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CLI Commands

All commands are subcommands of the zflash shell function, available in any shell that has run the bootstrap. The manager code is loaded on first use.

zflash boot <spec>     (in .zshrc) build the init if needed, then source it
zflash build           regenerate the init from the spec
zflash update [repo]   git pull every repository (or the ones named), then build
zflash list            what the current init loads, by stage
zflash clean [--yes]   remove repositories no longer in the spec
zflash reset           delete the init and completion dumps, then build
zflash bench [runs]    time `zsh -i` startup
zflash help            usage summary
zflash version         print the version

zflash boot​

zflash boot <spec>

Used once, in .zshrc. Rebuilds the init if it's missing, or if the spec or zflash's lib/core.zsh is newer than it, then sources the init. Sets ZFLASH_SPEC to the absolute spec path, which other commands use.

zflash build​

zflash build

Evaluates the spec, clones missing repositories, runs zflash eval commands, and writes and byte-compiles $ZFLASH_CACHE/init.zsh and the manifest. Also byte-compiles plugin files. On any error the build aborts and the previous init is kept. Resets the background-update timer.

zflash update​

zflash update [--quiet] [repo ...]

Runs git pull --ff-only in every repository under $ZFLASH_HOME/repos, or only those named (same syntax as in the spec), then runs zflash build. Prints name: old → new for each change. --quiet (-q) hides "up to date" lines; it is what background updates use. Does not upgrade zflash itself: see Upgrading zflash.

zflash list​

zflash list

Prints each item of the current init with its stage (fpath, sync = before the prompt, defer = after). Repository paths are relative to $ZFLASH_HOME/repos; eval snippets are shown as $ <command>. Reads the manifest from the last build.

zflash clean​

zflash clean [--yes]

Lists repositories in $ZFLASH_HOME/repos that the last build didn't use, and deletes them after confirmation. --yes (-y) skips the prompt.

zflash reset​

zflash reset

Deletes init.zsh, its .zwc, the manifest and every compdump-* file in $ZFLASH_CACHE, then runs zflash build. Plugins aren't re-cloned.

zflash bench​

zflash bench [runs]

Starts zsh -i -c exit runs times (default 10) and prints the min, median and max in milliseconds.

zflash help / zflash version​

Print the built-in usage summary, or zflash <version>. Running zflash with no arguments shows help.

Spec-only verbs​

zflash load, defer, fpath and eval only work inside the spec during a build. See the spec reference.