Installation

Install the squirrel CLI to start auditing websites for SEO, performance, security, and technical issues.

squirrel is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows with automatic PATH configuration.

Installing squirrel CLI

Linux / macOS
Windows

Install using the automated installer script:

curl -fsSL https://squirrelscan.com/install | bash

What this does

The installer will:

Download the latest binary

Fetches the appropriate release for your system architecture

Install to local directory

Installs to ~/.local/share/squirrel/releases/{version}/

Create symbolic link

Creates a symlink at ~/.local/bin/squirrel

Initialize settings

Creates default settings at ~/.squirrel/settings.json

Add to PATH

If ~/.local/bin is not in your PATH, add it to your shell configuration:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Install using PowerShell:

irm https://squirrelscan.com/install.ps1 | iex

What this does

The installer will:

Download the latest binary

Fetches the Windows release

Install to local directory

Installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\squirrel\

Update PATH variable

Adds squirrel to your PATH automatically

Command Prompt users: You may need to restart your terminal for PATH changes to take effect.

Alternative: Manual installation

If you prefer to install manually:

Download the Windows binary from squirrelscan.com
Extract to a directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\squirrel)
Add the directory to your PATH:
- Open System Properties → Environment Variables
- Edit the PATH variable
- Add the squirrel directory

Verifying installation

Confirm that squirrel is installed and accessible:

Check version

squirrel --version

You should see output like:

squirrel 1.18.0

View help

squirrel --help

This displays all available commands and options.

If both commands work, squirrel is installed correctly!

Troubleshooting

Command not found error

If you see squirrel: command not found or similar:Check installation location:

ls ~/.local/bin/squirrel  # Linux/Mac
dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\squirrel  # Windows

Verify PATH:

echo $PATH  # Linux/Mac
echo %PATH%  # Windows

The squirrel installation directory should appear in the output.Solution: Add ~/.local/bin (or the Windows equivalent) to your PATH as shown in the installation steps above.

Permission denied error

If squirrel is not executable:

chmod +x ~/.local/bin/squirrel

SSL/Certificate errors

If the installer fails with SSL errors:

Linux/Mac: Ensure curl is up to date
Windows: Ensure PowerShell can make HTTPS requests

Try downloading the binary manually from squirrelscan.com and following manual installation steps.

Setting up a project

Before running audits, initialize a squirrel project in your working directory.

Why initialize?

Running squirrel init creates a squirrel.toml configuration file that:

Sets the project name for database organization
Stores audit results in ~/.squirrel/projects/<project-name>
Allows you to manage multiple audit projects separately

Initialize with default settings

Navigate to your project directory

cd /path/to/your/project

Run init command

squirrel init

This creates a squirrel.toml file with default settings. The project name will be inferred from the first website you audit.

Initialize with custom project name

For better organization, specify a project name:

squirrel init --project-name my-website-audit

Use meaningful project names like company-marketing-site or ecommerce-platform to keep audits organized.

Project name importance

The project name determines where audit data is stored:

~/.squirrel/projects/
├── my-website-audit/
│   ├── audits.db
│   └── cache/
├── another-project/
│   ├── audits.db
│   └── cache/

All audits for the same project share a database, allowing you to track changes over time and compare historical results.

Configuration with squirrel.toml

The squirrel.toml file stores project-specific settings.

Example configuration

squirrel.toml

[project]
name = "my-website-audit"

[crawl]
max_pages = 100
coverage = "surface"
user_agent = "squirrel/1.18 (Website Audit)"

[audit]
ignore_rules = []
min_score = 85

Configuration management

Use the config subcommands to manage settings:

View config
Set values
Show path
Validate

squirrel config show

Displays the current configuration.

# Set project name
squirrel config set project.name my-project

# Set default coverage mode
squirrel config set crawl.coverage full

# Set max pages
squirrel config set crawl.max_pages 200

squirrel config path

Shows the location of the config file.

squirrel config validate

Checks if the config file is valid.

Common configuration options

project.name

string

required

Project identifier for database storage

crawl.max_pages

number

default:"100"

Maximum pages to crawl per audit (up to 5000)

crawl.coverage

string

default:"surface"

Coverage mode: quick, surface, or full

crawl.user_agent

string

Custom user agent string for crawling

audit.ignore_rules

array

default:"[]"

List of rule IDs to skip during audits

audit.min_score

number

default:"0"

Minimum acceptable health score

Self-management commands

squirrel includes built-in commands for managing the CLI itself:

Update

squirrel self update

Check for and apply updates

Doctor

squirrel self doctor

Run health checks on installation

Version

squirrel self version

Show detailed version information

Settings

squirrel self settings

Manage global CLI settings

Completion

squirrel self completion

Generate shell completions

Uninstall

squirrel self uninstall

Remove squirrel from the system

Shell completions

Enable tab completion for your shell:

squirrel self completion bash > ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/squirrel
source ~/.bashrc

Next steps

You’re ready to run your first audit!

Run your first audit

Learn how to audit websites with different coverage modes

Audit categories

Explore the 21 audit categories and 230+ rules

Get Started

Website Auditing

Marketing Psychology

Skills & Integration

Installation

Installation

Installing squirrel CLI

What this does

Add to PATH

What this does

Alternative: Manual installation

Verifying installation

Troubleshooting

Setting up a project

Why initialize?

Initialize with default settings

Initialize with custom project name

Project name importance

Configuration with squirrel.toml

Example configuration

Configuration management

Common configuration options

Self-management commands

Update

Doctor

Version

Settings

Completion

Uninstall

Shell completions

Next steps

Run your first audit

Audit categories

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Website Auditing

Marketing Psychology

Skills & Integration

​Installation

​Installing squirrel CLI

​What this does

​Add to PATH

​What this does

​Alternative: Manual installation

​Verifying installation

​Troubleshooting

​Setting up a project

​Why initialize?

​Initialize with default settings

​Initialize with custom project name

​Project name importance

​Configuration with squirrel.toml

​Example configuration

​Configuration management

​Common configuration options

​Self-management commands

Update

Doctor

Version

Settings

Completion

Uninstall

​Shell completions

​Next steps

Run your first audit

Audit categories

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Installation

Installing squirrel CLI

What this does

Add to PATH

What this does

Alternative: Manual installation

Verifying installation

Troubleshooting

Setting up a project

Why initialize?

Initialize with default settings

Initialize with custom project name

Project name importance

Configuration with squirrel.toml

Example configuration

Configuration management

Common configuration options

Self-management commands

Shell completions

Next steps