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The official Sifr installer is a shell script that downloads a prebuilt binary for your platform, verifies its SHA-256 checksum, installs the sifr executable to ~/.sifr/bin/sifr, and updates your shell profile so new shells can find it. No package manager or build toolchain is required to get started.

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Supported platforms

Sifr provides prebuilt preview binaries for the following targets:
  • aarch64-apple-darwin (Apple Silicon Mac)
  • x86_64-apple-darwin (Intel Mac)
  • x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu (Linux, x86-64)
  • aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu (Linux, ARM64)
Windows installer support is not yet available. If you are on Windows, you can build Sifr from source using the Rust toolchain.

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Install Sifr

1

Run the installer

Paste the command below into your terminal. The installer detects your platform automatically and fetches the correct binary.
curl -fsSL https://sifr.sh/install | sh
The beta channel is the recommended starting point. Use the alpha channel if you want the absolute latest preview features and are comfortable with a less stable build.
2

Reload your shell

The installer updates your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or equivalent), but the change only takes effect in new shell sessions. Reload your profile now so the current session can find sifr:
source ~/.bashrc   # or ~/.zshrc, ~/.profile — whichever your shell uses
3

Verify the installation

Confirm that sifr is on your PATH and reports a version:
sifr --version
You should see a version string such as 0.1.0-beta.1. If the command is not found, check that ~/.sifr/bin is in your PATH.

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Install options

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Pin an exact version

If you need a specific preview release — for reproducible CI environments or to test a particular build — pass --version to the installer: 
curl -fsSL https://sifr.sh/install | sh -s -- --version 0.1.0-beta.1

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Install to a custom directory

Set SIFR_INSTALL_DIR to place the binary somewhere other than ~/.sifr/bin: 
curl -fsSL https://sifr.sh/install | SIFR_INSTALL_DIR="$HOME/bin" sh

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Disable PATH modification

If you manage your PATH manually or are scripting the install in a CI pipeline, prevent the installer from touching your shell profile: 
curl -fsSL https://sifr.sh/install | SIFR_NO_MODIFY_PATH=1 sh

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Keeping Sifr up to date

Sifr includes a built-in self-update command for installs created by the official installer script. 
sifr self update
Before applying an update, use --dry-run to preview what the command would do without downloading anything: 
sifr self update --dry-run

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Switching channels

By default, sifr self update stays on the channel recorded in your install receipt (alpha or beta). Pass --channel to switch: 
sifr self update --channel alpha
sifr self update --channel beta

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Pinning a version on update

You can update to a specific preview version rather than the latest on your channel: 
sifr self update --version 0.1.0-beta.2

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Reinstalls, downgrades, and channel switches

Same-version reinstalls, downgrades, and channel switches all require --force: 
sifr self update --version 0.1.0-beta.2 --force
sifr self update --channel alpha --force
Regular updates to a newer version within your current channel do not need --force.

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Check your install details

sifr self version reports the current executable path, install directory, channel, and receipt status: 
sifr self version
sifr self version --short   # prints only the version string
sifr self update works only for standalone installs created by the official https://sifr.sh/install script. If you installed Sifr via Cargo, Homebrew, or a system package manager, use that tool’s update mechanism instead.

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Troubleshooting

Receipt missing or malformed. If sifr self update reports that the install receipt is missing, predates the self-update contract, or is malformed, rerun the standalone installer to create a fresh receipt: 
curl -fsSL https://sifr.sh/install | sh
For a custom install directory, rerun the installer with the same environment variable: 
curl -fsSL https://sifr.sh/install | SIFR_INSTALL_DIR="$HOME/bin" sh
Wrong binary found on PATH. If the diagnostic says the receipt belongs to a different executable, your PATH is resolving a different sifr binary. Run command -v sifr to see which one your shell finds, then either fix your PATH or reinstall the standalone binary so the receipt and executable match. Network failure mid-update. If a metadata or installer download fails, retry after your network recovers. The existing binary is never replaced until the delegated installer validates and installs the target artifact, so a failed update leaves your working install intact.
Stable channels and release-candidate channels are not yet available in the self-update command. During the current preview phase, only alpha and beta channels are accepted.