• Installation
• How it works
• Ices
  • sbin
  • fbin
  • gem
  • node
  • pip
  • fmod
  • fsrc
• shim-list
• Cygwin Support
  • Example

A Zsh-Zinit annex (i.e., an extension) that provides functionality that allows to:

1. Run programs and scripts without adding anything to $PATH,
2. Install and run Ruby gems, Node and Python modules from within a local directory with $GEM_HOME , $NODE_PATH and $VIRTUALENV automatically set,
3. Run programs, scripts, and functions with automatic cd into the plugin or snippet directory, plus also with automatic standard output & standard error redirecting.
4. Source scripts through an automatically created function with the above $GEM_HOME, $NODE_PATH, $VIRTUALENV and cd features available,
5. Create the so-called shims known from rbenv – the same feature as the first item of this enumeration – of running a program without adding anything to $PATH with all of the above features, however through an automatic script created in $ZPFX/bin, not a function (the first item uses a function-based mechanism),
6. Automatic updates of Ruby gems and Node modules during regular plugin and snippet updates with zinit update ….

Load like a regular plugin, i.e.:

zinit light zdharma-continuum/zinit-annex-bin-gem-node

After executing this command, you can use the new ice mods provided by the annex.

Note: The README is somewhat outdated – the sbin'' ice that creates forwarder scripts instead of forwarder-functions (created by the fbin'' ice and elaborated in this How it works … section) turned out to be the proper, best method for exposing binary programs and scripts. You can jump to the sbin'' ice section if you want or read on, as the forwarder-scripts are pretty similar to the forwarder-functions elaborated on in the following text:

Below is a diagram explaining the major feature – exposing a binary program or script through a Zsh function of the same name:

This way, there is no need to add anything to $PATH – zinit-annex-bin-gem-node will automatically create a function that will wrap the binary and provide it on the command line as if it was being placed in the $PATH.

Also, as mentioned in the enumeration, the function can automatically export $GEM_HOME, $NODE_PATH, $VIRTUALENV shell variables and also automatically cd into the plugin or snippet directory right before executing the binary and then cd back to the original directory after the execution is finished.

Also, as already mentioned, instead of the function, an automatically created script – so-called shim – can be used for the same purpose and with the same functionality so that the command is accessible practically fully and normally – not only in the live Zsh session (only within which the functions created by fbin'' exist) but also from any Zsh script.

Suppose that you want to install the junegunn/fzf-bin plugin from GitHub Releases, which contains only a single file – the fzf binary for the selected architecture. It is possible to do it in the standard way – by adding the plugin's directory to the $PATH:

zinit ice as"command" from"github-rel"
zinit load junegunn/fzf-bin

After this command, the $PATH variable will contain e.g.:

% print $PATH
/home/sg/.zinit/plugins/junegunn---fzf-bin:/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin

For many such programs loaded as plugins, the PATH can become quite cluttered. I've had 26 entries before switching to zinit-annex-bin-gem-node. To solve this, load with the use of sbin'' ice provided and handled by zinit-annex-bin-gem-node:

zinit ice from"gh-r" sbin"fzf"
zinit load junegunn/fzf-bin

The $PATH will remain unchanged, and a fzf forwarder-script, so-called shim, will be created in $ZPFX/bin (~/.zinit/polaris/bin by default), which is already being added to the $PATH by Zinit when it is being sourced:

% cat $ZPFX/bin/fzf
#!/usr/bin/env zsh

function fzf {
    local bindir="/home/sg/.zinit/plugins/junegunn---fzf-bin"
    "$bindir"/"fzf" "$@"
}

fzf "$@"

Running the script will forward the call to the program accessed through an embedded path to it. Thus, no $PATH changes are needed!

There are seven ice modifiers provided and handled by the annex. They are:

sbin'[{g|n|c|N|E|O}:]{path-to-binary}[ -> {name-of-the-script}];' 

It creates the so-called shim known from rbenv – a wrapper script that forwards the call to the actual binary. The script is always created under the same standard and single $PATH entry: $ZPFX/bin (which is ~/.zinit/polaris/bin by default).

The flags have the same meaning as with fbin'' ice.

