gopher

Gopher Release Notes

v1.0.0 - Initial Public Release (October 2025)

Status: 🎉 First Production Release

Overview

Gopher v1.0.0 is a production-ready Go version manager with comprehensive features for installing, managing, and switching between Go versions across multiple platforms.

✨ Core Features

Version Management

• Install & Manage: Install any Go version with automatic downloads
• Switch Versions: Seamlessly switch between installed Go versions
• System Integration: Detect and work with system-installed Go
• List Versions: View all installed and available Go versions
• Uninstall: Clean removal of Go versions
• Clean: Remove download cache to free disk space
• Purge: Complete removal of all Gopher data (with confirmation)

Alias System 🆕

• Create Aliases: Assign friendly names to Go versions (stable, latest, prod)
• Suggestions: Get intelligent alias suggestions for versions
• Import/Export: Share aliases across machines or teams
• Validation: Built-in validation to prevent conflicts
• Interactive Management: User-friendly prompts for alias operations

Cross-Platform Support

• ✅ macOS (amd64, arm64/Apple Silicon)
• ✅ Linux (amd64, arm64)
• ✅ Windows (amd64)

Environment Management

• GOROOT & GOPATH: Automatic configuration
• PATH Management: Seamless PATH updates
• Shell Integration: Bash, Zsh, Fish support
• Persistent Configuration: Settings survive shell restarts

Developer Experience

• JSON Output: Machine-readable output for scripts
• Colored Output: Clear, readable terminal output
• Comprehensive Help: Built-in help for all commands
• Version Verification: Check current active version
• CI Parity: make ci runs same checks as GitHub Actions
• Tool Installation: make install-tools sets up development environment
• Race Detection: All tests include -race flag by default

📦 Installation

Homebrew (macOS/Linux) ✅

brew install molmedoz/tap/gopher

Linux Package Managers ✅

# Debian/Ubuntu
wget https://github.com/molmedoz/gopher/releases/download/v1.0.0/gopher_1.0.0_linux_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i gopher_1.0.0_linux_amd64.deb

# RedHat/Fedora/CentOS
wget https://github.com/molmedoz/gopher/releases/download/v1.0.0/gopher_1.0.0_linux_amd64.rpm
sudo rpm -i gopher_1.0.0_linux_amd64.rpm

# Alpine
wget https://github.com/molmedoz/gopher/releases/download/v1.0.0/gopher_1.0.0_linux_amd64.apk
sudo apk add --allow-untrusted gopher_1.0.0_linux_amd64.apk

# Arch Linux
wget https://github.com/molmedoz/gopher/releases/download/v1.0.0/gopher_1.0.0_linux_amd64.pkg.tar.zst
sudo pacman -U gopher_1.0.0_linux_amd64.pkg.tar.zst

Windows (Direct Download) ✅

# Download from GitHub Releases
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/molmedoz/gopher/releases/download/v1.0.0/gopher_1.0.0_Windows_x86_64.tar.gz" -OutFile gopher.tar.gz
tar -xzf gopher.tar.gz
# Move gopher.exe to a directory in your PATH

# Chocolatey coming in v1.0.1+

Coming Soon

• Chocolatey (Windows) - Requires Windows build runner (planned for v1.0.1+)
• Snap (Linux) - Pending Snapcraft name approval

Binary Download

Download from GitHub Releases:

• All platforms and architectures available
• Pre-built binaries with checksums
• Source code archives included

🚀 Quick Start

# Install a Go version
gopher install 1.21.5

# Switch to a version
gopher use 1.21.5

# Create an alias
gopher alias create stable 1.21.5

# Use the alias
gopher use stable

# List installed versions
gopher list

# Check current version
gopher current

📚 Documentation

• User Guide - Complete usage instructions
• Quick Reference - Command reference card
• FAQ - Frequently asked questions
• Examples - Practical usage examples

🔧 Technical Details

Build Information

• Go Version: 1.21+
• Platforms: 5 platform/architecture combinations
• Binary Size: ~6-7 MB per platform
• Dependencies: Minimal (no external runtime dependencies)

Quality Metrics

• Test Coverage: 11/11 test suites passing
• Code Quality: Grade A+
• Build Status: ✅ All platforms successful
• Linter: Clean (no warnings)

🎯 What’s Next

See ROADMAP.md for planned features in future releases:

Phase 1 (v1.1.0):

• Health checks (gopher doctor)
• Enhanced output formatting
• Interactive setup wizard

Phase 2 (v1.2.0):

• Version profiles for projects
• Automatic version detection from go.mod
• Backup & restore configuration

🐛 Known Issues

None at this time. Please report any issues on GitHub.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Thank you to all early testers and contributors who helped make this release possible!

📝 Breaking Changes

None (initial release).

⬆️ Upgrading

This is the initial release, no upgrade path needed.

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Future Releases

v1.1.0 (Planned - Q1 2026)

• Health checks and verification
• Enhanced formatting options
• Interactive setup wizard
• Performance improvements

See ROADMAP.md for complete future plans.

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Last Updated: October 2025
Current Version: 1.0.0
Status: Production Ready

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