Installation

The recommended way to install Inference is via infs, the unified toolchain manager. infs downloads the compiler, manages multiple toolchain versions, and configures your PATH automatically.

Command Line Notation

In this book, commands you should type in a terminal start with $. Do not type the $ itself; it is just the prompt. Lines without $ show the output of the previous command. PowerShell examples use > instead of $.

Recommended: install with infs

Download the infs binary for your platform from the GitHub Releases page, place it on your PATH, then install a compiler toolchain:

$ infs install

On first install, infs configures your shell PATH automatically:

• Linux/macOS: appends ~/.inference/bin to ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.config/fish/config.fish.
• Windows: updates the user PATH in the registry.

After installation, restart your terminal (or source your shell profile) and verify:

$ infs version
$ infc --version

You should see both versions printed.

To install a specific toolchain version instead of the latest:

$ infs install 0.0.1

See Appendix D - infs CLI Reference for the full set of toolchain commands (list, default, doctor, uninstall, self update).

Manual installation

If you prefer to manage the compiler binary yourself — for CI environments, sandboxed setups, or to integrate infc into an existing build system — download the standalone compiler from the infc GitHub Releases page. It is a single binary with no external dependencies.

Linux and macOS

Download the release archive and extract the infc binary:

$ tar xzf infc-linux-x64.tar.gz

Windows

Download the zip archive and extract infc.exe. No additional libraries or dependencies are required.

Adding infc to your PATH

On Linux/macOS, add the following line to your shell configuration file (e.g., ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc):

$ export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/infc-directory

On Windows, run the following in PowerShell:

> $env:Path += ";C:\path\to\infc-directory"

Verifying the download

To verify the integrity of the downloaded package, check its SHA256 checksum. The checksum is listed on the GitHub Releases page.

On Linux/macOS:

$ sha256sum infc-linux-x64.tar.gz

On Windows:

> Get-FileHash infc-windows-x64.zip -Algorithm SHA256

Installing a WebAssembly runtime

To run compiled WebAssembly modules, you need a WASM runtime. This book uses wasmtime, a popular and easy-to-use runtime. Visit its official website for installation instructions.

Note

wasmtime is only needed if you want to execute compiled programs locally. The Inference compiler itself does not require it.

Editor support

Inference has an official Visual Studio Code extension that provides syntax highlighting and language support. Install it from the VS Code Marketplace or search for “Inference” in the VS Code extensions panel.