PERLBREW(1p) User Contributed Perl Documentation PERLBREW(1p)
NAME
perlbrew - Perl environment manager.
SYNOPSIS
perlbrew command syntax:
perlbrew <command> [options] [arguments]
Commands:
init Initialize perlbrew environment.
install Install perl
uninstall Uninstall the given installation
available List perls available to install
lib Manage local::lib directories.
alias Give perl installations a new name
list List perl installations
use Use the specified perl in current shell
off Turn off perlbrew in current shell
switch Permanently use the specified perl as default
switch-off Permanently turn off perlbrew (revert to system perl)
self-upgrade Upgrade perlbrew itself.
install-cpanm Install cpanm, a friendly companion.
install-patchperl Install patchperl
mirror Pick a preferred mirror site
version Display version
help Read more detailed instructions
Options for "install" command:
-f --force Force installation
-j $n Parallel buildng and testing. ex. C<perlbrew install -j 5 perl-5.14.2>
-n --notest Skip testing
--as Install the given version of perl by a name.
ex. C<perlbrew install perl-5.6.2 --as legacy-perl>
-D,-U,-A Switches passed to perl Configure script.
ex. C<perlbrew install perl-5.10.1 -D usemymalloc -U uselargefiles>
--sitecustomize $filename
Specify a file to be installed as sitecustomize.pl
Generic command options:
-q --quiet Be quiet on informative output message.
-v --verbose Tell me more about it.
See `perlbrew help` for the full documentation of perlbrew, or
See `perlbrew help <command>` for detail description of the command.
INSTALLATION
It is the simpleist to use the perlbrew installer, just paste this statement to your terminal:
curl -kL http://install.perlbrew.pl | bash
Or this one, if you have "fetch" (default on FreeBSD):
fetch -o- http://install.perlbrew.pl | sh
After that, "perlbrew" installs itself to "~/perl5/perlbrew/bin", and you should follow the instruction on screen to modify your shell rc
file to put it in your PATH.
The installed perlbrew command is a standalone executable that can be run with system perl. The minimun system perl version requirement is
5.8.0, which should be good enough for most of the OSes these days.
A packed version of "patchperl" to "~/perl5/perlbrew/bin", which is required to build old perls.
The directory "~/perl5/perlbrew" will contain all install perl executables, libraries, documentations, lib, site_libs. In the
documentation, that directory is referred as "perlbrew root". If you need to set it to somewhere else because, say, your HOME has limited
quota, you can do that by setting "PERLBREW_ROOT" environment variable before running the installer:
export PERLBREW_ROOT=/opt/perl5
curl -kL http://install.perlbrew.pl | bash
You may also install perlbrew from CPAN:
cpan App::perlbrew
In this case, the perlbrew command is installed as "/usr/bin/perlbrew" or "/usr/local/bin/perlbrew" or others, depending on the location of
your system perl installation.
Please make sure not to run this with one of the perls brewed with perlbrew. It's the best to turn perlbrew off before you run that, if
you're upgrading.
perlbrew off
cpan App::perlbrew
You should always use system cpan (like /usr/bin/cpan) to install "App::perlbrew" because it will be installed under a system PATH like
"/usr/bin", which is not affected by perlbrew "switch" or "use" command.
The "self-upgrade" command will not upgrade the perlbrew installed by cpan command, but it is also easy to upgrade perlbrew by running
`cpan App::perlbrew` again.
CONFIGURATION
PERLBREW_ROOT
By default, perlbrew builds and installs perls into "$ENV{HOME}/perl5/perlbrew" directory. To use a different directory, set this
environment variable in your "bashrc" to the directory in your shell RC before sourcing perlbrew's RC.
It is possible to share one perlbrew root with multilpe user account on the same machine. Therefore people do not have to install the
same version of perl over an over. Let's say "/opt/perl5" is the directory we want to share. All users should be able append this
snippet to their bashrc to make it effective:
export PERLBREW_ROOT=/opt/perl5
source ${PERLBREW_ROOT}/etc/bashrc
After doing so, everone's PATH should include "/opt/perl5/bin" and "/opt/perl5/perls/${PERLBREW_PERL}/bin". Each user can invoke
"perlbrew switch" and "perlbrew use" to independently switch to different perl environment of their choice. However, only the user with
write permission to $PERLBREW_ROOT may install CPAN modules. This is both good and bad depending on the working convention of your
team.
If you wish to install CPAN modules only for yourself, you should use the "lib" command to construct a personal local::lib environment.
local::lib environments are personal, and are not shared between different users. For more detail, read "perlbrew help lib" and the
documentation of local::lib.
If you want even a cooler module isolation and wish to install CPAN modules used for just one project, you should use carton for this
purpose.
It is also possible to set this variable before installing perlbrew to make perlbrew install itself under the given PERLBREW_ROOT:
export PERLBREW_ROOT=/opt/perl5
curl -kL http://install.perlbrew.pl | bash
After doing this, the perlbrew executable is installed as "/opt/perl5/bin/perlbrew"
PERLBREW_HOME
By default, perlbrew stores per-user setting to "$ENV{HOME}/.perlbrew" directory. To use a different directory, set this environment
variable in your shell RC before sourcing perlbrew's RC.
