ZVM

Spec sheet

Purpose

ZVM installs and switches between different versions of the Zig programming language.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Intended users

The maker describes ZVM as useful for developers who need multiple Zig versions to compile projects as the language changes.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Support

The `zvm bug` command opens a prefilled GitHub issue draft, which the user reviews and submits themselves.Read 7 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Aliases

Users can assign memorable aliases to installed Zig versions and use them in install, use, run, and remove commands.Read 7 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Company information

The opened ZVM pages identify the software and its GitHub repository but do not state a maker company name, headquarters, or founding date.Read 7 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Custom mirrors

Users can configure a custom mirror distribution server or restore the official mirror list.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Custom Zig distributions

Users can choose a version map source for Zig or ZLS, including a company-hosted fork or Mach.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Distribution

ZVM is a static single binary with no system dependencies and can be installed using shell scripts, Go, or a manual build.Read 7 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Download verification

ZVM warns and asks for confirmation when installing development builds without a version-map SHA-256 checksum; `--skip-shasum` disables checksum verification.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Installation and support

Installation instructions cover shell scripts for Unix-like systems and PowerShell for Windows, and the site links to documentation and GitHub source code.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Mirrors

Users can configure a custom mirror distribution server or bypass mirrors to download Zig directly from ziglang.org.Read 7 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Project version handling

When `zvm run` receives no known Zig version as its first argument, it checks the current project's `build.zig.zon` for `.minimum_zig_version`.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Run without switching

The `zvm run` command can run a selected Zig version without changing the default version.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Security check

ZVM verifies checksums for downloads by default, while `--skip-shasum` disables checksum verification for Zig and ZLS downloads.Read 7 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Supported architectures

The listed architectures are amd64, arm64, loong64 on Linux, and ppc64le on Linux.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Supported operating systems

The supported operating systems listed are Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Solaris.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Supported systems

The supported operating systems listed are Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Solaris.Read 7 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Version maps

Users can choose a Zig or ZLS vendor through a version map, including Mach, or configure a custom version map URL.Read 7 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Version selection

It can install the latest nightly with `master`, the latest stable tagged release with `stable`, or a specified version.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Version switching

The `zvm use` command switches among Zig versions already installed on the machine.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

VS Code integration

The documentation explains how to configure the VSCode Zig extension to use Zig and ZLS installed under `~/.zvm/bin`.Read 7 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

VS Code setup

The maker documents configuring the Zig extension in VS Code to use ZVM-managed Zig and ZLS paths.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

ZLS

ZVM can install the Zig Language Server alongside Zig using the `--zls` flag.Read 8 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

ZLS integration

ZVM can install the Zig Language Server alongside Zig using the `--zls` flag.Read 7 Oct 2026 · zvm.app

Where Specifiction places it

• Runtime Version Managers#26 of 307.0