varyup

varyup is the Vary toolchain manager. It installs, updates, and switches between Vary compiler releases. Each release is a self-contained archive with the compiler JAR, bundled JRE, standard library, and VS Code extension. varyup handles downloading, verifying checksums, and wiring up the vary shim so the right version runs when you type vary. The design follows rustup, adapted for JVM toolchains.

Quick start

Linux / macOS:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/ccollicutt/vary/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://github.com/ccollicutt/vary/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex

This downloads varyup, installs the latest Vary toolchain, and sets up the vary shim. After running, add ~/.vary/bin (or %LOCALAPPDATA%\vary\bin on Windows) to your PATH, then verify:

vary --version

For platform-specific details see Linux, Windows, or macOS.

Install varyup

One-line install (recommended)

The install scripts download the correct varyup binary, install it to ~/.vary/bin/, and run varyup toolchain install latest. See the quick start above.

Manual install

If you prefer not to pipe to a shell, download varyup directly, add it to your PATH, and install a toolchain.

Linux:

mkdir -p ~/.vary/bin
curl -fSL "https://github.com/ccollicutt/vary/releases/latest/download/varyup-linux-x64" -o ~/.vary/bin/varyup
chmod +x ~/.vary/bin/varyup
# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:
export PATH="$HOME/.vary/bin:$PATH"
varyup toolchain install latest

macOS (Apple Silicon):

mkdir -p ~/.vary/bin
curl -fSL "https://github.com/ccollicutt/vary/releases/latest/download/varyup-macos-arm64" -o ~/.vary/bin/varyup
chmod +x ~/.vary/bin/varyup
# Add to ~/.zshrc:
export PATH="$HOME/.vary/bin:$PATH"
varyup toolchain install latest

For Intel Macs, use varyup-macos-x64.

Windows (PowerShell):

$varyBin = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\vary\bin"
mkdir $varyBin -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Invoke-WebRequest "https://github.com/ccollicutt/vary/releases/latest/download/varyup-windows-x64.exe" -OutFile "$varyBin\varyup.exe"
# Add to user PATH:
$path = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "$varyBin;$path", "User")
# Open a new terminal, then:
varyup toolchain install latest

Verify

Open a new terminal and run:

varyup --version

Install a toolchain

See what releases are available:

varyup toolchain list-available

Available toolchains:
  v84-alpha.1 [alpha]
  v83-alpha.1 [alpha]
  v82-alpha.1 [alpha] (installed, default)
  v81-alpha.1 [alpha]
  v79-alpha.1 [alpha] (installed)

Installed toolchains are marked. (default) shows the active global default.

Install the latest release for your channel, or pick a specific version:

varyup toolchain install latest
varyup toolchain install v84-alpha.1

On first install, varyup downloads the release archive, verifies the SHA256 checksum, extracts it to ~/.varyup/toolchains/, sets it as the default, and installs the vary shim to ~/.vary/bin/.

After installation, vary commands route through the shim to the active toolchain:

vary --version
vary run hello.vary

Managing toolchains

List installed toolchains

varyup toolchain list

Installed toolchains:
  v84-alpha.1 (default)
  v82-alpha.1

Switch the default

varyup default v82-alpha.1

Remove a toolchain

varyup toolchain uninstall v82-alpha.1

You cannot uninstall the active default. Switch to a different default first.

Release channels

Vary uses six release tracks, from least to most stable:

Set your preferred channel

varyup toolchain set-channel alpha

Check the current channel:

varyup toolchain get-channel

Install a channel

Channels resolve to the latest matching release:

varyup toolchain install stable

Update channels

Update all channels to their latest versions:

varyup toolchain update --all

Or update a specific channel:

varyup toolchain update stable

Pinned versions (e.g. v82-alpha.1) are not affected by update.

Per-project toolchain selection

Option 1: vary-toolchain.toml

Create a vary-toolchain.toml in your project root:

toolchain = "v1alpha1"

When you run vary from that directory (or any subdirectory), varyup uses the specified toolchain. This file should be committed to version control so all contributors use the same version.

Option 2: Directory overrides

Overrides pin a directory tree to a toolchain on your machine, without adding a file to the project. This is stored in your personal ~/.varyup/settings.toml, not in the project, so it won't affect other contributors.

