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Use ASDF to Manage Node and Golang versions in Development

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This ADR supersedes ADR-0046 and ADR-0056

Considered Alternatives​

  • Do nothing, keep using asdf for golang and nodenv for node
  • Use asdf to manage golang and node versions

Decision Outcome​

  • Chosen Alternative: Use asdf to manage golang and node versions

ADR-0056 notes that the original author would like to see asdf used for other tools (presumably such as node)

Admittedly we are not yet taking advantage of asdf for other tools, but I would like to see that happen.

ADR-0056 also lists the following as a disadvantage of using asdf for golang and node:

installing node, yarn, or golang with asdf and another one of the similar tools can cause conflicts depending on which of the version manager tools is first in a particular path.

This is actually an advantage of using asdf, since one of the difficulties of managing asdf and node is the obfuscation of which version will be shimmed by which tool. Picking and using one tool is the solution. Since asdf is already required for managing go, and it is capable of managing node, it is the logical choice.

If you have a capable tool, Alton Brown would recommend throwing the redundant "unitasker" out:

I have railed against unitaskers for 20 years.

I've come around to liking them as strategic gifts for people you don't like.

Pros and Cons of the Alternatives​

Do nothing, keep using asdf for golang and nodenv for node​

  • + requires no effort or decision energy
  • + has no impact on day-to-day operations of any onboarded engineers
  • + has no chance of introducing new issues because no changes would be made
  • - keeps relatively higher cognitive load around tooling
  • - Truss seems to prefer asdf on newer projects, so engineers onboarding from another project in the future will likely have to juggle multiple node version managers
  • - Provides no incentive to revisit onboarding instructions and scripting, which is currently outdated or over-engineered, even for existing installation of golang via asdf

Use asdf to manage golang and node versions​

  • + asdf is already used for managing golang, so all engineers are familiar with the tool and are using it today
  • + simplifies environment setup
  • + reduces the number of tools required to maintain the project
  • + can be rolled out such that engineers can continue using nodenv until they choose to switch
  • + switching from nodenv to asdf is trivial
  • + Truss seems to prefer asdf on newer projects, so engineers onboarding from another project in the future will not likely have to juggle multiple node version managers
  • - without proper socialization and documentation updates, could add confusion
  • - changes core tooling that engineers have likely been using for some time