In some cases, say, your home directory is on NFS and shared across multiple machines, you may wish to have several different perlbrew
setting per-machine. To do so, you can use the "PERLBREW_HOME" environment variable to tell perlbrew where to look for the
initialization file. Here's a brief bash snippet for the given senario.
if [ "$(hostname)" == "machine-a" ]; then
export PERLBREW_HOME=~/.perlbrew-a
elif [ "$(hostname)" == "machine-b" ]; then
export PERLBREW_HOME=~/.perlbrew-b
fi
source ~/perl5/perlbrew/etc/bashrc
COMMAND
: INIT
The "init" command should be manually invoked whenever you (the perlbrew user) upgrade perlbrew.
However, if the upgrade is done with "self-upgrade" command, or by running the one-line installer manually, this command is invoked
automatically.
COMMAND
: INSTALL
install [ perl-<version> | <version> ]
Build and install the given version of perl.
Version numbers usually look like "5.x.xx", or "perl-5.xx.x-RCx" for release candidates.
The specified perl is downloaded from the offical CPAN website or from the mirror site configured before.
To configure mirror site, invoke `mirror` command.
install [ perl-blead | blead ]
A special way to install the blead version of perl, which is downloaded from this specific URL regardless of mirror settings:
http://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git/snapshot/blead.tar.gz
install /path/to/perl/git/checkout/dir
Build and install from the given git checkout dir.
install /path/to/perl-5.14.0.tar.gz
Build and install from the given archive file.
install http://example.com/mirror/perl-5.12.3.tar.gz
Build and install from the given URL. Supported URL schemes are "http://", "https://", "ftp://" and "file://".
COMMAND
: UNINSTALL
Usage: perlbrew uninstall <name>
Uninstalls the given perl installation.
COMMAND
: USE
Usage: perlbrew use [perl-<version> | <version> | <name>]
Use the given version perl in current shell. This will not effect newly opened shells.
Without a parameter, shows the version of perl currently in use.
COMMAND
: SWITCH
Usage: perlbrew switch [ <name> ]
Switch to the given version, and makes it the default for this and all future terminal sessions.
Without a parameter, shows the version of perl currently selected.
COMMAND
: LIST
Usage: perlbrew list
List the installed versions of perl.
COMMAND
: AVAILABLE
Usage: perlbrew available
List the recently available versions of perl on CPAN.
The list is retrieved from the web page <http://www.cpan.org/src/README.html>, and is not the list of *all* perl versions ever releasesed
in the past.
NOTICE: This command might be gone in the future and becomes an option of 'list' command.
COMMAND
: OFF
Usage: perlbrew off
Temporarily disable perlbrew in the current shell. Effectively re-enables the default system Perl, whatever that is.
This command works only if you add the statement of `source $PERLBREW_ROOT/etc/bashrc` in your shell initialization (bashrc / zshrc).
COMMAND
: SWITCH-OFF
Usage: perlbrew switch-off
Permananently disable perlbrew. Use "switch" command to re-enable it. Invoke "use" command to enable it only in the current shell.
Re-enables the default system Perl, whatever that is.
COMMAND
: ALIAS
Usage: perlbrew alias [-f] create <name> <alias>
Create an alias for the installation named <name>.
Usage: perlbrew alias [-f] rename <old_alias> <new_alias>
Rename the alias to a new name.
Usage: perlbrew alias delete <alias>
Delete the given alias.
COMMAND
: MIRROR
Usage: perlbrew mirror
Run this if you want to choose a specific CPAN mirror to install the perls from. It will display a list of mirrors for you to pick from.
Hit 'q' to cancel the selection.
COMMAND
: EXEC
Usage: perlbrew exec <command> <args...>
Execute command for all perls, one by one.
For example, run a Hello program:
perlbrew exec perl -e 'print "Hello from $]
"'
The output depends on your perl installations, and looks like this:
perl-5.12.2
==========
Hello word from perl-5.012002
perl-5.12.3
==========
Hello word from perl-5.012003
perl-5.13.10
==========
Hello word from perl-5.013010
perl-5.14.0
==========
Hello word from perl-5.014000
Notice that the command is not executed in parallel.
COMMAND
: ENV
Usage: perlbrew env <name>
Low-level command. Invoke this command to see the list of environment variables that are set by "perlbrew" itself for shell integration.
The output is something similar to this (if your shell is bash/zsh):
export PERLBREW_ROOT=/Users/gugod/perl5/perlbrew
export PERLBREW_VERSION=0.31
export PERLBREW_PATH=/Users/gugod/perl5/perlbrew/bin:/Users/gugod/perl5/perlbrew/perls/current/bin
export PERLBREW_PERL=perl-5.14.1
tcsh / csh users shall seens lines of 'setenv' statements instead of `export`.
