ghinst is a command-line tool designed to streamline the installation of binaries from GitHub releases directly to your ~/.local/bin directory. This tool simplifies the management of software installations by allowing users to quickly install the latest or specific versions of repositories.

Features

• Effortless Installation: With just a single command, binaries can be installed without manual downloading or path management.

• Versatile Usage: Install the latest release or specify a version as needed. For example, to install the latest version of fzf, use:

  ghinst junegunn/fzf
  

  To install a specific version, such as v0.54.0, simply run:

  ghinst junegunn/fzf@v0.54.0
  

How It Works

ghinst utilizes the GitHub API to fetch the appropriate release, automatically selects the corresponding asset that matches your operating system and architecture, downloads the binary, and handles the extraction and installation processes. The binaries are stored in ~/.local/ghinst/owner/repo@version/, and a symlink is created in ~/.local/bin/ for easy access.

Authentication

For installations from private repositories or to avoid hitting API rate limits, users can set a GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable:

export GITHUB_TOKEN=your_token_here

This ensures smooth operation without interruptions.

With ghinst, the hassle of managing binary installations from GitHub releases is greatly reduced, making it a valuable addition to any developer's toolkit.