Load tools from config
proto exec --tools-from-config -- npm test

# Interactive shell with activated tools
proto exec node pnpm -- bash

Build From Source (v0.45+)

Compile tools from source (useful when pre-built binaries unavailable):

proto install ruby --build
proto install node --build
proto install python --build

Supported: Deno, Go, Moon, Node, Python, Ruby.

# .prototools
[settings.build]
install-system-packages = true
write-log-file = true

Plugins

Add Third-Party Plugin

proto plugin add atlas "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/.../plugin.toml"
proto install atlas

List Plugins

proto plugin list           # Show all plugins
proto plugin list --versions  # With version info

Plugin Sources

[plugins]
# Remote TOML plugin
atlas = "https://example.com/atlas/plugin.toml"

# Remote WASM plugin
custom = "https://example.com/plugin.wasm"

# GitHub releases (recommended for distribution)
my-tool = "github://org/repo"

# Local development (WASM)
local = "file://./target/wasm32-wasip1/release/plugin.wasm"

WASM Plugin Development

Build plugins with proto_pdk crate targeting wasm32-wasip1:

# Build plugin
cargo build --target wasm32-wasip1 --release

# Test locally
proto install my-tool --log trace

Test configuration for local development:

# .prototools
[settings]
unstable-lockfile = true  # Create .protolock for consistency

[plugins.tools]
my-tool = "file://./target/wasm32-wasip1/release/my_tool.wasm"

Required WASM functions:

• register_tool - Metadata (name, type)
• download_prebuilt - Configure download/install
• locate_executables - Define executable paths
• load_versions - Fetch available versions

Optional: nativeinstall, detectversionfiles, parseversion_file

Settings

[settings]
# Auto-install missing tools
auto-install = true

# Auto-clean unused tools
auto-clean = true

# Version detection strategy
# first-available, prefer-prototools, only-prototools
detect-strategy = "prefer-prototools"

# Pin "latest" alias to local or global config
pin-latest = "local"

# Create .protolock for reproducible installs
unstable-lockfile = true

# Disable telemetry
telemetry = false

[settings.http]
# Configure proxies
proxies = ["https://internal.proxy"]
root-cert = "/path/to/cert.pem"

[settings.offline]
timeout = 500  # ms

Environment Variables

Development/Testing Variables

Integration with moon

proto is the toolchain backend for moon. Configure in .moon/toolchains.yml (v2):

# .moon/toolchains.yml
javascript:
  packageManager: "pnpm"

node:
  version: "20.10.0"

Or pin moon itself via proto:

# .prototools
moon = "1.31.0"

CI/CD Integration

# GitHub Actions
- uses: moonrepo/setup-toolchain@v0
  with:
    auto-install: true

Additional Resources

For detailed configuration, consult:

• references/config.md - Complete .prototools reference
• references/plugins.md - Plugin development guide
• references/commands.md - Full CLI reference

Examples

• examples/prototools-full.toml - Complete configuration
• examples/plugin.toml - TOML plugin example