Description

st - A unified command-line tool for installing and managing multiple Smalltalk implementations.

Supported implementations:

Pharo - Modern, full-featured Smalltalk (https://pharo.org)
Cuis - Compact, portable Smalltalk (https://cuis.st)
GT (Glamorous Toolkit) - Multi-language IDE built in Pharo (https://gtoolkit.com)
Squeak - Open-source Smalltalk environment (https://squeak.org)
GNU Smalltalk - Classic Smalltalk-80 implementation (https://gnu.org/software/smalltalk)
LST (Little Smalltalk v3) - Simplified Smalltalk for learning (https://codeberg.org/suetanvil/lst3r)

The CLI provides a consistent interface for installing, running, and managing packages across all these implementations.

Demo

Requirements

bash or zsh (4.0+)
curl or wget (for downloading)
unzip (for extracting archives)
git (for cloning repositories)
jq (optional, for better JSON parsing)

Installing dependencies

macOS:

brew install jq git

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install jq git curl unzip

Fedora/RHEL:

sudo dnf install jq git curl unzip

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S jq git curl unzip

Windows (WSL/MSYS2/Git Bash):

# Using MSYS2 or Git Bash
pacman -S jq git curl unzip

# Using Chocolatey (run in elevated PowerShell)
choco install jq git curl unzip

# Using Scoop
scoop install jq git curl unzip

Windows Notes:

For Pharo, Cuis, Squeak, and GT: Windows is fully supported
For GNU Smalltalk: Works under WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)
For Little Smalltalk: Some limitations on Windows - prefer WSL or use prebuilt binaries

Installation

Common steps

The first step is to download the package from a command line terminal:

bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hernanmd/st/master/install.sh)"

Installer options

The installer accepts flags passed after a throwaway _ placeholder — the first argument to bash -c becomes $0, so _ reserves it and lets the flags reach the option parser:

bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hernanmd/st/master/install.sh)" _ [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
(none)	Install `st` (skips if already installed)
`--force`, `-f`	Reinstall even if already installed; the previous install is backed up to `~/.st/st.backup.<timestamp>`
`--uninstall`	Remove the installed `st` (`~/.st/st`). Reports leftover backups, the Smalltalk cache, and the PATH export to clean up; exits `1` if nothing is installed
`--check`, `-c`	Check installation status (exit `0` if installed, `1` otherwise)
`--upgrade`, `-u`	Upgrade to the latest version
`--version`, `-v`	Show installer version
`--help`, `-h`	Show help

Examples:

# Reinstall / upgrade (backs up the previous install)
st upgrade

# Uninstall
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hernanmd/st/master/install.sh)" _ --uninstall

# Check status
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hernanmd/st/master/install.sh)" _ --check

Note on the _ placeholder: it stands in for $0. If you omit it, the first flag (--force, --uninstall, …) is consumed as the script name and never reaches the option parser.

The next step is to configure your PATH variable to find the command. To find which shell you are using now, type:

echo $0

bash users

To persist usage between multiple shell sessions:

echo "export PATH=$HOME/.st/st/bin:$PATH" >> ~/.bash_profile
source ~/.bash_profile

zsh users

To persist usage between multiple shell sessions:

echo -n 'export PATH=$HOME/.st/st/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Agent Skills

st ships ready-to-use agent skills — drop them into your agent's skills directory.

User workflow skill — drive st from shells, Makefiles, CI, or agents (install/upgrade/uninstall, per-dialect commands, headless eval, package search/list, gotchas):
```
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hernanmd/st/master/doc/st-workflow-skill.md -o st-workflow.SKILL.md
```
Developer lessons skill — operational patterns for fixing st, shipping fixes, and adding new Smalltalk implementations:
```
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hernanmd/st/master/doc/st-dev-lessons-skill.md -o st-dev-lessons.SKILL.md
```

Features

Unified CLI - One command for all Smalltalk implementations
Install packages - Easy installation of packages from various sources
Package search - Search for available packages
Image management - Download and manage Smalltalk images/VMs
Cross-platform - Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows (WSL/MSYS2)

