shards:tldr:d2eb4

The command "shards install" is used in the context of Crystal programming language, specifically for managing dependencies in a Crystal project.

Crystal is a statically-typed, compiled programming language that aims for high performance and syntax similar to Ruby. Like many other modern programming languages, Crystal allows developers to use third-party libraries or packages to extend the functionality of their applications. These external libraries are called dependencies.

To manage these dependencies, Crystal uses a package manager called "Shards". Shards enables developers to specify and manage the libraries required by their projects.

The "shards install" command is used to download and install the specified dependencies defined in the project's shard.yml file. The shard.yml file is a configuration file that defines the dependencies and their versions to be used in the project.

When you run "shards install", Shards reads the shard.yml file, resolves the dependencies, and downloads them from the official Crystal package registry or other specified sources. It then installs the dependencies in a folder called "lib" in the project directory.

Once the dependencies are installed, you can use them in your Crystal code by requiring or importing them.

In summary, the "shards install" command is used to fetch and install the dependencies specified in the shard.yml file of a Crystal project.