COMMAND
: SYMLINK-EXECUTABLES
Usage: perlbrew symlink-executables <name>
Low-level command. This command is used to create the "perl" executable symbolic link to, say, "perl5.13.6". This is only required for
development version of perls.
You don't need to do this unless you have been using old perlbrew to install perls, and you find youself confused because the perl that you
just installed appears to be missing after invoking `use` or `switch`. perbrew changes its installation layout since version 0.11, which
generades symlinks to executables in a better way.
If you just upgraded perlbrew (from 0.11 or earlier versions) and "perlbrew switch" failed to work after you switch to a development
release of perl, say, perl-5.13.6, run this command:
perlbrew symlink-executables perl-5.13.6
This essentially creates this symlink:
${PERLBREW_ROOT}/perls/perl-5.13.6/bin/perl
-> ${PERLBREW_ROOT}/perls/perl-5.13.6/bin/perl5.13.6
Newly installed perls, whether they are development versions or not, does not need manually treatment with this command.
COMMAND
: INSTALL-CPANM
Usage: perlbrew install-cpanm
Install the "cpanm" standalone executable in "$PERLBREW_ROOT/bin".
For more rationale about the existence of this command, read <http://www.perlbrew.pl/Perlbrew-and-Friends.html>
COMMAND
: INSTALL-PATCHPERL
Usage: perlbrew install-patchperl
Install the "patchperl" standalone executable in "$PERLBREW_ROOT/bin". This is automaticall invoked if your perlbrew installation is done
with the installer, but not with cpan.
For more rationale about the existence of this command, read <http://www.perlbrew.pl/Perlbrew-and-Friends.html>
COMMAND
: SELF-UPGRADE
Usage: perlbrew self-upgrade
This command upgrades Perlbrew to its latest version.
COMMAND
: SELF-INSTALL
Usage: perlbrew self-install
NOTICE: You should not need to run this command in your daily routine.
This command install perlbrew itself to "$PERLBREW_ROOT/bin". It is intended used by the perlbrew installer. However, you may manually do
the following to re-install only the "perlbrew" executable:
curl -kL http://get.perlbrew.pl -o perlbrew
perl ./perlbrew install
It is slightly different from running the perlbrew installer because "patchperl" is not installed in this case.
COMMAND
: VERSION
Usage: perlbrew version
Show the version of perlbrew.
COMMAND
: LIB
Usage:
perlbrew lib create <lib-name>
perlbrew lib delete <lib-name>
The `lib` command is used to manipulate local::lib roots inside perl installations. Effectively it is similar to `perl
-Mlocal::lib=/path/to/lib-name`, but a little bit more than just that.
A lib name can be a short name, containing alphanumeric, like 'awesome', or a full name, prefixed by a perl installation name and a '@'
sign, for example, 'perl-5.14.2@awesome'.
Here are some a brief examples to invoke the `lib` command:
# Create libs by name
perlbrew lib create nobita
perlbrew lib create perl-5.12.3@shizuka
perlbrew list # See the list of use/switch targets.
# Activate a lib in current shell.
perlbrew use perl-5.12.3@nobita
perlbrew use perl-5.14.2@nobita
# Activate a lib as default.
perlbrew switch perl-5.14.2@nobita
# Delete the lib
perlbrew lib delete nobita
perlbrew lib delete perl-5.12.3@shizuka
Short lib names are local to current perl. A lib name 'nobita' can refer to 'perl-5.12.3@nobita' or 'perl-5.14.2@nobita', depending on your
current perl.
When "use"ing or "switch"ing to a lib, always provide the long name. A simple rule: the argument to "use" or "siwtch" command should appear
in the output of "perlbrew list".
UPGRADE NOTES
If you plan to upgrade "perlbrew" from version 0.16 or order to a recent version, you should do these steps to adjust your perl
installations:
1. remove $PERLBREW_ROOT/perls/current if it exists
2. remove symlinks under $PERLBREW_ROOT/perls/bin
3. run C<perlbrew symlink-executables>
4. run C<perlbrew init>
5. run C<perlbrew switch $something> to set your default perl.
Or simply run these statements to do so (you might need to change the value of PERLBREW_ROOT):
export PERLBREW_ROOT=${HOME}/perl5/perlbrew
rm -f $PERLBREW_ROOT/perls/current
rm -f `find $PERLBREW_ROOT/perls/bin -type l`
perlbrew symlink-executables
perlbrew init
perlbrew switch perl-5.14.2 # or other ones.
Finally, you should add this line to the end of your "~/.bash_profile" or "~/.zshenv" file:
source "$HOME/perl5/perlbrew/etc/bashrc"
Or if you have differnt PERLBREW_ROOT at, say, "/opt/perl5", add:
export PERLBREW_ROOT=/opt/perl5
source "$PERLBREW_ROOT/etc/bashrc"
After doing that, you will be good to go.
SEE ALSO
App::perlbrew, App::cpanminus, Devel::PatchPerl
perl v5.14.2 2012-05-27 PERLBREW(1p)