Capabilities Matrix

Implementation	Linux	macOS	Windows	Install Packages	Eval	Run Scripts	Headless
Pharo	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Cuis	✅	✅	✅	⚠️	⚠️	⚠️	⚠️
GT	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Squeak	✅	✅	✅	⚠️	⚠️	⚠️	⚠️
GNU Smalltalk	✅	✅	⚠️ (WSL)	❌	✅	✅	✅
Little Smalltalk	✅	✅	⚠️	❌	✅	✅	✅

Legend:

✅ Fully supported
⚠️ Partially supported / limited functionality
❌ Not supported
WSL = Windows Subsystem for Linux required

Notes:

Pharo: Full CLI support including headless mode via --headless flag
Cuis/Squeak: Limited CLI support - primarily GUI-based; package installation via GUI
GT: Full CLI support for automation and scripting
GNU Smalltalk: Script-based, no image - runs directly from command line
Little Smalltalk: Minimal implementation with basic REPL support

Usage Examples

Global Options

st -x pharo install          # Enable debug mode (set -x tracing)
st --debug pharo install     # Same as -x
st --version                 # Show version
st --help                    # Show help

Installing Smalltalk Implementations

Pharo

st pharo install              # Install Pharo (latest stable)
st pharo install -d ~/pharo  # Install to specific directory
st pharo install Seaside     # Install Pharo with Seaside package
st pharo 12 install Seaside  # Install Seaside in a Pharo 12 image
st pharo 9 eval '3 + 4'      # Evaluate 3 + 4 in a Pharo 9 image
st pharo run                  # Run Pharo

Cuis

st cuis install               # Install Cuis
st cuis install -d ~/cuis    # Install to specific directory
st cuis run                   # Run Cuis

Glamorous Toolkit

st gt install                 # Install Glamorous Toolkit
st gt install -d ~/gt         # Install to specific directory
st gt run                     # Run GT

Squeak

st squeak install             # Install Squeak
st squeak install -d ~/squeak # Install to specific directory
st squeak run                 # Run Squeak

GNU Smalltalk

st gnu install              # Install via package manager (prompts for sudo password)
st gnu install --source     # Build from source (no sudo needed)
st -y gnu install           # Install via package manager, auto-confirm the sudo prompt
st gnu run script.st        # Run a GNU Smalltalk script

Note: st gnu install installs via your system package manager (apt/dnf/pacman/Homebrew), which requires root on Linux. Run it as your normal user — st calls sudo apt-get … internally and prompts for your password. Do not prefix the command with sudo (e.g. sudo st gnu install): sudo resets PATH and cannot find st, which lives under ~/.st/st/bin. If you must run it under sudo, use the absolute path: sudo "$HOME/.st/st/bin/st" gnu install. Pass -y/--yes to skip the confirmation prompt (the sudo password prompt still appears unless your credentials are cached). Use --source to build from source without sudo.

Little Smalltalk v3

st lst install              # Download prebuilt binary
st lst install --build     # Build from source
st lst run                 # Start REPL
st lst run script.lst3     # Run a .lst3 file

Package Management

Search for packages

st pharo search polyglot    # Search Pharo packages
st pharo search seaside     # Search for Seaside

List available packages

st pharo list               # List cached packages
st pharo update             # Update package cache

Install packages

st pharo install NeoCSV     # Install NeoCSV package
st pharo install Seaside    # Install Seaside

Help

Get help for any implementation:

st                    # Show general help
st pharo help         # Show Pharo-specific help
st gt help           # Show GT-specific help
st --help            # Show general help

Troubleshooting

If you experience problems, please run the collect environment script:

./tests/runStCollectEnv

And open an issue with the output in the Issue Tracker).

You can obtain the version with:

st --version

Contribute

Working on your first Pull Request? You can learn how from this free series How to Contribute to an Open Source Project on GitHub

If you have discovered a bug or have a feature suggestions, feel free to create an issue on Github.

