spinel backend experimental

The spinel backend compiles a Ruby command-line tool from a GitHub repository into a native executable with Spinel, Matz's Ruby ahead-of-time compiler. The result runs without Ruby or Spinel installed.

Experimental

This backend may change, or be removed if Spinel or the backend stops being practical to support. It installs tools without experimental = true, but mise edit offers it only when that setting is on.

Requirements

• macOS or Linux; Windows is not supported
• git
• The spinel compiler on PATH, or its path in the spinel tool option. Spinel ships as source; see its Quick Start to build it.
• A C compiler, which Spinel runs to produce the executable

Spinel supports only part of the Ruby language, so many Ruby tools do not compile. The backend compiles a single entrypoint file. It does not install gems, copy data files or fetch submodules.

Usage

Most tools need options, such as the entrypoint, so declare them in mise.toml:

[tools."spinel:tobi/try"]
version = "1.10.1"
entrypoint = "try.rb"
bin = "try"
tag_prefix = "v"

Then install the tool:

mise install

mise fetches the tag v1.10.1, compiles try.rb and writes the executable to bin/try in the install directory.

mise ls-remote spinel:tobi/try lists the repository's Git tags with git ls-remote, so it needs no GitHub token. With tag_prefix = "v", the tag v1.10.1 is the version 1.10.1.

mise keeps the order that git ls-remote returns, which is alphabetical, and this backend does not support version_order. latest can therefore pick an older release when versions differ in the number of digits, such as 1.9.3 over 1.10.1. Pin a version.

Tool options

entrypoint

The Ruby file to compile, relative to the repository root. Defaults to main.rb.

bin

The name of the executable written to bin/. Defaults to the repository name.

tag_prefix

The text before the version in each Git tag, such as v. mise lists only tags that start with the prefix and removes it. Without it, every tag is listed as a version.

source_ref

A full 40-character commit SHA to build instead of the tag. The version is then only a label.

spinel

The compiler to run, as a command name or a path. Defaults to spinel on PATH.

Troubleshooting

Message	What to check
spinel may be required but was not found	Build Spinel and put it on PATH, or set the spinel option.
spinel did not produce an executable	The compiler output above the error; the entrypoint may use Ruby that Spinel does not support.
the spinel backend does not support Windows	Install the tool on macOS or Linux.

Implementation: src/backend/spinel.rs.