---
layout:  project
title:   LoneStar
date:    2018-07-01T00:00:00Z
langs:   Bash
license: AGPLv3
repo:    https://gitlab.com/tyil/lonestar
---

LoneStar is a simple program, written in Bash, to download and install
https://rakudo.org[Rakudo Star Perl 6]. As of the moment of writing this
program, Rakudo Star Perl 6 binaries cannot easily be moved around on the OS,
making regular installation methods more troublesome than they ought to be. To
deal with the installation issue, I wrote LoneStar, to just take care of it. I
chose to use Bash to ensure it can run on a wide range of GNU+Linux systems
without much trouble.

== Installation

LoneStar is given a `Makefile` which can take care of installation. However, it
does not _need_ to be installed if you just want to try it out first. I would
recommend installation anyway, in order to make easy use of the `init`
subcommand (which will update you `$PATH` to include the Perl 6 executables for
you).

You can clone the repo using git, and use `make` to install it:

[source,sh]
----
cd "$(mktemp -d)"
git clone https://gitlab.com/tyil/lonestar .
make DESTDIR=/usr/local install
----

Some shells will require you to _rehash the $PATH_. On Bash, this is done
using `hash -r`. Zsh users should run `rehash`. Other shell users may have to
consult their respective shell's manual. With newer shells, this is oftentimes
not necessary, though.

== Usage

You can invoke `lonestar` without any parameters to get a list of subcommands
it will accept, together with optional parameters. To just get the latest
Rakudo Star Perl 6 distribution installed, run `lonestar install`.

== Issues and feedback

Issues and feedback can be left on the repository, or you can contact me
directly via any of the channels listed on the homepage of my blog.