Install on Linux

This is the standard Yeast install path.

Yeast runs on Linux hosts with QEMU/KVM. First-class support is Ubuntu and Debian. Fedora and Arch are supported. Other distros are best-effort.

Requirements

Linux (x86_64 recommended; see note on arm64 below)
/dev/kvm for hardware-accelerated VMs
qemu-system-x86_64 and qemu-img
genisoimage, mkisofs, or xorriso
ssh
an SSH public key at ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub or ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Option 1: Install Script (recommended)

One command installs the release binary, prepares ~/.yeast, bootstraps an SSH key if needed, and runs yeast doctor --fix --yes:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Twarga/yeast/main/install.sh | bash

The script downloads the pre-built binary from GitHub releases, verifies its checksum, and then asks Yeast itself to install any missing supported host packages it can fix automatically. It does not install Go and does not build from source in the normal path.

To pin a specific version:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Twarga/yeast/main/install.sh | YEAST_VERSION=v1.1.4 bash

Environment variables:

Variable	Default	Purpose
`YEAST_VERSION`	`v1.1.4`	Release tag to install
`YEAST_INSTALL_DIR`	`/usr/local/bin`	Where to place the binary
`YEAST_INSTALL_MODE`	`binary`	Set to `source` for source build (advanced)
`YEAST_SKIP_DOCTOR`	`0`	Set to `1` to skip the post-install doctor check
`YEAST_INSTALL_VERBOSE`	`0`	Set to `1` for verbose step output

Option 2: Manual Release Install

Download, verify, and install the binary directly:

VERSION="v1.1.4"
curl -LO "https://github.com/Twarga/yeast/releases/download/${VERSION}/yeast_linux_amd64.tar.gz"
curl -LO "https://github.com/Twarga/yeast/releases/download/${VERSION}/SHA256SUMS.txt"
grep "yeast_linux_amd64.tar.gz" SHA256SUMS.txt | sha256sum -c -
tar -xzf yeast_linux_amd64.tar.gz
sudo install -m 0755 yeast /usr/local/bin/yeast

Verify the Install

yeast version
yeast doctor

yeast doctor checks the host and reports blockers or warnings.

If the version command fails, check that /usr/local/bin is in your PATH:

command -v yeast

Install Host Packages

The install script now attempts this automatically on supported distros by running yeast doctor --fix --yes. If you prefer to install the packages yourself, use the commands below:

On Ubuntu or Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y qemu-kvm qemu-utils genisoimage openssh-client

On Fedora:

sudo dnf install -y qemu-kvm qemu-img genisoimage openssh-clients

On Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S qemu-full cdrtools openssh

KVM Access

If /dev/kvm exists but your user cannot access it:

sudo usermod -aG kvm "$USER"

Log out and back in, then check:

yeast doctor

SSH Key

If you do not have an SSH key yet:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

The install script and yeast doctor --fix --yes both try to create this automatically when it is missing.

Architecture Notes

x86_64 (amd64) is the primary supported host target. A release binary exists for arm64, but full runtime validation on arm64 hosts has not been completed. If you are on arm64, run yeast doctor after installing and verify your results before relying on it.

Update Later

Check for a newer release:

yeast update --check

Update to a specific version:

yeast update --version v1.1.4

Source Build (advanced)

If you need to build from source — for example to test unreleased changes or contribute — use:

YEAST_INSTALL_MODE=source bash install.sh

This installs Go, clones the repository, and compiles the binary. Normal users do not need this.

Next Step

Continue with the Quickstart.