SDKd

SDKd is a daemon-based platform for managing software development kits (SDKs) across development machines and projects. It provides centralized discovery, version control, and environment configuration to support reproducible builds in multi-platform environments.

The project aims to simplify SDK installation, isolation of SDKs, and integration with build systems, IDEs, and CI pipelines. It supports multiple SDK families through a plugin architecture, allowing new SDK types to be added without core changes.

SDKd originated in the mid-2010s to address fragmentation in SDK deployment and the need for consistent toolchains. It is maintained by an open-source community with contributions from individuals and organizations that rely on multi-SDK workflows.

Architecture and data model: SDKd runs as a background daemon that accepts requests from a command-line client or programmatic API. It maintains metadata about available and installed SDKs in a local database, using manifests to describe each SDK’s versions, dependencies, and artifacts. The system provides environment integration via wrappers or shell hooks, exporting variables such as PATH, SDK_HOME, and language-specific settings. Projects can specify preferred versions, create isolated environments, and pin toolchains to ensure reproducibility.

Key features include automatic SDK discovery, version pinning, side-by-side installations, per-project configuration, offline caching, and integrity verification. The design emphasizes security and containment, with plugin-based access control and optional sandboxing for builds.

Usage and ecosystem: Users interact with SDKd through a CLI or API, performing initialization, scanning, installation, and switching of SDK versions. It is commonly used in IDE integrations and CI pipelines to ensure consistent toolchains across machines and teams. SDKd supports Linux, macOS, and Windows, and works alongside other package managers and build tools.