asdf vs nodenv
asdf
asdf-vm.comnodenv
github.comSide by side
| Figure | asdf | nodenv |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Runtime Version Managers | 8.1 (#6) | 7.6 (#15) |
| Spec score · Development Environment Managers | 8.0 (#15) | 7.5 (#33) |
| Plugins | Plugins let asdf manage tools such as Node.js, Ruby, and Elixir, and the plugin API allows support for more tools. | nodenv is customizable through plugins written in Bash, including plugins for installing versions and managing default npm packages. |
| Purpose | asdf is a tool version manager that uses one `.tool-versions` file to share exact tool versions with a project team. | nodenv manages Node.js versions so projects can use the correct version on the same machine. |
| Shell support | The homepage lists Bash, ZSH, Fish, and Elvish support with completions available. | The project provides completion scripts for Bash, Zsh, and Fish and documents shell initialization for these shells. |
| Version selection | asdf selects a tool version from `.tool-versions` files starting in the current directory and searching up toward the home directory. | You can set Node.js versions per project, globally, or for a shell session. |
Plans
In their own words
asdf
asdf is a free, open-source version manager for Linux and macOS. It gives project teams one command interface and a shared `.tool-versions` file for selecting exact versions of multiple tools and runtimes. Plugins support tools such as Node.js, Ruby, and Elixir, while the plugin API allows additional tools. When a command runs, asdf searches for configuration from the current directory upward toward the home directory, then uses shims to launch the selected executable. Existing `.ruby-version`, `.nvmrc`, and `.node-version` files can be supported per plugin. Listed shell support includes Bash, ZSH, Fish, and Elvish, with completions. A GitHub Action uses `.tool-versions` in CI/CD workflows. Installation options include Homebrew, Zypper, Pacman, precompiled binaries, Go, and source builds. asdf manages tool versions rather than system packages or upstream dependencies. If no version is set, execution errors unless the tool is configured as `system`.