Getting started·3 min read
Installation
Install zev on Linux, macOS or Windows with one command, or from your package manager. Then keep it updated.
zev is a single program with nothing else to install. It runs on Linux, macOS and Windows, on both Intel/AMD (x86-64) and ARM (Apple silicon, Graviton, Snapdragon) machines.
## Quick install
**Linux and macOS**
```bash
curl -fsSL https://zaryn.xyz/install.sh | sh
```
On Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE and Arch, this adds Zaryn's signed package repository and installs the `zev` package, so your system's normal updates keep zev current. On macOS and other Linux systems, it installs the signed `zev` binary in `/usr/local/bin`.
**Windows** (PowerShell)
```powershell
irm https://zaryn.xyz/install.ps1 | iex
```
This installs `zev.exe` for your user in `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\zev` and adds it to your `PATH`. No administrator rights are needed. It also places `wintun.dll`, WireGuard's signed network driver, beside `zev.exe` for private networks.
Then check it:
```bash
zev --version
```
## With your package manager
If you'd rather set it up yourself, these are the same steps the installer takes.
**Debian, Ubuntu** (apt)
```bash
sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/zaryn.gpg https://zaryn.xyz/dl/zaryn.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/zaryn.gpg] https://zaryn.xyz/dl/apt stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/zaryn.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install zev
```
**Fedora, RHEL, Rocky, Alma** (dnf)
```bash
sudo rpm --import https://zaryn.xyz/dl/zaryn.asc
sudo curl -fsSLo /etc/yum.repos.d/zaryn.repo https://zaryn.xyz/dl/rpm/zaryn.repo
sudo dnf install zev
```
**openSUSE** (zypper)
```bash
sudo rpm --import https://zaryn.xyz/dl/zaryn.asc
sudo zypper addrepo https://zaryn.xyz/dl/rpm/zaryn.repo
sudo zypper install zev
```
**Arch Linux** (pacman)
```bash
curl -fsSL https://zaryn.xyz/dl/zaryn.gpg | sudo pacman-key --add -
sudo pacman-key --lsign-key 7C2B21CBA73569E5C83C6A945F2C0C446C4997EB
printf '\n[zaryn]\nServer = https://zaryn.xyz/dl/arch/$arch\n' | sudo tee -a /etc/pacman.conf
sudo pacman -Sy zev
```
**Windows** (Scoop)
```powershell
scoop install https://zaryn.xyz/dl/scoop/zev.json
```
**Any system, by hand.** Every release is at `https://zaryn.xyz/dl/zev/<version>/`. It holds the binaries (`zev-x86_64-linux`, `zev-aarch64-macos`, `zev-x86_64-windows.exe`, and so on), archives, packages, and a `SHA256SUMS` file. The Linux binaries are fully static, so they run on any distribution, including Alpine.
## Updating
- **Installed from a package repository:** zev updates with the rest of your system (`apt upgrade`, `dnf upgrade`, `zypper update`, `pacman -Syu`, `scoop update`).
- **Installed as a binary:** run `zev self update`, or `zev self update --check` to only look.
`zev self update` installs a release only if all of these hold:
- it's signed with zev's release key, which is built into zev;
- the signature names that exact file and version;
- it's newer than what you have, unless you ask for a version with `--to`;
- the new binary starts.
If zev came from a package manager, `zev self update` doesn't touch it; it tells you which command to use instead.
## Verifying downloads
Releases are signed with [minisign](https://jedisct1.github.io/minisign/), the same scheme Zig uses for its releases. zev's release key is:
```
RWQgi1EYwzJgSHlVF5QFI0E4ZaDNfUqL2u9im7SP34VVRCaR60jIUISL
```
To check a file yourself:
```bash
minisign -Vm zev-x86_64-linux -P RWQgi1EYwzJgSHlVF5QFI0E4ZaDNfUqL2u9im7SP34VVRCaR60jIUISL
```
The package repositories are signed with the OpenPGP key `7C2B 21CB A735 69E5 C83C 6A94 5F2C 0C44 6C49 97EB` ("Zaryn Packages"). Your package manager checks every package against it, and `install.sh` checks the key itself before trusting it.
## Uninstalling
```bash
zev self uninstall
```
If zev came from a package manager, `zev self uninstall` names the command to use instead, for example `sudo apt remove zev`. Your repositories and settings in `~/.zev` stay. To leave a private network first, run `zev net down --forget`.
## Source code and building from source
zev's source lives on Zaryn, in the public repository [zaryn/zev](https://zaryn.xyz/zaryn/zev): browse it there, or fetch it with zev itself. Building needs only the Zig compiler (the 0.17 development series); zstd is included in the source.
```bash
curl -fsSL https://zaryn.xyz/install.sh | sh # zev, to fetch its own source
zev clone zaryn/zev
cd zev
zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseSafe
```
The binary is at `zig-out/bin/zev`. `zig build check-ports` compiles zev for every platform it ships for, from any machine.
### The server (optional, for self-hosting)
```bash
cd zev-api
zig build
```
`zev-api` reads its configuration from environment variables, including the database connection and a server identity keypair. The keypair is generated on first run if none exists. You only need your own server if you aren't using a hosted one.