Set an override for the current directory:

cd ~/projects/legacy-app
varyup override set v82-alpha.1

Now any vary command run from ~/projects/legacy-app (or any subdirectory) uses v82-alpha.1, even if your global default is something newer. The resolver walks from CWD upward to the filesystem root and uses the first matching override.

List all overrides:

varyup override list

Directory overrides:
  /home/user/projects/legacy-app → v82-alpha.1
  /home/user/projects/experiment → nightly

Remove the override for the current directory:

cd ~/projects/legacy-app
varyup override unset

This only removes the exact directory entry. Parent overrides are not affected.

Which option to use?

Resolution precedence

When you run vary, varyup resolves the toolchain in this order:

VS Code extension

Each toolchain bundles the Vary VS Code extension (.vsix). Install it from the active toolchain:

varyup vscode install

This finds the .vsix in the active toolchain and runs code --install-extension. If code is not on your PATH, it prints the path so you can install manually.

To get the .vsix path for scripting:

varyup which vsix

See VS Code for full extension documentation.

Self-update

Update varyup itself:

varyup self update

This downloads the latest varyup release, verifies it, and replaces the running binary. The vary shim is also updated.

Uninstall

To remove everything (varyup, all toolchains, and configuration):

Linux / macOS

rm -rf ~/.varyup ~/.vary

Then remove the PATH line from your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.config/fish/config.fish):

export PATH="$HOME/.vary/bin:$PATH"   # delete this line

Windows

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\varyup", "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\vary"

Then remove %LOCALAPPDATA%\vary\bin from your user PATH:

$varyBin = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\vary\bin"
$path = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User")
$newPath = ($path -split ";" | Where-Object { $_ -ne $varyBin }) -join ";"
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $newPath, "User")

This removes varyup, all installed toolchains, the vary shim, configuration, channel pointers, and the download cache. Nothing is left on disk.

To remove a single toolchain without uninstalling varyup, use varyup toolchain uninstall <version>.

Diagnostics

Show the current configuration and troubleshooting information:

varyup show

Output:

varyup v0.1.0 (abc1234) 2026-02-24T00:00:00Z

VARYUP_HOME: /home/user/.varyup
VARY_HOME:   /home/user/.vary

Channel:           alpha
Default toolchain: v82-alpha.1
Active toolchain:  v82-alpha.1 (via default)
Binary path:       /home/user/.varyup/toolchains/v82-alpha.1/bin/vary

Find the path to the active vary binary:

varyup which vary

For detailed diagnostics (platform, environment variables, installed toolchains):

varyup diagnostics

Filesystem layout

varyup uses two directories:

~/.varyup (toolchain home)

Override with VARYUP_HOME. On Windows this defaults to %LOCALAPPDATA%\varyup.

~/.varyup/
  settings.toml          # Default toolchain, overrides, repo config
  toolchains/
    v1alpha1/            # Installed toolchain
    nightly-2026-02-24/
  channels/
    stable.toml          # Channel pointer: resolved_tag, installed_at
    nightly.toml
  downloads/             # Download cache
  tmp/                   # Temporary extraction directory
  locks/                 # File locks for concurrent safety

~/.vary/bin (user-facing binaries)

Override with VARY_HOME. This directory must be on your PATH. On Windows this defaults to %LOCALAPPDATA%\vary\bin.

~/.vary/bin/
  varyup                 # Toolchain manager
  vary                   # Shim (same binary, dispatches via argv0)

Configuration

Global settings are stored in ~/.varyup/settings.toml. On first run, varyup creates this file with annotated defaults.

# Preferred release channel
channel = "alpha"

# Default toolchain (set with: varyup default <spec>)
default_toolchain = "v82-alpha.1"

# GitHub repository for Vary releases
github_repo = "ccollicutt/vary"

# GitHub repository for varyup self-update releases
varyup_repo = "ccollicutt/vary"

# Include draft (unpublished) releases (requires push access)
# include_drafts = false

# Directory overrides
[overrides]
"/home/user/project-a" = "nightly"
"/home/user/project-b" = "v82-alpha.1"

Environment variable overrides

Every config field can be overridden with an environment variable. Env vars take precedence over the config file.

Command reference

Every command has a short alias. The alias is shown in parentheses.

Next steps