#mbtx-install

tiny install command for one .mbtx file

mbtx-install builds a single-file MoonBit script (.mbtx) into a native binary and installs it as a command — the deno install -g script.ts experience for MoonBit scripts.

#Install

Requires the moon toolchain on PATH.

From mooncakes:

$ moon install podhmo/mbtx-install

From a checkout of this repository:

$ moon install ./cmd/mbtx-install

#Usage

$ mbtx-install <path.mbtx> [-o|--name <cmd>] [--bin <dir>] [--release] [-v|--verbose]
$ mbtx-install --list
hello -> /home/u/tools/hello.mbtx

$ mbtx-install tools/mygrep.mbtx
Installed 'mygrep' to '/home/u/.moon/bin/mygrep'
$ mygrep -n TODO src/*.mbt

option	effect
-o, --name <cmd>	installed command name (default: file basename without .mbtx)
--bin <dir>	install directory (default: ~/.moon/bin)
--release	build the release profile (default: debug build)
-v, --verbose	show moon's build logs (default: quiet, errors still shown)
--list	list installed commands recorded in the manifest (takes no path)
--version	print the version and exit (takes no path)

#Removing an installed command

There is no uninstall command yet — remove the three pieces by hand. mbtx-install --list shows what is recorded in the manifest (~/.mbtx-install/config.json):

$ mbtx-install --list
hello -> /home/u/tools/hello.mbtx
$ rm ~/.moon/bin/hello                                  # the installed binary
$ rm -rf ~/.mbtx-install/-home-u-tools-hello.mbtx      # its build cache

Then drop the "hello" entry under "installs" in ~/.mbtx-install/config.json so the name is no longer recorded as ours — a stale record would let a future install overwrite a binary we never put there.

The binary lives in the entry's bin field (~/.moon/bin unless installed with --bin).
The build cache dir is the source absolute path with / → -.
All three steps are optional except the binary removal — skip the cache or manifest edit and things still work; a stale manifest entry only affects the overwrite guard.

#How it works

Route A of docs/ja/design.md (Japanese):

The .mbtx path is resolved to a per-file work directory under ~/.mbtx-install/ — the absolute path with / replaced by -.
moon build --target native --target-dir <workdir> <file>.mbtx builds there; the same directory is reused so moon's incremental build kicks in on reinstall. import blocks (@version, @alias, *) are interpreted by moon itself — no rewriting layer.
The produced single.exe is located by parsing the moon build --dry-run link line (-o <path>), falling back to a *.exe search under the work directory.
It is copied to ~/.moon/bin/<name>, overwriting unconditionally.

Platforms: Linux and macOS. Windows is a known limitation (issue #3).

#Errors

missing / non-.mbtx file, invalid options → usage text, exit code 2
moon not on PATH → a clear error message, exit code 1
moon build failure → moon's diagnostics are passed through as-is
~/.moon/bin not on PATH → warning only; the install still succeeds

#Development

$ moon check   # typecheck
$ moon test    # unit tests
$ moon fmt     # format

Design doc and investigation log (Japanese): docs/ja/.

Source Files

main.mbt

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