ginstall

A CLI tool to quickly download different versions of software from GitHub

Usage

ginstall is relatively user-friendly, and is very simple and easy to use.

Syntax

ginstall [author]/[repo]/[branch]

Note

When no branch is provided, it will default to main.

Example

ginstall Dismalitie/ginstall/main

Selecting and downloading a package

After selecting the repository, a package list will appear:

Simply type the package number to download. After doing so, you will be prompted to specify the path to install the package to:

Before the download begins, a confirmation prompt will be shown, listing the package name and the location to install to:

After confirming, ginstall will download all the required files to the specified location:

Important

Tada! You successfully installed a package with ginstall!

How to make your repository support ginstall

ginstall uses a manifest in the root of the branch or repo called .ginstall. It follows the INI syntax.

Headers

ginstall currently only has one header, the minVer header. This tells ginstall the minimum version that the client must be to be able to download packages from the repository.

minVer=1.0

Important

Do not place this under any sections; place it at the top of the file.

Listing a downloadable package

To create a downloadable package, add this to you .ginstall file.

[package:package_name]
name=Cool Package
description=A very cool package
files=README.md|SomeFile.txt|CoolGame.exe

Note

The package_name element is not visible to the client, and is used internally.

name is displayed to the client along with description. Keep the description short and simple.

They will be displayed like:

[0] Name - Description

Note

The package number cannot be custom set, but rather it is decided in order of the packages.

Tip

Put your most useful or reccomended package at the top.

files is the most important setting, listing all the paths to files that ginstall will download. The files are separated by |s.

Downloadeable files don't have to be in the same directory as the manifest. The file will be downloaded from the path, relevant to the repositorie's current branch's root. Example:

files=ginstall/Program.cs|ginstall/ginstallPackage.cs

This will go into the ginstall folder and download Program.cs and ginstallPackage.cs.

Note

The filename upon downloading will be preserved, and not include the path.

Important

File paths do not transfer upon download. For example, when downloading Program.cs, because it is in the ginstall folder, the file will not be downloaded to <download path specified by user>/ginstall/Program.cs