% zinit delete junegunn/fzf-bin
Delete /home/sg/.zinit/plugins/junegunn---fzf-bin?
[yY/n…]
y
Done (action executed, exit code: 0)
% zinit ice from"gh-r" sbin"fzf"
% zinit load junegunn/fzf-bin
…installation messages…
% cat $ZPFX/bin/fzf
#!/usr/bin/env zsh

function fzf {
    local bindir="/home/sg/.zinit/plugins/junegunn---fzf-bin"
    "$bindir"/"fzf" "$@"
}

fzf "$@"

The ice can be empty. It will then try to create the shim for:

• trailing component of the id_as ice, e.g., id_as'exts/git-my' → it'll check if a file git-my exists, and if yes, create the shim git-my,
• the plugin name, e.g., for paulirish/git-open, it'll check if a file git-open exists and if yes, create the shim git-open,
• trailing component of the snippet URL,
• for any alphabetically first executable file.

fbin'[{g|n|c|N|E|O}:]{path-to-binary}[ -> {name-of-the-function}]; …' 

Creates a wrapper function of the name the same as the last segment of the path or as {name-of-the-function}. The optional preceding flags mean:

• g – set $GEM_HOME variable to {plugin-dir},
• n – set $NODE_PATH variable to {plugin-dir}/node_modules,
• p – set $VIRTUALENV variable to {plugin-dir}/venv,
• c – cd to the plugin's directory before running the program and then cd back after it has been run,
• N – append &>/dev/null to the call of the binary, i.e. redirect both standard output and standard error to /dev/null,
• E – append 2>/dev/null to the call of the binary, i.e., redirect standard error to /dev/null,
• O – append >/dev/null to the call of the binary, i.e., redirect standard output to /dev/null.

% zinit ice from"gh-r" fbin"g:fzf -> myfzf"
% zinit load junegunn/fzf-bin
% which myfzf
myfzf () {
        local bindir="/home/sg/.zinit/plugins/junegunn---fzf-bin"
        local -x GEM_HOME="/home/sg/.zinit/plugins/junegunn---fzf-bin"
        "$bindir"/"fzf" "$@"
}

The ice can be empty. It will then try to create the function for:

• trailing component of the id_as ice, e.g., id_as'exts/git-my' → it'll check if a file git-my exists, and if yes, create the function git-my,
• the plugin name, e.g., for paulirish/git-open, it'll check if a file git-open exists and if yes, create the function git-open,
• trailing component of the snippet URL,
• for any alphabetically first executable file.

gem'{gem-name};' 

gem"[{path-to-binary} <-] !{gem-name} [-> {name-of-the-function}]; …"

Installs the gem of the name {gem-name} with $GEM_HOME set to the plugin's or snippet's directory. In other words, the gem and its dependencies will be installed locally in that directory.

In the second form, it also creates a wrapper function identical to the one created with fbin'' ice.

% zinit ice gem'!asciidoctor'
% zinit load zdharma-continuum/null
% which asciidoctor
asciidoctor () {
        local bindir="/home/sg/.zinit/plugins/zdharma---null/bin" 
        local -x GEM_HOME="/home/sg/.zinit/plugins/zdharma---null" 
        "$bindir"/"asciidoctor" "$@"
}

node'{node-module}; …'

node'[{path-to-binary} <-] !{node-module} [-> {name-of-the-function}];

Installs the node module of name {node-module} inside the plugin's or snippet's directory.

In the second form it also creates a wrapper function identical to the one created with fbin'' ice.

zi for \
    as'null' \
    id-as'remark' \
    node'remark <- !remark-cli -> remark; remark-man' \
  @zdharma-continuum/null

Verify:

$ type remark
remark is a shell function

$ which remark
remark () {
        local bindir="/Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/remark/node_modules/.bin"
        local -x NODE_PATH="/Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/remark"/node_modules
        local -xU PATH="/Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/remark"/node_modules/.bin:"$bindir":"$PATH"
        "$bindir"/"remark" "$@"
}

$ remark --version
remark: 14.0.3, remark-cli: 11.0.0

In this case, the name of the binary program provided by the node module is different from its name, hence the second form with the b <- a -> c syntax has been used.

