frate 0.3.0

A local, dev-focused package manager for developer tools, inspired by Scoop and Cargo
Documentation

CI License: MIT OR Apache-2.0 Crates.io

frate

frate is a developer tool and package manager designed for managing local software installations without requiring root privileges. Inspired by Cargo’s user experience, it provides a clean and simple CLI with commands like init, add, list, and sync to manage dependencies declared in a frate.toml manifest and locked with a frate.lock file.

Unlike traditional package managers, frate focuses on user-level installations, making it ideal for environments where users don’t have administrative rights. It aims to streamline dependency management with a straightforward, Cargo-like workflow, enabling developers to easily install, update, and manage tools in a reproducible and isolated manner.

frate also includes command line sugar to maximize developer comfort. For example frate shell, to create a new shell session with all local tools in the PATH

Features

  • Local User-Level package management

    • install and manage tools without root or admin privileges

  • Cargo-Like UX - intuitive commands like:

    • init
    • add
    • sync
    • list
    • shell

  • Isolated, reproducible environments

  • Declarative dependencies using frate.toml

  • Locking using frate.lock

  • Hash validation for security

  • GitHub registry using JSON (local/custom registries planned) - see frate-registry for the registry and the auto-gen tool

Installation

Using cargo

cargo install frate

Build your self

git clone https://github.com/konni332/frate frate
cd frate
cargo build --release

Test with:

frate --version

Quickstart

  • Install and test the installation
  • Initialize frate for your project
cargo install frate
frate --vesion
cd ~/your_project

frate init
  • Have a look at the available tools
frate registry
  • Start using frate
frate add just@1.42.1
frate sync

frate install
frate list

frate shell
just --vesion

CLI

Frate offers a clean and expressive CLI inspired by tools like Cargo. Here's a breakdown of all available commands:

Command Description Example Usage
frate init Initializes a new frate.toml in the current directory. frate init
frate add <name>@<ver> Adds a tool to frate.toml and updates the lock file. Does not install the tool automatically. frate add just@1.14.0
frate sync Synchronizes frate.lock with the current frate.toml. frate sync
frate install Installs all packages listed in the lockfile. frate install
frate install --name Installs a single package by name. frate install --name just
frate uninstall Uninstalls all installed packages. frate uninstall
frate uninstall --name Uninstalls a specific tool. frate uninstall --name just
frate list Lists all tools in frate.toml. Use --verbose for details. frate list --verbose
frate run <tool> Runs a tool's binary from .frate/bin/<tool>/. Arguments can be passed through. frate run just -- --version
frate shell Launches a new shell with all tools available in PATH. frate shell
frate clean Removes the global cache for all tools. frate clean
frate clean --name Removes the cache for a specific tool. frate clean --name just
frate search <name> Searches for a tool and lists available versions from the registry. frate search just
frate which <name> Outputs the full path to a tool's installed binary and its shim (if available). frate which just

frate.toml

[project]

name = "frate"

version = "0.1.0"



[dependencies]

just = "1.42.1"

ripgrep = "14.1.1"

Use Case

Frate is designed for developers and teams who want to:

  • Install CLI tools without requiring admin/root permissions

  • Use a consistent, declarative configuration via frate.toml and frate.lock

  • Reproduce development environments easily across machines or CI

  • Avoid global pollution of PATH or conflicts between versions

  • Share CLI tool dependencies with teammates through versioned lockfiles

It’s especially useful in the following scenarios:

  • Local-only dev setups (e.g., on locked-down systems)

  • Portable projects that include their CLI tooling

  • CI pipelines that need deterministic toolchains

  • Bootstrapping environments without relying on system package managers

Contributing

Contributions are very welcome! Here’s how to get started:

  1. Fork the repository

  2. Clone your fork:

git clone https://github.com/your-username/frate.git
  1. Create a feature branch:
git checkout -b my-feature

  1. Make your changes and add tests if relevant

  2. Run the test suite:

cargo test
  1. Open a Pull Request with a clear description

Please follow Conventional Commits for your commit messages and try to keep the code style idiomatic.

If you're unsure where to start, check the issues marked good first issue or help wanted.

Notes

All contributions are welcome!
Bug fixes, docs, tests, feature/UX/CLI ideas, ...

  • If you create functions please make sure to use doc strings for all non trivial functions
  • If you edit functions, please update existing doc strings accordingly

Bug-Reports

🐛 Reporting Bugs

If you encounter a bug, please help improve Frate by reporting it.

Before submitting, make sure to:

  1. Check the existing issues – your problem might already be reported.

  2. Use a clear and descriptive title.

  3. Include steps to reproduce the bug, your platform and OS, and any relevant logs or screenshots.

  4. If possible, test against the latest master branch to see if the bug still occurs.

  5. Create a new issue

Thanks for helping make Frate better!

License

This Project is licensed under either of:

MIT
APACHE-2.0

at your option