asdf

New
assess
First Added:June 12, 2026

asdf is a plugin-based version manager for multiple languages and CLIs via a single .tool-versions file. We assess it on estates with existing asdf plugins; new polyglot setups may prefer mise.

Blurb

asdf is a CLI tool that can manage multiple language runtime versions on a per-project basis.

Summary

What it is: Core plus community plugins (Node, Ruby, Python, Terraform, etc.) with shim dispatch.

When to use: Teams already committed to asdf plugins and .tool-versions in repos.

When to skip: Greenfield laptops where mise performance and UX win evals.

Key features: .tool-versions, plugin add/update, legacy breadth of plugins.

Details

TopicNotes
PracticeCommit .tool-versions; document required plugins in README
CIMirror versions in GitHub Actions setup actions

References