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Installation

Install zerobrew on macOS or Linux using the installation script.

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Prerequisites

The installer will check for and install the following if needed:
  • curl - for downloading files
  • git - for cloning the repository (source builds only)
  • cargo and Rust toolchain (source builds only)

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Quick install

1

Run the installation script

Download and execute the zerobrew installer:
curl -fsSL https://zerobrew.rs/install | bash
The installer will:
  • Download the latest pre-built binaries for your platform (if available)
  • Fall back to building from source if pre-built binaries are unavailable
  • Install zb and zbx binaries to ~/.local/bin
  • Set up environment variables and PATH configuration
2

Configure your shell

After installation, run the export command that the installer prints, or restart your terminal:
# Example output from installer
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
The installer automatically modifies your shell configuration files (.zshrc, .bashrc, etc.) unless you use the --no-modify-path flag.
3

Verify installation

Check that zerobrew is installed correctly:
zb --version

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Installation options

The installer supports several options for customization:

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Don’t modify PATH

Prevent the installer from modifying your shell configuration files: 
curl -fsSL https://zerobrew.rs/install | bash -s -- --no-modify-path

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Install from local binaries

If you’ve already built zerobrew locally, you can install the binaries directly: 
curl -fsSL https://zerobrew.rs/install | bash -s -- --binary /path/to/zb /path/to/zbx

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View help

To see all available options: 
curl -fsSL https://zerobrew.rs/install | bash -s -- --help

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Installation directories

zerobrew uses the following directory structure:
DirectoryPurposeDefault Location
ZEROBREW_ROOTRoot directory for zerobrew data/opt/zerobrew (macOS)
$XDG_DATA_HOME/zerobrew (Linux)
ZEROBREW_PREFIXSymlink prefix for installed packagesSame as ZEROBREW_ROOT (macOS)
$ZEROBREW_ROOT/prefix (Linux)
ZEROBREW_BINBinary installation directory$HOME/.local/bin
ZEROBREW_DIRRepository clone location$HOME/.zerobrew
On macOS, zerobrew uses the root directory directly as the prefix to maintain compatibility with Mach-O binary path length constraints (13 characters, same as /opt/homebrew).

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Supported platforms

Pre-built binaries are available for:
  • macOS: ARM64 (Apple Silicon), x86_64 (Intel)
  • Linux: ARM64, x86_64
If a pre-built binary isn’t available for your platform, the installer will automatically fall back to building from source.

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Building from source

If you prefer to build from source or need a platform without pre-built binaries:
1

Install Rust

Install the Rust toolchain if you don’t have it:
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
2

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/lucasgelfond/zerobrew.git
cd zerobrew
3

Build the binaries

cargo build --release --bin zb --bin zbx
The binaries will be available in target/release/.
4

Install the binaries

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
cp target/release/zb target/release/zbx ~/.local/bin/
5

Initialize zerobrew

zb init

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Troubleshooting

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Command not found after installation

If zb is not found after installation, ensure ~/.local/bin is in your PATH: 
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
Add this line to your shell configuration file (.zshrc, .bashrc, etc.) to make it permanent.

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Build failures

If the source build fails, check that you have:
  • A recent version of Rust (run rustup update)
  • Required system libraries (the installer will guide you)

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Permission errors

Do not run the installer with sudo. The installer will automatically request privileges when needed for system directory access.

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