vfox-erlang plugin
Erlang/OTP Version Management Made Easy
Manage multiple Erlang/OTP versions across Linux, macOS, and Windows with ease
🌟 Key Features
Cross-Platform Support
Works seamlessly on Linux, macOS, and Windows
Multiple Installation Methods
Source compilation, prebuilt binaries, and Windows installers
Documentation Support
Built-in EEP-48 documentation chunks for REPL and LSP
Mise Integration
Compatible with mise dev tools manager
Parallel Compilation
Speed up builds with parallel make support
Configurable Installation
Custom configure arguments and build options
📦 Quick Installation
Get started with vfox-erlang in just a few commands:
# Install the plugin
vfox add --source https://github.com/version-fox/vfox-erlang/archive/refs/heads/main.zip erlang
# Search for available versions
vfox search erlang
# Install a specific version
vfox install erlang@25.3.2.10
That's it! You're ready to use Erlang/OTP with vfox.
🐧 Linux Installation Prerequisites
For Ubuntu 20.04/22.04, install required utilities:
sudo apt-get -y install build-essential autoconf m4 \
libncurses5-dev libwxgtk3.0-gtk3-dev \
libwxgtk-webview3.0-gtk3-dev libgl1-mesa-dev \
libglu1-mesa-dev libpng-dev libssh-dev \
unixodbc-dev xsltproc fop libxml2-utils \
libncurses-dev openjdk-11-jdk
Reference: .github/workflows/e2e_test_linux.yaml
🍎 macOS Installation Prerequisites
For macOS 13, install required utilities with Homebrew:
# Install required utilities
brew install autoconf libxslt fop wxwidgets openssl
Reference: .github/workflows/e2e_test_darwin.yaml
🪟 Windows Installation
Windows installation uses official Erlang/OTP installers:
# Install Erlang/OTP
vfox install erlang@25.3.2.12
# Use the installed version
vfox use erlang@25.3.2.12
# Activate in PowerShell
Invoke-Expression "$(vfox activate pwsh)"
# Test installation
& erl.exe -eval 'erlang:display({otp_release, erlang:system_info(otp_release)}), halt().' -noshell
Reference: .github/workflows/e2e_test_windows.yaml
⚙️ Advanced Configuration
Custom Configure Arguments
Use environment variables to customize installation:
# Example: Enable JIT and kernel poll
export OTP_CONFIGURE_ARGS="--enable-jit --enable-kernel-poll"
vfox install erlang@25.3.2.10
Parallel Compilation
Speed up builds with parallel make:
# Use 8 parallel jobs
export MAKEFLAGS=-j8
vfox install erlang@25.3.2.10
Building typically takes ~5 minutes on fast computers
🚀 Prebuilt Erlang/OTP Versions
Available since v1.1.0 for faster installation:
Linux (Ubuntu)
# Disable vfox search cache first
# Then install prebuilt version
USE_PREBUILT_OTP="ubuntu-20.04" vfox search erlang
USE_PREBUILT_OTP="ubuntu-20.04" vfox install erlang@26.2.3
Supported: ubuntu-14.04, ubuntu-16.04, ubuntu-18.04, ubuntu-20.04, ubuntu-22.04, ubuntu-24.04
macOS
# Install prebuilt version for macOS
USE_PREBUILT_OTP=true vfox search erlang
USE_PREBUILT_OTP=true vfox install erlang@26.2.3
Architectures: amd64, x86_64, arm64, aarch64
🔧 Usage with Mise
Use vfox-erlang through the mise dev tools manager:
# Install and activate erlang through mise
mise use -g vfox:version-fox/vfox-erlang@26.2.3
# Run erlang commands with mise
mise exec -- erl -version
mise exec -- erlc hello.erl
mise exec -- erl -noshell -s hello hello_world -s init stop
Learn more: mise documentation
📚 Built-in Documentation Support
vfox-erlang automatically builds EEP-48 documentation chunks for:
REPL Documentation
Access docs directly in Erlang shell with h(list).
LSP Integration
Enhanced language server protocol support with rich documentation
This feature is enabled by default for better development experience
🎉 Thank You!
📖 Documentation
Visit our GitHub repository for detailed documentation and examples
🤝 Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit issues and pull requests
🐛 Bug Reports
Found an issue? Please report it on our GitHub issue tracker
💬 Community
Join our community for support and discussions
Project URL:
https://github.com/version-fox/vfox-erlang
Made with ❤️ by the version-fox team