Installation - Kite Docs

Kite runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux or universally on Java. Choose your platform below to get started.

Version:

The easiest way to install Kite on macOS is using Homebrew:

brew install kitecorp/tap/kite

Verify the installation:

kite --version

Use the install script which auto-detects your architecture:

curl -fsSL https://cli.kitelang.cloud/scripts/install.sh | bash

Verify the installation:

kite --version

Download pre-compiled binaries for macOS:

ARM64 (Apple Silicon)v0.5.0 AMD64 (Intel)v0.5.0

After downloading, extract to ~/.kite:

mkdir -p ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
unzip kite-0.5.0-osx-arm64.zip -d ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
chmod +x ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0/bin/kite
ln -sfn ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0 ~/.kite/current

mkdir -p ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
unzip kite-0.5.0-osx-amd64.zip -d ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
chmod +x ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0/bin/kite
ln -sfn ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0 ~/.kite/current

Add to your PATH:

echo 'export KITE_HOME="$HOME/.kite"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export PATH="$KITE_HOME/current/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

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

Install Kite using Chocolatey package manager:

choco install kite-cli

Verify the installation:

kite --version

Use the install script which auto-detects your architecture:

irm https://cli.kitelang.cloud/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

curl -fsSL https://cli.kitelang.cloud/scripts/install.bat -o install.bat && install.bat

Verify the installation:

kite --version

Download pre-compiled binary for Windows:

AMD64 (64-bit Windows)v0.5.0

After downloading, extract to %USERPROFILE%\.kite:

# Extract to ~/.kite/versions
$KiteHome = "$env:USERPROFILE\.kite"
$Version = "0.5.0"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$KiteHome\versions\$Version"
Expand-Archive "kite-$Version-windows-amd64.zip" -DestinationPath "$KiteHome\versions\$Version" -Force

# Create junction to current version
if (Test-Path "$KiteHome\current") { Remove-Item "$KiteHome\current" -Force }
cmd /c mklink /J "$KiteHome\current" "$KiteHome\versions\$Version"

# Add to PATH
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("KITE_HOME", $KiteHome, "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "$KiteHome\current\bin;" + [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User"), "User")

Restart your terminal after running these commands.

REM Extract to %USERPROFILE%\.kite\versions
set KITE_HOME=%USERPROFILE%\.kite
set VERSION=0.5.0
mkdir "%KITE_HOME%\versions\%VERSION%"
tar -xf kite-%VERSION%-windows-amd64.zip -C "%KITE_HOME%\versions\%VERSION%"

REM Create junction to current version
if exist "%KITE_HOME%\current" rmdir "%KITE_HOME%\current"
mklink /J "%KITE_HOME%\current" "%KITE_HOME%\versions\%VERSION%"

REM Add to PATH (permanent)
setx KITE_HOME "%KITE_HOME%"
setx PATH "%KITE_HOME%\current\bin;%PATH%"

Restart your terminal after running these commands.

Create folder %USERPROFILE%\.kite\versions\0.5.0
Extract the ZIP contents to that folder
Open System Properties → Environment Variables
Add new User variable: KITE_HOME = %USERPROFILE%\.kite
Edit Path, add %KITE_HOME%\current\bin
Click OK to save and restart your terminal

Install Kite using Snap:

sudo snap install kite

Verify the installation:

kite --version

If you have Homebrew installed on Linux:

brew install kitecorp/tap/kite

Verify the installation:

kite --version

Use the install script which auto-detects your architecture:

curl -fsSL https://cli.kitelang.cloud/scripts/install.sh | bash

Verify the installation:

kite --version

Download pre-compiled binaries for Linux:

AMD64 (64-bit x86)v0.5.0 ARM64 (64-bit ARM)v0.5.0

After downloading, extract to ~/.kite:

mkdir -p ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
tar -xzf kite-0.5.0-linux-amd64.tar.gz -C ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
chmod +x ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0/bin/kite
ln -sfn ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0 ~/.kite/current

mkdir -p ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
tar -xzf kite-0.5.0-linux-arm64.tar.gz -C ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
chmod +x ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0/bin/kite
ln -sfn ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0 ~/.kite/current

Add to your PATH:

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

echo 'export KITE_HOME="$HOME/.kite"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export PATH="$KITE_HOME/current/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

The install script auto-detects your platform and falls back to Java if no native binary is available:

curl -fsSL https://cli.kitelang.cloud/scripts/install.sh | bash

Verify the installation:

kite --version

If you have JBang installed, you can install Kite as an app:

jbang app install kite@kitecorp

Or run it directly without installing:

jbang kite@kitecorp --version

Download the universal JAR distribution:

Universal (Java 25+)v0.5.0

Extract and set up:

# Extract to ~/.kite
mkdir -p ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
unzip kite-0.5.0-java.zip -d ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
chmod +x ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0/bin/kite
ln -sfn ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0 ~/.kite/current

# Add to PATH
echo 'export KITE_HOME="$HOME/.kite"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export PATH="$KITE_HOME/current/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# Extract to ~/.kite
mkdir -p ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
unzip kite-0.5.0-java.zip -d ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0
chmod +x ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0/bin/kite
ln -sfn ~/.kite/versions/0.5.0 ~/.kite/current

# Add to PATH
echo 'export KITE_HOME="$HOME/.kite"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export PATH="$KITE_HOME/current/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# Extract to ~/.kite
$KiteHome = "$env:USERPROFILE\.kite"
$Version = "0.5.0"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$KiteHome\versions\$Version"
Expand-Archive "kite-$Version-java.zip" -DestinationPath "$KiteHome\versions\$Version" -Force

# Create junction to current version
if (Test-Path "$KiteHome\current") { Remove-Item "$KiteHome\current" -Force }
cmd /c mklink /J "$KiteHome\current" "$KiteHome\versions\$Version"

# Add to PATH
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("KITE_HOME", $KiteHome, "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "$KiteHome\current\bin;" + [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User"), "User")

Restart your terminal after running these commands.

REM Extract to %USERPROFILE%\.kite
set KITE_HOME=%USERPROFILE%\.kite
set VERSION=0.5.0
mkdir "%KITE_HOME%\versions\%VERSION%"
tar -xf kite-%VERSION%-java.zip -C "%KITE_HOME%\versions\%VERSION%"

REM Create junction to current version
if exist "%KITE_HOME%\current" rmdir "%KITE_HOME%\current"
mklink /J "%KITE_HOME%\current" "%KITE_HOME%\versions\%VERSION%"

REM Add to PATH (permanent)
setx KITE_HOME "%KITE_HOME%"
setx PATH "%KITE_HOME%\current\bin;%PATH%"

Restart your terminal after running these commands.

Install Kite

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