Skip to main content

bin - Effortless binary manager

Overview​

bin is a lightweight, cross-platform binary manager that simplifies downloading, installing, and managing binaries without requiring root privileges.

bin - Effortless binary manager

Install​

Linux​

Installing bin on Linux:

curl -LO https://github.com/marcosnils/bin/releases/download/v0.25.3/bin_0.25.3_linux_amd64
chmod +x ./bin_0.25.3_linux_amd64
./bin_0.25.3_linux_amd64 install github.com/marcosnils/bin
# Answer the path question
rm -f ./bin_0.25.3_linux_amd64
bin ls
  Path                                          Version      URL                                                        Status
  /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/bin         v0.25.3      https://github.com/marcosnils/bin/releases/tag/v0.25.3     OK

Windows​

Installing bin on Windows:

# Determine the path to the users Downloads folder
$DownloadsPath = (New-Object -ComObject Shell.Application).Namespace('shell:Downloads').Self.Path

# Windows Server 2012 R2 does not use TLS 1.3 as most modern sites expect
[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12

# Download a recent release, it does not really matter which release we get, this is only used once:
Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Uri "https://github.com/marcosnils/bin/releases/download/v0.25.3/bin_0.25.3_windows_amd64.exe" `
  -OutFile ".\bin_0.25.3_windows_amd64.exe"

# Use the binary we downloaded above to install the latest release:
.\bin_0.25.3_windows_amd64.exe install github.com/marcosnils/bin

Expected response:
The installer will ask us to choose from one of the directories in the local users current path setting (You may get a different list of directories), the AppData directory works well for local binaries:

Pick a default download dir:
[1] C:\Windows\System32\OpenSSH\
[2] C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\
[3] C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps
[4] C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7
[5] C:\Windows\system32
[6] C:\Windows
[7] C:\Windows\System32\Wbem
[8] C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\
Select an option or type a custom value: 3
  • Getting latest release for marcosnils/bin
  • Starting download of https://api.github.com/repos/marcosnils/bin/releases/assets/398614008
17.98 MiB / 17.98 MiB [------------------------------------------------------------------------------] 100.00% ? p/s 0s
  • Copying for bin_0.25.3_windows_amd64.exe@v0.25.3 into C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\bin.exe
  • Done installing bin_0.25.3_windows_amd64.exe v0.25.3

Delete the temporary binary:

rm .\bin_0.25.3_windows_amd64.exe

List the managed binaries:

bin ls

Expected response:

Path                                                                Version  URL                        Status
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\bin.exe  v0.25.3  github.com/marcosnils/bin  OK

Installing tools​

Installing some useful tools with bin:

# Command line tool for Amazon Route 53
bin install github.com/barnybug/cli53
#  Command-line JSON processor
bin install github.com/jqlang/jq
# Interactive JSON filter using jq
bin install github.com/ynqa/jnv
# yq is a portable command-line YAML, JSON, XML, CSV, TOML, HCL and properties processor
bin install github.com/mikefarah/yq
# Find, verify, and analyze leaked credentials
bin install github.com/trufflesecurity/trufflehog
# Code signing and transparency for containers and binaries
bin install github.com/sigstore/cosign
# Command-line access to the Observe API - Not available for Windows
bin install github.com/observeinc/observe
# Snyk CLI scans and monitors your projects for security vulnerabilities
bin install github.com/snyk/cli
# Blazing fast terminal file manager written in Rust
bin install github.com/sxyazi/yazi
# DNSControl is an opinionated platform for seamlessly managing your DNS configuration
bin install github.com/DNSControl/dnscontrol

List managed binaries​

List the installed binaries managed by bin:

bin ls

Path                                                                       Version    URL                                    Status
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\bin.exe         v0.25.3    github.com/marcosnils/bin              OK
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\cli53.exe       v0.8.25    github.com/barnybug/cli53              OK
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\cosign.exe      v3.0.6     github.com/sigstore/cosign             OK
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\jnv.exe         v0.7.1     github.com/ynqa/jnv                    OK
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\jq.exe          jq-1.8.1   github.com/jqlang/jq                   OK
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\snyk.exe        v1.1304.0  github.com/snyk/cli                    OK
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\trufflehog.exe  v3.94.3    github.com/trufflesecurity/trufflehog  OK
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\yazi.exe        v26.1.22   github.com/sxyazi/yazi                 OK
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\yq.exe          v4.53.2    github.com/mikefarah/yq                OK

Upgrade managed binaries​

Upgrade the managed binaries managed by bin:

# List what updates are available
bin update --dry-run
  • /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/snyk v1.1302.1 -> v1.1304.0 (https://github.com/snyk/cli/releases/tag/v1.1304.0)
  • /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/talosctl v1.12.4 -> v1.12.6 (https://github.com/siderolabs/talos/releases/tag/v1.12.6)
  • /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/cosign v3.0.5 -> v3.0.6 (https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/releases/tag/v3.0.6)
  • /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/jnv v0.6.1 -> v0.7.1 (https://github.com/ynqa/jnv/releases/tag/v0.7.1)
  • /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/trufflehog v3.93.0 -> v3.94.3 (https://github.com/trufflesecurity/trufflehog/releases/tag/v3.94.3)
  • /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/bat v0.25.0 -> v0.26.1 (https://github.com/sharkdp/bat/releases/tag/v0.26.1)
  • /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/observe v0.3.0-rc1 -> v0.3.0-rc2 (https://github.com/observeinc/observe/releases/tag/v0.3.0-rc2)
  • /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/yazi v25.5.31 -> v26.1.22 (https://github.com/sxyazi/yazi/releases/tag/v26.1.22)

While bin does support bulk updating of all of the applications under its control I generally find it better to update one application at a time. Newer versions are noticeably better though...

bin update cosign
  • /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/cosign v3.0.5 -> v3.0.6 (https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/releases/tag/v3.0.6)

Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y
  • Getting v3.0.6 release for sigstore/cosign

Multiple matches found, please select one:

 [1] cosign-linux-amd64
 [2] cosign-linux-pivkey-pkcs11key-amd64
 Select an option: 1
  • Starting download of https://api.github.com/repos/sigstore/cosign/releases/assets/390331694
128.92 MiB / 128.92 MiB [-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------] 100.00% 111.68 MiB p/s 1s
  • Copying for cosign-linux-amd64@v3.0.6 into /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/cosign
  • Done updating /home/patrickmslattery/.local/bin/cosign to v3.0.6