Installing the CRE CLI on macOS and Linux

This page explains how to install the CRE CLI on macOS or Linux. The recommended version at the time of writing is v1.0.4.

Select your operating system

macOS

/ Linux

macOS / Linux

Windows

Installation

Choose your installation method:

• Automatic installation - Quick setup with a single command
• Manual installation - Download and install the binary yourself

Automatic installation

The easiest way to install the CRE CLI is using the installation script:

curl -sSL https://cre.chain.link/install.sh | bash

This script will:

• Detect your operating system and architecture automatically
• Download the correct binary for your system
• Verify the binary's integrity
• Install it to $HOME/.cre
• Make the binary executable

After the script completes, verify the installation:

cre version

Expected output: cre version v1.0.4

Manual installation

If you prefer to install manually or the automatic installation doesn't work for your environment, follow these steps:

The CRE CLI is publicly available on GitHub. Visit the releases page and download the appropriate binary archive for your operating system and architecture.

After downloading the correct file from the releases page, move on to the next step to verify its integrity.

1. Verify file integrity

Before installing, verify the file integrity using a checksum to ensure the binary hasn't been tampered with:

Check the SHA-256 checksum

Run the following command in the directory where you downloaded the archive (replace the filename with your specific binary):

shasum -a 256 cre_darwin_arm64.zip

Verify against official checksums

Compare the output with the official checksum below:

File	SHA-256 Checksum
cre_darwin_amd64.zip	87f62d25ce0517473a97ff7e66220a2f0bbcc40ebe94309964c0bb29a267dcd1
cre_darwin_arm64.zip	e21677d3f307aa63b4513b1bce597fb0d97e1f94e2094fdc85cc400084036a7c
cre_linux_amd64.tar.gz	58d682739e390c8046795ca2871fada94aa39dbea8e0062179000bed3b895913
cre_linux_amd64_ldd2-35.tar.gz	7218b517e9837687bfff6ff9de16108b57808f23e85263452b819e0a230717ef
cre_linux_arm64.tar.gz	9826e1a3c46485b7f524e70da96aeac18a13570d0a2f5a660ff52e8b532fee51
cre_linux_arm64_ldd2-35.tar.gz	7afd0ab30dc4ecdfb45c2a5bdc75c1267c38984409d55f0d6646c55179975d4f

If the checksum doesn't match, do not proceed with installation. Contact your Chainlink point of contact for assistance.

2. Extract and install

1. Navigate to the directory where you downloaded the archive.

2. Extract the archive

   For .tar.gz files:

   tar -xzf cre_linux_arm64.tar.gz
   

   For .zip files:

   unzip cre_darwin_arm64.zip
   

3. Rename the extracted binary to cre

   mv cre_v1.0.4_darwin_arm64 cre
   

4. Make it executable:

   chmod +x cre
   

   Note (macOS Gatekeeper): If you see warnings about "unrecognized developer/source", remove extended attributes:

   xattr -c cre
   

3. Add the CLI to your PATH

Now that you have the cre binary, you need to make it accessible from anywhere on your system. This means you can run cre commands from any directory, not just where the binary is located.

Recommended approach: Move to a standard location

The easiest and most reliable method is to move the cre binary to a directory that's already in your system's PATH. For example:

sudo mv cre /usr/local/bin/

This command moves the cre binary to /usr/local/bin/, which is typically included in your PATH by default.

Alternative: Add current directory to PATH

If you prefer to keep the binary in its current location, you can add that directory to your PATH:

1. Find your current directory:

   pwd
   

   Note the full path (e.g., /Users/yourname/Downloads/cre)

2. Add to your shell profile (choose based on your shell):

   For zsh (default on newer macOS):

   echo 'export PATH="/Users/yourname/Downloads/cre:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
   source ~/.zshrc
   

   For bash:

   echo 'export PATH="/Users/yourname/Downloads/cre:$PATH"' >> ~/.bash_profile
   source ~/.bash_profile
   

   Replace /Users/yourname/Downloads/cre with your actual directory path from step 1.

3. For temporary access (this session only):

   export PATH="$(pwd):$PATH"
   

4. Verify the installation

Test that cre is accessible:

Open a new terminal window and run:

cre version

Expected output:

You should see version information: cre version v1.0.4.

If it doesn't work:

• Make sure you opened a new terminal window after making PATH changes
• Check the binary location: which cre should return the path to your installation
• Check that the binary has execute permissions: ls -la $(which cre)
• Verify your PATH includes the correct directory: echo $PATH

5. Confirm your PATH (troubleshooting)

If you're having issues, check what directories are in your PATH:

echo "$PATH" | tr ':' '\n'

You should see either:

• /usr/local/bin (if you moved the binary there)
• Your custom directory (if you added it to PATH)

Next steps

Now that you have the cre CLI installed, you'll need to create a CRE account and authenticate before you can use it.

• Creating Your Account: Create your CRE account and set up two-factor authentication
• Logging in with the CLI: Authenticate the CLI with your account

Once you're authenticated, you're ready to build your first workflow:

• Getting Started — Part 1: Project Setup & Simulation: Initialize a new, blank CRE project and run your first "Hello World!" simulation.