launchpad

A modern dependency manager for your system and projects. Effortlessly manage development tools, runtime environments, and project dependencies with automatic environment isolation. Think Homebrew meets project-aware dependency management.

What is Launchpad?

Launchpad is a comprehensive dependency management solution that bridges the gap between system-wide package management and project-specific environments. Whether you're setting up a new development machine, managing system tools, or working on projects with specific dependency requirements, Launchpad provides a unified interface for all your dependency needs.

System Management:

Install and manage development tools system-wide
Automatic PATH configuration and shell integration
Cross-platform compatibility (macOS, Linux, Windows)
Smart permission handling and installation paths

Project Management:

Automatic project environment detection and activation
Isolated dependency environments per project
Version-specific tool installation
Seamless switching between project contexts

At its core, Launchpad leverages pkgx's powerful package ecosystem while adding intelligent management, environment isolation, and developer-friendly workflows.

Features

Launchpad transforms how you manage dependencies across your entire development workflow:

System-Wide Dependency Management

📦 Global Tool Installation — Install development tools and runtimes system-wide with automatic PATH management
🔧 Smart Installation Paths — Automatically chooses /usr/local for system-wide access or ~/.local for user-specific installs
🔌 Shell Integration — Seamless integration with your shell for immediate tool availability
🪟 Cross-Platform Support — Consistent experience across macOS, Linux, and Windows

Project-Aware Environment Management

🌍 Automatic Environment Isolation — Project-specific environments that activate when you enter a project directory
🎯 Dependency Detection — Automatically reads dependencies.yaml, package.json, and other project files
🔄 Context Switching — Seamlessly switch between different project environments
📋 Version Management — Install and manage specific versions of tools per project
🗂️ Environment Management — List, inspect, clean, and remove project environments with readable identifiers

Developer Experience

⚡ Fast Operations — Leverage pkgx for efficient package management
🗑️ Clean Removal — Remove packages or completely uninstall with proper cleanup
🔄 Auto-Updates — Configure automatic updates for your dependency management tools
🎛️ Flexible Configuration — Customize behavior through config files or command-line options

Why Launchpad?

Modern development requires managing dependencies at multiple levels - from system tools to project-specific requirements. Traditional approaches fall short:

Traditional Package Managers (Homebrew, apt, etc.):

❌ Global conflicts — Different projects need different versions
❌ Slow operations — Installing or updating can take minutes
❌ Manual environment management — Switching between project contexts is manual
❌ PATH pollution — All tools are globally available, causing conflicts

Manual Dependency Management:

❌ Inconsistent setups — Different team members have different environments
❌ Complex PATH management — Manual shell configuration is error-prone
❌ Version drift — Hard to maintain consistent tool versions
❌ Platform differences — Different setup procedures for each OS

Launchpad's Solution:

✅ Unified Management — Single tool for both system and project dependencies
✅ Automatic Isolation — Project environments activate automatically
✅ Fast Operations — Efficient package management with intelligent caching
✅ Consistent Experience — Same commands and behavior across all platforms
✅ Smart Defaults — Sensible installation paths and configuration out of the box

Read more about why we created Launchpad

Installation

Get started with Launchpad through your preferred package manager:

# Install with Bun (recommended)
bun add -g @stacksjs/launchpad

# Or with npm
npm install -g @stacksjs/launchpad

# Or with yarn
yarn global add @stacksjs/launchpad

# Or with pnpm
pnpm add -g @stacksjs/launchpad

See Installation Guide for more options.

Quick Start

Launchpad is designed to handle both system setup and project management seamlessly! 🎯

System Setup (First Time)

Bootstrap your development environment with everything you need:

# Complete system setup - installs to /usr/local by default
./launchpad bootstrap

# Or for a custom installation path
./launchpad bootstrap --path ~/.local --verbose

# Skip specific components if needed
./launchpad bootstrap --skip-bun --skip-shell-integration

The bootstrap command sets up your entire development foundation:

✅ Install pkgx (package manager)
✅ Install Bun (JavaScript runtime)
✅ Configure your PATH automatically
✅ Set up shell integration for project auto-activation
✅ Provide clear next steps

System-Wide Tool Management

Install and manage development tools across your entire system:

# Install essential development tools system-wide
launchpad install node python go rust

# Install specific versions
launchpad install node@22 [email protected]

# Install to /usr/local (default system-wide location)
launchpad install typescript --system

# Or specify any custom path
launchpad install docker --path /opt/tools

# Use shorthand for quick installs
launchpad i node@22 [email protected]

Smart Installation Behavior:

Default: Installs to /usr/local if writable, otherwise ~/.local
System-wide: Use --system for explicit system installation (same as default)
Custom paths: Use --path <directory> for any location
Automatic PATH: Tools are immediately available in new shells

Project Environment Management

Launchpad automatically manages project-specific dependencies:

# Create a project with dependencies
echo "dependencies:
  - node@22
  - [email protected]
  - [email protected]" > dependencies.yaml

# Environment activates automatically when you enter the directory
cd my-project
# → ✅ Environment activated for /path/to/my-project

# Tools are available in project context
node --version  # Uses project-specific Node.js
tsc --version   # Uses project-specific TypeScript

# Leave project - environment deactivates automatically
cd ..
# → 🔄 Environment deactivated

Supported Project Files:

dependencies.yaml / dependencies.yml
package.json (Node.js projects)
pyproject.toml (Python projects)
Cargo.toml (Rust projects)
And more...

