gh install - Github client extension

  • Updated on 14th Oct 2024
TLDR

See the code here

Background

gh install is a small Github client (gh) extension that lets you install Github release binaries for any public Githib repository. It runs as a non-interactive command by default, but you can run it with interactive terminal prompts by specifying the -i flag.

It is useful for installing releases that are not distributed through common package managers (like brew or apt)

It should be able to deal with release assets that are:

  • compressed single or multiple binaries
  • uncompressed binaries
  • rpm or apk files

Installation

Run:

gh extension install maratoid/gh-install

Help

gh install --help
Install binaries for a Github repository release interactively or non-interactively.
			Intended for quickly installing release binaries for projects that do not distribute
			using Homebrew or other package managers.

Usage:
  gh install owner/repository [flags]

Flags:
  -b, --binary string           install release asset archive binary name. If empty, '--binary-regex' is used.
      --binary-regex string     lookup regexp for release asset archive binary. If empty, repository name is used.
  -d, --download string         name for release asset to download. If empty, '--download-regex' is used.
      --download-regex string   lookup regexp for release asset to download. (default "^.*(?:arm64.+darwin|darwin.+arm64)+.*$")
  -h, --help                    help for gh
  -i, --interactive             Use interactive installation. If true, all other flags are ignored
  -j, --json                    JSON output
  -t, --tag string              release tag (version) to install. (default "latest")
  -v, --version                 version for gh

Below flags only make sense when -i is NOT set:

  • -t, --tag - Look for release assets under this version/tag. If not specified, assume latest Github release
  • -d, --download - File name of release asset to download under chosen version/tag. If not specified, --download-regex value is used.
  • --download-regex - Regular expression for matching the release asset to download under chosen version/tag. Default value changes depending on your hardware/os. For example, on Apple silicone it will be ^.*(?:arm64.+darwin|darwin.+arm64)+.*$
  • -b, --binary - If downloaded asset is an archive, install this binary name from the archive. If not specified, --binary-regex is used.
  • --binary-regex - If downloaded asset is an archive, use this regular expression for selecting the binary to install. Default is the name of target repository. For example for helmfile/vals it will be ^vals$
  • -j, --json - Output results in JSON format

Other:

  • -i, --interactive - Use interactive prompts instead of relying on -tdb flags. If true, all other flags are ignored

Example

Install latest release from https://github.com/helmfile/vals

$ gh install helmfile/vals
Release Asset Binaries Matcher          vals
Release Asset Binaries Matches          [vals]
Release Versions Matches                [v0.37.8]
Install Dir                             /Users/maratoid/.local/bin
Release Assets Matches                  [vals_0.37.8_darwin_arm64.tar.gz]
Target Repository                       helmfile/vals
Release Asset Binaries Multiple         false
Asset Installed Binaries                vals (compressed)
Release Versions Multiple               false
Release Assets Matcher                  ^.*(?:arm64.+darwin|darwin.+arm64)+.*$
Release Assets Multiple                 false
Download Dir                            /var/folders/pj/dfbt8l6s2cqgs7c_x2fxgyj00000gn/T/4284942397
Gh Stdout

Install latest release from https://github.com/helmfile/vals, output JSON

$ gh install helmfile/vals -j
{
  "asset_installed_binaries": {
    "vals": "compressed"
  },
  "download_dir": "/var/folders/pj/dfbt8l6s2cqgs7c_x2fxgyj00000gn/T/3649521499",
  "gh_stdout": "",
  "install_dir": "/Users/maratoid/.local/bin",
  "release_asset_binaries_matcher": "vals",
  "release_asset_binaries_matches": ["vals"],
  "release_asset_binaries_multiple": false,
  "release_assets_matcher": "^.*(?:arm64.+darwin|darwin.+arm64)+.*$",
  "release_assets_matches": ["vals_0.37.8_darwin_arm64.tar.gz"],
  "release_assets_multiple": false,
  "release_versions_matcher": "v0.37.8",
  "release_versions_matches": ["v0.37.8"],
  "release_versions_multiple": false,
  "target_repository": "helmfile/vals"
}

Error - no matching binary in downloaded release asset

$ gh install helmfile/vals -b "f00bar" -j
{
  ...
  "error": "no release asset binaries named 'f00bar' found",
  ...
}

Error - no matching release asset

$ gh install helmfile/vals -d "f00bar" -j
{
  "error": "no release assets named 'f00bar' found",
  ...
}

Interactive prompts

$ gh install helmfile/vals -i
Use <Enter> to select, '/' to search and '↓ ↑ → ←' to navigate.
? Please select helmfile/vals release tag:
  → v0.37.8
  v0.37.7
  v0.37.6
  v0.37.5
  v0.37.4
  v0.37.3
  v0.37.2
  v0.37.1
  v0.37.0
↓ v0.36.0