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🦁 Copper

A unified runtime and package manager.
Consolidate your version managers into a single binary.

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Why?

I built copper to solve two specific problems in my own workflow:

1. Tool Fatigue: I loved using fnm for Node, but I didn't want to install and configure a separate version manager for every language (Go, Python, Zig, etc). copper brings that "auto-switch on cd" experience to all your runtimes.
2. Update Lag: General package managers like Homebrew are excellent, but they often lag behind on fast-moving binaries like Zig. copper fetches packages directly from the source or official mirrors, so you get updates the moment they are released.

With copper, I was able to remove fnm entirely and stop using brew for language runtimes. It effectively functions as a universal package manager for your dev tools.

Supported Packages

Copper supports both language runtimes and standalone tools.

Runtimes

Package	Description
node	JavaScript runtime (supports .nvmrc)
go	The Go programming language (supports go.mod and .go-version)
python	Python language runtime (supports .python-version)
rust	Systems programming language
zig	General-purpose programming language
bun	Fast all-in-one JavaScript runtime
cyber	Fast, efficient scripting language

CLI Tools

Package	Description	Package	Description
neovim	Vim-based text editor	lazygit	Terminal UI for git
helix	Modal editor inspired by Kakoune & Vim (built in Rust)	tree-sitter	Incremental parsing system & CLI
ripgrep	Blazing-fast line-oriented search tool	fd	Simple, fast alternative to find
fzf	Interactive command-line fuzzy finder	zoxide	Smarter cd that learns your habits
opencode	The open source coding agent.	just	Modern command runner (Makefile alt)
btop	Beautiful resource monitor	dufs	Fast static file server
git	The stupid content tracker	jj	Git-compatible VCS with modern workflow

View all supported tools

• go
• jq
• fd
• jj
• zf
• ty
• bun
• zig
• nrz
• fzf
• git
• dufs
• skhd
• rust
• btop
• rain
• just
• dust
• node
• ouch
• cyber
• helix
• fresh
• neovim
• wrkflw
• zoxide
• python
• ziglay
• samply
• trippy
• ripgrep
• lazygit
• try-cli
• opencode
• tailspin
• hyperfine
• git-delta
• television
• claude-code
• tree-sitter
• mongodb-database-tools

Installation

Quick Install

To install the binary automatically:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/logotip4ik/copper/master/install.sh | bash

Prefer not to pipe curl to bash? You can download the binary manually from the Releases page.

Setup

1. Ensure the copper binary is in your $PATH.
2. Initialize the shell hook to enable auto-switching capabilities:

Shell	Add to Config
Zsh (~/.zshrc)	eval "$(copper shell zsh)"
Bash (~/.bashrc)	eval "$(copper shell bash)"
Fish (config.fish)	copper shell fish | source
PowerShell ($PROFILE)	Invoke-Expression (&copper shell pwsh)

Note: Windows support is theoretical...

Usage

Basic Command Structure:

copper <action> <package> [version]

Common Actions

Action	Command	Description
Install	copper add node 22	Fetches the latest Node 22.* version.
List	copper list-remote zig	Shows available versions for installation.
Use	copper use node 24	Sets the default global version.
Check	copper installed	Lists all packages currently managed by copper.
Update	copper update-self	Updates the copper binary itself.

Auto-Switching

Copper hooks into your directory changes. If you cd into a folder with a config file (e.g., .nvmrc, .python-version), copper will automatically update current default runtime to the specified version.

Limitations

Global state - copper currently does not support per-session versioning. If you change the default version in one terminal tab, it affects all other sessions. This works fine for personal development machines, but PRs are welcome if you need session isolation.