NAME

perlbrew - Perl environment manager.

SYNOPSIS

perlbrew command syntax:

perlbrew <command> [options] [arguments]

Commands:

init           Initialize perlbrew environment.
info           Show useful information about the perlbrew installation

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
upgrade-perl   Upgrade the current perl

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)
exec           exec programs with specified perl enviroments.

self-install       Install perlbrew itself under PERLBREW_ROOT/bin
self-upgrade       Upgrade perlbrew itself.

install-patchperl  Install patchperl
install-cpanm      Install cpanm, a friendly companion.
install-multiple   Install multiple versions and flavors of perl

download       Download the specified perl distribution tarball.
mirror         Pick a preferred mirror site
clean          Purge tarballs and build directories
version        Display version
help           Read more detailed instructions

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.

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 multiple 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, everyone'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 scenario.

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

PERLBREW_CONFIGURE_FLAGS

This environment variable specify the list of command like flags to pass through to 'sh Configure'. By default it is '-de'.

PERLBREW_CPAN_MIRROR

The CPAN mirror url of your choice.

COMMAND: INIT

Usage: perlbrew init

The init command should be manually invoked whenever you (the perlbrew user) upgrade or reinstall perlbrew.

If the upgrade is done with self-upgrade command, or by running the one-line installer manually, this command is invoked automatically.

COMMAND: INFO

info [module]

Usage: perlbrew info [ <module> ]

Display useful information about the perlbrew installation.

If a module is given the version and location of the module is displayed.

COMMAND: INSTALL

install [options] perl-<version>

install [options] <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 official CPAN website or from the mirror site configured before.

To configure mirror site, invoke `mirror` command.

install [options] perl-stable

install [options] stable

A convenient way to install the most recent stable version of Perl, of those that are available.

install [options] perl-blead

install [options] 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 [options] /path/to/perl/git/checkout/dir

Build and install from the given git checkout dir.

install [options] /path/to/perl-5.14.0.tar.gz

Build and install from the given archive file.

install [options] 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://.

Options for install command:

-f --force     Force installation
-j $n          Parallel building and testing. ex. C<perlbrew install -j 5 perl-5.14.2>
-n --notest    Skip testing

   --switch    Automatically switch to this Perl once successfully
               installed, as if with `perlbrew switch <version>`

   --as        Install the given version of perl by a name.
               ex. C<perlbrew install perl-5.6.2 --as legacy-perl>

   --noman     Skip installation of manpages

   --thread    Build perl with usethreads enabled
   --multi     Build perl with usemultiplicity enabled
   --64int     Build perl with use64bitint enabled
   --64all     Build perl with use64bitall enabled
   --ld        Build perl with uselongdouble enabled
   --debug     Build perl with DEBUGGING enabled
   --clang     Build perl using the clang compiler

-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

By default, all installations are configured after their name like this:

sh Configure -de -Dprefix=$PERLBREW_ROOT/perls/<name>

COMMAND: INSTALL-MULTIPLE

Usage: perlbrew install-multiple [options] <perl-version-1> <perl-version-2> ...

Build and install the given versions of perl.

install-multiple accepts the same set of options as the command install plus the following ones:

--both $flavor       Where $flavor is one of C<thread>, C<multi>, C<ld>,
                     C<64int>, C<64all>, C<debug> and C<clang>.

                     For every given perl version, install two
                     flavors, one with the flag C<--$flavor> set
                     and the other with out. C<--both> can be
                     passed multiple times with different values
                     and in that case, all the possible
                     combinations are generated.

--common-variations  equivalent to C<--both thread --both ld --both 64int>

--all-variations     generates all the possible flavor combinations

--append $string     Appends the given string to the generated names

For instance:

perlbrew install-multiple 5.18.0 blead --both thread --both debug

Installs the following perls:

perl-blead
perl-blead-debug
perl-blead-thread-multi
perl-blead-thread-multi-debug
perl-5.18.0
perl-5.18.0-debug
perl-5.18.0-thread-multi
perl-5.18.0-thread-multi-debug

(note that the multi flavor is selected automatically because thread requires it)

Another example using custom compilation flags:

perlbrew install-multiple 5.18.0 --both thread -Doptimize='-O3' --append='-O3'

COMMAND: UNINSTALL

Usage: perlbrew uninstall <name>

Uninstalls the given perl installation. The name is the installation name as in the output of `perlbrew list`

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 all perl installations inside perlbrew root specifed by $PERLBREW_ROOT environment variable. By default, the value is ~/perl5/perlbrew.

