7. Running Tools¶

This chapter describes how to run specific tools using CriticalUp.

The examples in this chapter assume the following directory structure:

.
└── project
   └── criticalup.toml

After installing CriticalUp, authenticating, and installing a toolchain, CriticalUp can be used to run the specified tools from the installed toolchain.

CriticalUp will scan the working directory, then any parents, to discover the relevant criticalup.toml and determine which version of the tool to execute.

Note

If CriticalUp does not find a criticalup.toml in the current directory, it will search the parent directory, then the parent of that, up to the root directory of the system.

cd project
criticalup run rustc --help

7.1. Locating Tools¶

It is possible to find the absolute path of a tool for the current toolchain with the which command:

cd project
criticalup which rustc

7.2. Using the Binary Proxies¶

CriticalUp creates a number of ‘binary proxies’ which can be used to run the appropriate Ferrocene binaries for a given workspace. These can be added to your shell path on any OS.

It’s important to note that these binaries share the same binary names as any Rust toolchain that may already be installed. If you already have Rust installed (for example, via rustup) you may wish either to remove it, use Ferrocene via criticalup run, or remove the upstream Rust toolchain from your path and use rustup run to access it.

7.2.1. Linux¶

Proxies are located at $XDG_DATA_HOME/criticalup/bin, typically this is ~/.local/share/criticalup/bin/.

You can add the following line to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc to add the binary proxies to your PATH:

export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.local/share/criticalup/bin"

If you’re using a different shell, such as nushell, you may need to consult the shell’s documentation on how to add to the path.

7.2.2. macOS¶

Proxies are located at ~/Library/Application Support/criticalup/bin/.

You can add the following line to your ~/.zshrc to add the binary proxies to your PATH:

export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/Library/Application Support/criticalup/bin"

If you’re using a different shell, such as nushell, you may need to consult the shell’s documentation on how to add to the path.

7.2.3. Windows¶

Proxies are located at %appdata%\criticalup\bin\:

On Windows 11, you can add the folder to your system path by hitting the Windows key and searching ‘Edit environment variables for your account’, then selecting the control panel. If you can’t find it, you can use the ‘Run’ dialog to directly launch it:

rundll32.exe sysdm.cpl,EditEnvironmentVariables

Once there, edit the PATH variable to include the following entry:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\criticalup\bin\

You’ll then need to sign out, and back in for changes to take effect.

If you’re using a different shell, such as nushell, you may need to consult the shell’s documentation on how to add to the path.