Install the Python package of the name {pip-package} inside a plugin or snippet directory.

pip'{pip-package}`

Create a wrapper function identical to the one created with fbin ice.

pip'[{path-to-binary} <-] !{pip-package} [-> {name-of-the-function}]'

zi for \
    as'null' \
    id-as'ansible' \
    pip'ansible <- !ansible -> ansible; ansible-lint' \
  @zdharma-continuum/null

Verify:

$ type ansible
ansible is a shell function

$ which ansible
ansible () {
        local bindir="/Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/ansible/venv/bin"
        local -x VIRTUALENV="/Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/ansible"/venv
        local -xU PATH="/Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/ansible"/venv/bin:"$bindir":"$PATH"
        "$bindir"/"ansible" "$@"
}

$ ansible --version
ansible [core 2.15.4]
  config file = None
  configured module search path = ['/Users/e109082/.ansible/plugins/modules', '/usr/share/ansible/plugins/modules']
  ansible python module location = /Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/ansible/venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/ansible
  ansible collection location = /Users/e109082/.ansible/collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections
  executable location = /Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/ansible/venv/bin/ansible
  python version = 3.9.6 (default, Aug 12, 2023, 04:13:21) [Clang 15.0.0 (clang-1500.0.40.1)] (/Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/ansible/venv/bin/python3)
  jinja version = 3.1.2
  libyaml = True

In this case, the name of the binary program provided by the pip package is different from its name,; the second form with the b <- a -> c syntax has been used.

The meaning of the g,n, and c flags is the same as in the fbin'' ice.

fmod'[{g|n|c|N|E|O}:]{function-name}'

You can wrap the given function with the ability to set $GEM_HOME.

fmod'[{g|n|c|N|E|O}:]{function-name} -> {wrapping-function-name}'

foobar(){ +zi-log -n '{m} foobar function -> '; pwd; }
zi for \
    as'null' \
    fmod'cgn:foobar' \
    id-as'fmod-demo' \
  @zdharma-continuum/null

Verify:

$ foobar
==> foobar function -> /Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/fmod-demo

$ which foobar
foobar () {
    local -x GEM_HOME="/Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/fmod-demo"
    local -x NODE_PATH="/Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/fmod-demo"/node_modules
    local oldpwd="/Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/zdharma-continuum---zinit-annex-bin-gem-node"
    () {
        setopt localoptions noautopushd
        builtin cd -q "/Users/e109082/.local/share/zinit/plugins/fmod-demo"
    }
    "foobar--za-bgn-orig" "$@"
    () {
        setopt localoptions noautopushd
        builtin cd -q "$oldpwd"
    }
}

fsrc'\[{g|n|c|N|E|O}:\]{path-to-script}\[ -> {name-of-the-function}\];'

ferc'[{g|n|c|N|E|O}:]{path-to-script}[ -> {name-of-the-function}]; …'

Creates a wrapper function that, at each invocation, sources the given file. The second ice, ferc'' works the same with the single difference that it uses eval "$(<{path-to-script})" instead of source "{path-to-script}" to load the script.

Create a sample script:

cat << 'EOF' > foo-script
+zi-log "I am ${0} running in ${PWD}"
EOF

Test bar-func is not currently defined.

$ type bar-func
bar-func not found

Define bar-func with ferc ice:

zinit for \
    id-as'fsrc-demo' \
    fsrc"$PWD/foo-script -> bar-func" \
    ferc"$PWD/foo-script" \
    as'null' \
  @zdharma-continuum/null

Test bar-func is now defined and run it

$ type bar-func
bar-func is a shell function

$ bar-func
I am /Users/e109082/foo-script running in /Users/e109082

The contents of bar-func

$ which bar-func
bar-func () {
        local bindir="/Users/e109082"
        local -xU PATH="$bindir":"$PATH"
        () {
                source "$bindir"/"foo-script"
        } "$@"
}

The ices can be empty. They will then try to create the function for the trailing component of the id-as ice and the other cases, in the same way as with the fbin ice.

There's an additional Zinit command that's provided by this annex –shim-list. It searches for and displays any shims that are currently being stored under $ZPFX/bin. Example invocation:

Available options are:

The sbin'' ice has an explicit Cygwin support – it creates additional, extra shim files – Windows batch scripts that allow running the shielded applications from, e.g., Windows run dialog – if the ~/.zinit/polaris/bin directory is being added to the Windows PATH environment variable, for example (it is a good idea to do so, IMHO). The Windows shims have the same name as the standard ones (which are also being created, normally), plus the .cmd extension.

zinit pack=bgn for firefox