Skip to main content
The Frontier CLI is distributed as a single binary that can be installed on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

​
Prerequisites

Before installing the Frontier CLI, ensure you have:
  • Operating System: Linux, macOS, or Windows
  • Architecture: AMD64 (x86_64) or ARM64
  • Network access to download the binary (or access to your organization’s artifact repository)

​
Installation Methods

​
Using Pre-built Binaries

​
Linux and macOS

Download the latest release for your platform: 
curl -L https://github.com/raystack/frontier/releases/latest/download/frontier_linux_amd64 -o frontier
chmod +x frontier
sudo mv frontier /usr/local/bin/

​
Windows

  1. Download the Windows executable from the releases page
  2. Rename the downloaded file to frontier.exe
  3. Add the directory containing frontier.exe to your system PATH

​
Using Go Install

If you have Go installed (version 1.21 or later): 
go install github.com/raystack/frontier@latest
Make sure $GOPATH/bin or $HOME/go/bin is in your system PATH.

​
Building from Source

For development or custom builds: 
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/raystack/frontier.git
cd frontier

# Build the binary
go build -o frontier .

# Move to PATH
sudo mv frontier /usr/local/bin/

​
Verify Installation

Confirm the installation by checking the version: 
frontier version
You should see output similar to: 
Frontier: A secure and easy-to-use Authentication & Authorization Server
Version: v0.x.x
Build date: 2024-xx-xx
Commit: xxxxxxx

​
Initial Configuration

​
Server Configuration

If you’re setting up a Frontier server, initialize the configuration: 
frontier server init -o config.yaml
This creates a sample configuration file at config.yaml. Edit this file to configure:
  • Database connection (PostgreSQL)
  • SpiceDB connection for authorization
  • Authentication settings
  • API server port and host
  • And more

​
Client Configuration

For CLI client operations, initialize the client config: 
frontier config init
This creates a configuration file at:
  • Linux/macOS: $HOME/.config/raystack/frontier/config.yaml
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\raystack\frontier\config.yaml
Edit the config to set your default host: 
host: http://localhost:8080

​
Configuration File Locations

Frontier looks for configuration files in the following locations:

​
Server Config

Specified explicitly with the -c or --config flag: 
frontier server start -c /path/to/config.yaml

​
Client Config

Default locations (in order of precedence):
  1. $RAYSTACK_CONFIG_DIR/frontier/config.yaml
  2. $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/raystack/frontier/config.yaml
  3. $HOME/.config/raystack/frontier/config.yaml
You can view the current client configuration: 
frontier config list

​
Environment Variables

Configure the CLI using environment variables:
​
RAYSTACK_CONFIG_DIR
string
Override the default config directoryExample: /etc/raystack
​
NO_COLOR
string
Disable colored outputExample: 1
​
CLICOLOR
string
Disable ANSI colors when set to 0Example: 0

​
Database Setup

Frontier requires PostgreSQL and SpiceDB. Before running migrations:

​
PostgreSQL

# Create database
creatdb frontier

# Or using psql
psql -c "CREATE DATABASE frontier;"
Update your config.yaml with the database URL: 
db:
  driver: postgres
  url: postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/frontier?sslmode=disable

​
SpiceDB

Frontier uses SpiceDB for authorization. Install and run SpiceDB: 
# Using Docker
docker run -d \
  --name spicedb \
  -p 50051:50051 \
  authzed/spicedb serve \
  --grpc-preshared-key "frontier"
Update your config.yaml: 
spicedb:
  host: localhost:50051
  pre_shared_key: frontier

​
Running Database Migrations

After configuring the database, run migrations: 
frontier server migrate -c config.yaml
This will:
  • Create all necessary database tables
  • Set up default metadata schemas
  • Prepare the database for use

​
Testing the Installation

​
Start the Server

frontier server start -c config.yaml
The server should start on the configured port (default: 8080).

​
Seed Sample Data

Populate the database with sample data for testing: 
frontier seed -H X-Frontier-Email:[email protected] -c config.yaml
This creates:
  • Sample users
  • Sample organizations
  • Sample projects
  • Sample roles and permissions
  • Sample policies

​
Verify API Access

Check that the API is accessible: 
curl http://localhost:8080/v1beta1/users

​
Updating Frontier

To update to the latest version:

​
Binary Installation

Download and replace the binary: 
curl -L https://github.com/raystack/frontier/releases/latest/download/frontier_linux_amd64 -o frontier
chmod +x frontier
sudo mv frontier /usr/local/bin/

​
Go Install

go install github.com/raystack/frontier@latest

​
Check for Updates

The version command automatically checks for new releases: 
frontier version

​
Troubleshooting

​
Command Not Found

If you get a “command not found” error:
  1. Verify the binary is in your PATH: 
    which frontier
  2. Add the directory to your PATH: 
    # Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin"

​
Permission Denied

If you get permission errors: 
# Make the binary executable
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/frontier

​
Database Connection Issues

  1. Verify PostgreSQL is running: 
    psql -h localhost -U postgres -c "SELECT 1;"
  2. Check database URL in config.yaml
  3. Verify network connectivity

​
SpiceDB Connection Issues

  1. Verify SpiceDB is running: 
    grpcurl -plaintext localhost:50051 list
  2. Check SpiceDB configuration in config.yaml

​
Next Steps

CLI Overview

Learn about CLI capabilities

Commands Reference

Explore all available commands

Shell Autocomplete

Set up command autocompletion

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us