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 v1.0.0.

Select your operating system

Installation

Choose your installation method:

Automatic installation

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

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

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 /usr/local/bin (or prompt you for a custom location)
  • Make the binary executable

After the script completes, verify the installation:

cre version

Expected output: cre version v1.0.0

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.zipbe7d595a87ae74ecbbde95a576d4117c88af9d6751191fa7098bd0fe1f75a226
cre_darwin_arm64.zip2b1ca0992d2c7a70ece60623a1490155b74e04041722caf0bcc2f4c795686ebf
cre_linux_amd64.tar.gzdab1e966fbbf67ec136d7f3ec1236028db93493a067cdc8a772fb105593b2773
cre_linux_arm64.tar.gze1f6a51010f4b2c73825eba2f703a8164972a56643891f91bfeddbfeecc32e34

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_v1.0.0_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 v1.0.0.

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 /usr/local/bin/cre (or your custom path)
  • Check that the binary has execute permissions: ls -la /usr/local/bin/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.

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

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