Installation

tilde can be installed in several ways depending on your platform and preferences. All methods install the same package — choose the one that fits your workflow.

curl (Recommended)

The fastest way to get started on macOS or Linux. This script installs Homebrew and Node.js if needed, then installs tilde globally and launches the setup wizard.

curl -fsSL https://thingstead.io/tilde/install.sh | bash

curl not available? If your system doesn’t have curl, install tilde directly with npx @jwill824/tilde (requires Node.js 20+) or via npm install -g @jwill824/tilde.

The install script is served at thingstead.io/tilde and is open source — you can inspect it before running.

What happens during install

1. OS check — verifies macOS or Linux; prints a friendly message on Windows.
2. Xcode CLT (macOS only) — installs Command Line Tools if missing.
3. Package manager prompt — asks whether to install/use Homebrew (macOS) or a Linux package manager (apt / dnf / pacman). You can skip if Node.js is already managed.
4. Node.js 20+ — detects existing Node or installs via the selected package manager.
5. Version resolution — queries npm view @jwill824/tilde version to find the latest stable release. No hardcoded version.
6. npm global install — runs npm install -g "@jwill824/tilde@<version>". npm automatically verifies the package integrity (dist.integrity sha512) during install.
7. Launch — runs tilde to start the interactive setup wizard.

The script is idempotent: re-running it skips any step that is already complete.

npx (no install required)

Run tilde once without installing it globally. Useful for trying tilde on a machine where you already have Node.js 20+.

npx @jwill824/tilde

npm global install

Install tilde globally using npm. Requires Node.js 20+ to already be installed.

npm install -g @jwill824/tilde

After installing, run the setup wizard:

tilde

Platform support

Platform	Status	Notes
macOS (Apple Silicon)	✅ Fully supported	Primary target
macOS (Intel)	✅ Supported
Linux	⚠️ Experimental	curl install; some features may vary
Windows	❌ Not supported	Use npx @jwill824/tilde or WSL