Update Tool
This guide explains how to maintain your Ballerina installation up to date with the latest patch and minor releases.
Table of contents Expand all Collapse all
Understanding Ballerina Distributions
The Ballerina compiler is a software program, which validates the Ballerina source code and translates it to an executable program. Ballerina has a stable and production-ready official compiler called jBallerina, which targets the JVM.
Also, there is a plan to develop a native compiler called nBallerina in the future, which will target platforms such as Linux, Windows, and macOS.
Ballerina distribution is a term, which refers to these jBallerina and nBallerina compilers.
Getting to Know the Release Channels
Ballerina distributions are released via two different release channels at the moment. Swan Lake release channel is the primary release channel and the other one is the 1.x release channel. It is recommended to use Swan Lake release channel, if you are new to Ballerina.
Ballerina yet does not have a release channel for nightly builds that give you access to the latest perhaps unstable features.
Patch Releases
Patch releases of Ballerina distributions contain bug fixes and fixes for critical stability and security related issues. Occasionally, you would see on-demand patch releases for 1.2.x.
Example patch releases: 1.0.6, 1.1.5, 1.1.10
Installing Ballerina
If you haven’t installed Ballerina yet, see Installing Ballerina for the instructions.
Once the installation is complete, you would see the directory structure below inside the installation directory.
.
├── bin
│ └── bal
├── dependencies
│ └── jdk-11.0.8+10-jre
├── distributions
│ ├── ballerina-slalpha3
│ ├── ballerina-slalpha4
│ ├── jballerina-1.1.0
│ ├── jballerina-1.2.8
│ └── ballerina-version
└── lib
└── ballerina-command-1.3.1.jar
The distributions is the directory, in which all your installed distributions are maintained. Only one distribution from the above list can be active at a given time.
Note: The Ballerina Tool delegates most of the user requests to the active distribution. The commands such as
build,test,run,pull, andpushare delegated to the active distribution, while the commands such asdistandversionare handled by the tool itself.
E.g., when you invoke bal build, the Ballerina Tool dispatches this request to the active distribution.
You can change this active distribution at any time or manage it using the Ballerina Tool. However, first, you need to update the Ballerina Tool to its latest version.
Updating the Ballerina Tool
The bal update command updates the Ballerina Tool itself to the latest version. Ballerina Tool versions are independent of the Ballerina distribution versions. These tool updates are expected to be rare compared to distribution releases.
→ bal update
Fetching the latest tool version from the remote server...
Downloading ballerina-command-1.3.3 100% [=====================================================================================================================================================================] 1/1 MB (0:00:01 / 0:00:00)
Updating environment variables
The ‘ballerina’ command was changed to ‘bal’. Please use ‘bal’ command from now onwards.
Ie : $ bal build
$ bal dist list
$ bal dist update
Tool version updated to the latest version: 1.3.3
Cleaning old files...
Update successfully completed
If you want to update the Ballerina distribution, use 'bal dist update'
Managing your Ballerina Distributions
After updating the Ballerina Tool, you can use the bal dist command of it to manage Ballerina distributions. The bal help dist output below shows all the details about the bal dist command.
→ bal help dist
NAME
bal-dist - Manage Ballerina distributions
SYNOPSIS
bal dist <command> <-h | --help>
bal dist <command> [<args>]
DESCRIPTION
Dist enables you to install, update, and switch among Ballerina distributions
from patch and minor release channels.
OPTIONS
-h, --help
Print usage details of a command.
BALLERINA COMMANDS
Here is a list of available subcommands:
update Update to the latest patch version of the active distribution
pull Fetch a distribution and set it as the active version
use Set a distribution as the active distribution
list List locally and remotely available distributions
remove Remove distributions in your local environment
Use 'bal help dist <command>' for more information on a specific command.
Most of these subcommands are self-explanatory. Therefore, the sections below introduce them briefly.
Listing All Local and Remote Distributions
The bal dist list command lists the installed distributions in your local environment. It also lists the distributions available for you to download.
→ bal dist list
Distributions available locally:
[slalpha4] Alpha 3
* [slalpha5] Alpha 4
Distributions available remotely:
1.* channel
[1.0.0] jballerina version 1.0.0
[1.0.1] jballerina version 1.0.1
[1.0.2] jballerina version 1.0.2
[1.0.3] jballerina version 1.0.3
[1.0.4] jballerina version 1.0.4
[1.0.5] jballerina version 1.0.5
[1.1.0] jballerina version 1.1.0
[1.1.1] jballerina version 1.1.1
[1.1.2] jballerina version 1.1.2
[1.1.3] jballerina version 1.1.3
[1.1.4] jballerina version 1.1.4
[1.2.0] jballerina version 1.2.0
[1.2.1] jballerina version 1.2.1
[1.2.2] jballerina version 1.2.2
[1.2.3] jballerina version 1.2.3
[1.2.4] jballerina version 1.2.4
[1.2.5] jballerina version 1.2.5
[1.2.6] jballerina version 1.2.6
[1.2.7] jballerina version 1.2.7
[1.2.8] jballerina version 1.2.8
[1.2.9] jballerina version 1.2.9
[1.2.10] jballerina version 1.2.10
[1.2.11] jballerina version 1.2.11
[1.2.12] jballerina version 1.2.12
[1.2.13] jballerina version 1.2.13
Swan Lake channel
[slp1] Preview 1
[slp2] Preview 2
[slp3] Preview 3
[slp4] Preview 4
[slp5] Preview 5
[slp7] Preview 7
[slp8] Preview 8
[slalpha1] Alpha 1
[slalpha2] Alpha 2
[slalpha3] Alpha 3
[slalpha4] Alpha 4
* [slalpha5] Alpha 5
Use 'bal help dist' for more information on specific commands.
Note: The star (*) indicates the active distribution.
Removing a Distribution
The bal dist remove <distribution> command allows you to delete a particular distribution from your local environment. If you’ve been updating Ballerina regularly, you may have accumulated many unused distribution versions. This command helps you to clean them up.
→ bal dist remove slalpha5
Distribution 'slalpha5' successfully removed
Updating to the Latest Preview/Patch Version
The bal dist update command updates your active distribution to the latest patch version.
→ sudo bal dist update
Fetching the latest patch distribution for 'ballerina-slalpha4' from the remote server...
Fetching the 'slalpha5' distribution from the remote server...
Downloading slalpha5 100% [================================================================================================================================================================================] 319/319 MB (0:01:21 / 0:00:00)
Fetching the dependencies for 'slalpha5' from the remote server...
Dependency 'jdk-11.0.8+10-jre' is already available locally
Successfully set the latest patch distribution 'slalpha5' as the active distribution
Note: If the active distribution in your environment is
slp4, it will bump to the next Swan Lake Preview version, which isslp5, and will update to it.
Pulling a Specific Distribution
The bal dist pull <distribution> command downloads a particular distribution and stores it in your local environment. It also sets the fetched distribution as the active distribution.
→ bal dist pull slalpha4
Fetching the 'slalpha4' distribution from the remote server...
Downloading slalpha4 100% [================================================================================================================================================================================] 287/287 MB (0:01:26 / 0:00:00)
Fetching the dependencies for 'slalpha4' from the remote server...
Dependency 'jdk-11.0.8+10-jre' is already available locally
'slalpha4' successfully set as the active distribution
Changing the Active Distribution
The bal dist use <distribution> command sets a particular distribution version as the active one.
→ bal dist use slalpha3
'slalpha3' successfully set as the active distribution
