athityakumar / athityakumar/colorls

Distribute `colorls` as a standalone binary.

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#574 2 comments 6 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Dominant language
Ruby
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Description

### Description

- Relevant Issues : #52
- Relevant PRs : (none)
- Type of issue :
- [x] Installation
- [ ] Font-related
- [x] Feature request
- [ ] Bug in existing feature
- [ ] Developer mode : Code quality / Tests / Documentation

# Suggestion

Do you plan to distribute `colorls` as a standalone binary in the future?

I was thinking about "compiling" the gem with tools like [ruby-packer](https://github.com/pmq20/ruby-packer) or [Travelling Ruby](http://phusion.github.io/traveling-ruby/).

This way a user could install `colorls` without having to manage and maintain a ruby installation. Many people like me do not use ruby at all, and I have it installed in many different machines just to run `colorls`. Moreover, handling the `PATH` for Ruby ad gems slows down the shell sturtup (because the `gem` command is slow). Stuff like:

```sh
export PATH="$(gem environment | grep "EXECUTABLE DIRECTORY" | awk '{print $4}'):$PATH"
# or
gem which colorls
```

This, down the line, could result in the option of installing `colorls` like this:

```sh
brew install colorls
# or
sudo apt install colorls
```

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by evaluating the ruby-packer and Travelling Ruby approaches mentioned in the issue, along with the existing gem installation flow. Determine how colorls could be distributed as a standalone binary and whether brew or apt installation is feasible. Done means users can install and run colorls without maintaining a Ruby installation.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
ruby
Domain
cli, release
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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