If you'd like to make some changes yourself, see the following:

Fork this repository to your own GitHub account and then clone it to your local device
Edit files in the bin/ and libexec/ directories with your favorite text editor
Test the CLI
Add to add yourself as author below
Finally, submit a pull request with your changes!
This project follows the all-contributors specification. Contributions of any kind are welcome!

Develop

Prerequisites

bash 4.0+
bats-core for running tests
ShellCheck for static analysis
shfmt for formatting
jq (optional, for better JSON parsing)
curl or wget (for downloading)
unzip (for extracting archives)
git (for cloning repositories)

Quick Development Commands

# Run all checks (lint + test)
make check

# Run tests only
make test

# Run linters only
make lint

# Format all shell scripts
make format

# Run security scan
make security

# Clean build artifacts
make clean

# Run directly from source
./bin/st pharo help

Adding a new Smalltalk implementation

Create a new file libexec/smalltalk-<impl>.sh

Start with the standard header:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
#
# smalltalk-<impl>.sh - <Implementation> implementation
#
set -Eeuo pipefail
IFS=$'\n\t'
# shellcheck source=libexec/smalltalk-common.sh
source "${BASH_SOURCE%/*}/smalltalk-common.sh"

Implement the required functions:
- smalltalk_<impl>_install
- smalltalk_<impl>_run
- smalltalk_<impl>_search
- smalltalk_<impl>_list
- smalltalk_<impl>_update
- smalltalk_<impl>_clean
- smalltalk_<impl>_version
- smalltalk_<impl>_help
Add the implementation to the validation in bin/st
Add help documentation in doc/HELP_<impl>.md
Add tests in tests/test-smalltalk.bats
Run make check to verify

Coding Standards

Use set -Eeuo pipefail and IFS=$'\n\t' at the top of every script
Quote all variable expansions: "$var" not $var
Use printf over echo for output
Use -- separator with rm, mv, cp: rm -rf -- "$dir"
Use $(...) not backticks for command substitution
Use [[ ]] for conditionals (Bash-specific)
Use readonly for constants, local for function variables
Validate all external input before use
Register temp files with make_temp_file/make_temp_dir for cleanup
Use log_info, log_error, log_success, log_warn, log_debug for output
Use die for fatal errors
All scripts must pass shellcheck --severity=warning --external-sources

To add tests

Have a look at bats
Check the .bats files in the tests directory
Run tests: make test or ./tests/runSmalltalkTests

To deploy a new release

Install release-it
- As global
  - brew: brew install release-it
  - npm: npm install -g release-it
Copy or setup a GitHub token
Evaluate export GITHUB_TOKEN=... with the scoped token as value. Alternatively, log-in to your GitHub account with your web browser and release-it will authenticate.
Ensure NVM is installed and accessible running: source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh
To interactively deploy run ./libexec/deploy.sh or make release

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 80 Commits
.github		.github
bin		bin
demo		demo
doc		doc
libexec		libexec
tests		tests
.changelog.hbs		.changelog.hbs
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.gitignore		.gitignore
.nvmrc		.nvmrc
.pre-commit-config.yaml		.pre-commit-config.yaml
.release-it.json		.release-it.json
.shellcheckrc		.shellcheckrc
.shfmt.toml		.shfmt.toml
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
DATE		DATE
EXAMPLES.md		EXAMPLES.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
Makefile		Makefile
README.md		README.md
VERSION		VERSION
install.sh		install.sh
package.json		package.json

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Table of Contents

Description

Demo

Requirements

Installing dependencies

Installation

Common steps

Installer options

bash users

zsh users

Agent Skills

Features

Capabilities Matrix

Usage Examples

Global Options

Installing Smalltalk Implementations

Pharo

Cuis

Glamorous Toolkit

Squeak

GNU Smalltalk

Little Smalltalk v3

Package Management

Search for packages

List available packages

Install packages

Help

Troubleshooting

Contribute

Develop

Prerequisites

Quick Development Commands

Adding a new Smalltalk implementation

Coding Standards

To add tests

To deploy a new release

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