Environment Management

Manage your project environments with human-readable identifiers:

# List all development environments
launchpad env:list

# Inspect a specific environment
launchpad env:inspect my-project_1a2b3c4d

# Clean up old or failed environments
launchpad env:clean --dry-run

# Remove a specific environment
launchpad env:remove old-project_5e6f7g8h --force

Environment Hash Format: {project-name}_{8-char-hex}

final-project_7db6cf06 - Easy to identify and manage
working-test_208a31ec - Human-readable project identification
my-app_1a2b3c4d - Collision-resistant unique identifiers

Package Management

Remove packages and manage your installation:

# Remove specific system tools
launchpad remove node python

# Remove project-specific versions
launchpad rm node@22

# See what would be removed
launchpad remove python --dry-run

# Complete system cleanup
launchpad uninstall

Advanced Operations

# Create executable shims
launchpad shim node@22 [email protected]

# List all installed packages
launchpad list

# Configure auto-updates
launchpad autoupdate:enable

# Install additional tools
launchpad pkgx    # Install pkgx itself
launchpad dev     # Install dev environment tools
launchpad bun     # Install Bun runtime

Configuration

Customize Launchpad's behavior for your system and projects:

import type { LaunchpadConfig } from '@stacksjs/launchpad'

const config: LaunchpadConfig = {
  // System-wide installation preferences
  installationPath: '/usr/local', // Default system location
  autoSudo: true, // Auto-elevate when needed

  // Project environment settings
  autoActivate: true, // Auto-activate project environments
  symlinkVersions: true, // Create version-specific symlinks

  // Development preferences
  verbose: true, // Detailed logging
  maxRetries: 3, // Retry failed operations
  timeout: 60000, // Operation timeout

  // PATH and shell integration
  shimPath: '~/.local/bin', // Custom shim location
  autoAddToPath: true, // Automatic PATH management
}

export default config

See Configuration Guide for all options.

GitHub Action

Integrate Launchpad into your CI/CD workflows:

- name: Setup Development Environment
  uses: stacksjs/launchpad-installer@v1
  with:
    packages: node@22 [email protected] [email protected]

See GitHub Action Documentation for details.

Advanced Usage

Explore advanced dependency management topics:

Comparing to Alternatives

vs Traditional Package Managers (Homebrew, apt, yum)

🎯 Project Awareness: Automatic project environment management vs manual setup
⚡ Speed: Faster installations with intelligent caching
🔒 Isolation: Project-specific versions vs global conflicts
🌍 Cross-Platform: Consistent experience across all operating systems

vs Language-Specific Managers (nvm, pyenv, rbenv)

🔄 Unified Interface: Single tool for all languages vs multiple managers
🤖 Automatic Switching: Context-aware environment activation
📦 Broader Scope: Manages system tools beyond just language runtimes
🛠️ Integrated Workflow: Seamless integration between system and project dependencies

vs Container-Based Solutions (Docker, devcontainers)

🚀 Lightweight: Native performance without virtualization overhead
💻 System Integration: Tools available in your native shell and IDE
🔧 Flexible: Mix system-wide and project-specific tools as needed
⚡ Instant: No container startup time or resource overhead

Changelog

Please see our releases page for information on changes.

Contributing

Please see CONTRIBUTING for details.

Community

For help or discussion:

Postcardware

"Software that is free, but hopes for a postcard." We love receiving postcards from around the world showing where Stacks is being used! We showcase them on our website too.

Our address: Stacks.js, 12665 Village Ln #2306, Playa Vista, CA 90094, United States 🌎

Credits

Max Howell - for creating pkgx and Homebrew
pkgm & dev - thanks for the inspiration
Chris Breuer
All Contributors

License

The MIT License (MIT). Please see LICENSE for more information.

Made with 💙

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 64 Commits
.cursor		.cursor
.github		.github
.vscode		.vscode
.zed		.zed
docs		docs
packages		packages
scripts		scripts
test-envs		test-envs
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.env.example		.env.example
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
LICENSE.md		LICENSE.md
README.md		README.md
bun.lock		bun.lock
bunfig.toml		bunfig.toml
dependencies.yaml		dependencies.yaml
eslint.config.ts		eslint.config.ts
launchpad		launchpad
launchpad-wrapper.sh		launchpad-wrapper.sh
launchpad.config.ts		launchpad.config.ts
package.json		package.json
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json

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stacksjs/launchpad

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launchpad

What is Launchpad?

Features

System-Wide Dependency Management

Project-Aware Environment Management

Developer Experience

Why Launchpad?

Installation

Quick Start

System Setup (First Time)

System-Wide Tool Management

Project Environment Management

Environment Management

Package Management

Advanced Operations

Configuration

GitHub Action

Advanced Usage

Comparing to Alternatives

vs Traditional Package Managers (Homebrew, apt, yum)

vs Language-Specific Managers (nvm, pyenv, rbenv)

vs Container-Based Solutions (Docker, devcontainers)

Changelog

Contributing

Community

Postcardware

Credits

Sponsors

License

About

Topics

Resources

License

Code of conduct

Security policy

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