AVM - Stop Fighting Anchor Version Hell

Look, AVM exists because Anchor version conflicts are a fucking nightmare. I've wasted entire afternoons debugging why my build broke, only to realize my teammate is using Anchor 0.29 while I'm on 0.30, and some breaking change between versions just destroyed my day.

The nightmare goes like this: You install Anchor CLI with cargo install anchor-cli, works great for Project A. Then Project B needs an older Anchor version. Now what? Upgrade Project B and risk breaking everything? Downgrade your global Anchor install and watch Project A die? Both options suck.

That's where AVM comes in to save what's left of your sanity. Works like nvm for Node.js - you can switch between Anchor versions per project without nuking your entire setup. Install whatever versions you need, run avm use 0.30.1, and stop dealing with those "it works on my machine" disasters.

What AVM Actually Does For You

Version Isolation: Each Anchor install lives in its own directory structure, so different projects can't fuck with each other. No more "why did updating Anchor break my other project" moments that make you question your life choices.

Verifiable Builds: For prod deployments, you need verifiable builds with exact version matches. AVM lets you install from specific commit hashes when some bug fix didn't make it into a release but you need it for your deployment. This is crucial when real money is at stake.

Team Coordination: Put anchor --version requirements in your README so new devs don't waste their first day debugging environment issues. AVM makes it trivial for everyone to run the same version - no more onboarding nightmares.

Feature Testing: Want to try bleeding-edge Anchor features without breaking your production setup? avm install latest for experimentation, avm use 0.30.1 to get back to stability when things inevitably break.

How AVM Actually Works

OK, enough bitching - here's how this thing actually works. AVM is just a Rust binary that downloads and manages different Anchor CLI versions. You install it once with cargo install --git https://github.com/coral-xyz/anchor avm --force, and then it handles all the version switching nonsense.

The latest Anchor CLI versions are around 0.30-0.31, but most projects I see are still running 0.30.1 because upgrading is scary and things work fine. AVM supports any version back to the stone age, plus specific commit hashes for when you need to reproduce exactly what went wrong in production.

Storage: Lives in ~/.avm/bin/ for the different Anchor binaries, ~/.avm/versions/ for tracking what's installed. AVM messes with your PATH so the right anchor binary gets called, but only for that terminal session. Yeah, this means you gotta run avm use in every new terminal - annoying as hell, but it stops versions from bleeding into other projects by accident.

Alright, time for the actual installation. Fair warning: most of those problems I just listed? They all happen during this step.

Installing AVM should take 2 minutes. Usually takes closer to 30 because something always breaks. The compile step? Maybe 5 minutes if you're lucky, maybe 25 if Rust decides to rebuild the entire dependency tree. Here's what actually happens.

Prerequisites (Don't Skip These)

Rust: Get Rust via rustup, not some package manager. If cargo --version doesn't work, you're screwed from the start.

Git: AVM pulls from GitHub, so which git better show something. No git? Install it first.

Platform: Windows users - seriously, just use WSL. Native Windows support is broken and you'll waste hours on PATH issues.

Solana CLI: Install Solana CLI first. Technically AVM doesn't need it, but you will in 5 minutes, and the error messages suck when it's missing.

The Installation Command (And Why It Fails)

Copy this exactly:

cargo install --git https://github.com/coral-xyz/anchor avm --force

Why --force? Because you'll run this command multiple times when things break, and it overwrites the previous install.

What happens: Downloads AVM source from GitHub, compiles it (takes a few minutes... or forever), installs to ~/.cargo/bin/avm.

Common failures:

1. "No such file or directory" - Git missing or GitHub blocked
2. Compilation errors - Old Rust version, run rustup update
3. "Permission denied" - ~/.cargo/bin permissions are fucked
4. Network timeouts - GitHub having issues, try again later

Check it worked: avm --version should show something like avm 0.30.0 or whatever. Get "command not found"? Your PATH is missing ~/.cargo/bin - add it to your shell config or restart terminal.

Installing Your First Anchor Version

Now for the fun part - actually getting Anchor working:

avm install 0.30.1
avm use 0.30.1

What'll probably go wrong:

• avm install might fail with "No such file or directory"
• Could take 15+ minutes compiling from source
• avm use works but anchor --version shows the wrong version - multiple installs fighting

If it works: anchor --version shows something like anchor-cli 0.30.1. If not, you got PATH conflicts to debug.

Project Setup Tips

Document your Anchor version in your README:

## Requirements
- Anchor CLI 0.30.1: `avm install 0.30.1 && avm use 0.30.1`
- Solana CLI 1.18.19

Per-terminal versions: AVM only affects the current terminal. Open a new terminal, you're back to whatever was active before. This prevents version leakage but means you'll run avm use constantly.

Team coordination: Different team members with different Anchor versions will hit different bugs. Pin everyone to the same version or accept chaos.

When AVM Installation Just Won't Work

Sometimes AVM is completely broken and no amount of debugging fixes it. Nuclear options:

1. Uninstall everything: rm -rf ~/.avm ~/.cargo/bin/avm
2. Direct Anchor install: cargo install anchor-cli (single version only)
3. Use Docker: Run everything in containers with known-working versions
4. Switch platforms: If WSL is broken, try native Linux VM

Don't spend more than 2 hours debugging AVM installation. It's a tool to save time, not waste it.