bd - Binary Dependency Manager

bd is a simple tool for managing Go binary dependencies. It allows you to specify the required tools, their versions, and target installation directory in a configuration file (bd.json).

Features

• Ensures consistent versions of binaries across environments.
• Installs binaries to a dedicated directory, preventing pollution of global GOBIN.
• Supports custom binary names with version suffixes.
• Avoids dependency conflicts often encountered with tools.go.
• Provides an easy way to execute installed binaries with bd exec.

Installation

# Clone the repository and build manually, or install using go install
go install github.com/afansv/bd@latest

Usage

1. Define your dependencies in bd.json

{
  "binDir": "bin",
  "binaries": [
    { "package": "golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goimports", "version": "latest", "name": "goimports" },
    { "package": "github.com/mgechev/revive", "version": "v1.3.0", "name": "revive" }
  ]
}

Note: It is recommended to specify exact versions instead of latest to ensure reproducible environments.

2. Install binaries

bd install

This will install the specified binaries into binDir, appending their versions to the filenames.

Note: You can use --clean, -clean or -c option to clean binDir before installing.

3. Execute binaries

bd exec goimports -w main.go

If the binary is not found, bd will suggest running bd install first.

Alternatively, you can run binaries directly from binDir:

./bin/goimports -w main.go

Why use bd?

• Keeps your project’s tooling self-contained, avoiding version conflicts.
• Works without modifying go.mod or relying on tools.go.
• Ensures team-wide consistency in CI/CD and local development.

Best Practices

• Store bd.json in the repository. It should not be added to .gitignore.
• The binDir directory should be added to .gitignore to avoid committing installed binaries.

License

MIT