If there are libs associated to some perl installations, they will be included as part of the name. The output items in this list can be the argument in various other commands.

COMMAND: AVAILABLE

Usage: perlbrew available [--all]

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 released in the past.

To get a list of all perls ever released, use the --all option.

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 [--with perl-name[,perl-name...]] <command> <args...>

Execute command for each perl installations, one by one.

For example, run a Hello program:

perlbrew exec perl -e 'print "Hello from $]\n"'

The output looks like this:

perl-5.12.2
==========
Hello word from perl-5.012002

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.

When --with argument is provided, the command will be only executed with the specified perl installations. The following command install Moose module into perl-5.12, regardless the current perl:

perlbrew exec --with perl-5.12 cpanm Moose

Multiple installation names can be provided:

perlbrew exec --with perl-5.12,perl-5.12-debug,perl-5.14.2 cpanm Moo

They are split by either spaces or commas. When spaces are used, it is required to quote the whole specification as one argument, but then commas can be used in the installation names:

perlbrew exec --with '5.12 5.12,debug 5.14.2@nobita @shizuka' cpanm Moo

As demonstrated above, "perl-" prefix can be omitted, and lib names can be specified too. Lib names can appear without a perl installation name, in such cases it is assumed to be "current perl".

At the moment, any specified names that fails to be resolved as a real installation names are silently ignored in the output. Also, the command exit status are not populated back.

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 should see '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 yourself confused because the perl that you just installed appears to be missing after invoking `use` or `switch`. perlbrew changes its installation layout since version 0.11, which generates 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 automatically 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 to be used by the perlbrew installer. However, you could manually do the following to re-install only the perlbrew executable:

curl -kL http://get.perlbrew.pl -o perlbrew
perl ./perlbrew self-install

It is slightly different from running the perlbrew installer because patchperl is not installed in this case.

COMMAND: CLEAN

Usage: perlbrew clean

Removes all previously downloaded Perl tarballs and build directories.

COMMAND: VERSION

Usage: perlbrew version

Show the version of perlbrew.

COMMAND: LIB

Usage:

perlbrew lib list
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 useing or switching to a lib, always provide the long name. A simple rule: the argument to use or switch command should appear in the output of perlbrew list.

COMMAND: UPGRADE-PERL

Usage: perlbrew upgrade-perl

Minor Perl releases (ex. 5.x.*) are binary compatible with one another, so this command offers you the ability to upgrade older perlbrew environments in place.

It upgrades the currently activated perl to its latest released brothers. If you have a shell with 5.14.0 activated, it upgrades it to 5.14.2.

COMMAND: DOWNLOAD

Usage:

perlbrew download perl-5.14.2
perlbrew download perl-5.16.1
perlbrew download perl-5.17.3

Download the specified version of perl distribution tarball under $PERLBREW_ROOT/dists/ directory.

COMMAND: LIST-MODULES

List all installed cpan modules for the current perl.

This command can be used in conjunction with `perlbrew exec` to migrate your module installation to different perl. The following command re-installs all modules under perl-5.16.0:

perlbrew list-modules | perlbrew exec --with perl-5.16.0 cpanm

Note that this installs the latest versions of the Perl modules on the new perl, which are not necessarily the same module versions you had installed previously.

UPGRADE NOTES

If you are upgrading perlbrew from 0.16 or earlier versions to a recent one (0.40-ish), you should do these steps to adjust your perl installations afterwards (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

Following the instructions on screen to tweak your shell a bit. Then it should be good.

SEE ALSO

App::perlbrew, App::cpanminus, Devel::PatchPerl

cpanm App::perlbrew

perl -MCPAN -e shell
install App::perlbrew