# Installation

RCL is written in Rust and builds with [Cargo][cargo]. RCL has few dependencies,
so it’s quick and easy to build from source, but you can also use the prebuilt
binaries, or use the Nix flake.

[cargo]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/guide/

## Prebuilt binaries

Binaries for several platforms are available from the [GitHub releases page][gh-rel].
Download the one appropriate one to a location on your `PATH`, and make it
executable:

    curl -Lo ~/.local/bin/rcl https://github.com/ruuda/rcl/releases/download/v0.12.0/rcl-0.12.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
    chmod +x ~/.local/bin/rcl
    rcl --help

[gh-rel]: https://github.com/ruuda/rcl/releases

## From source

To build from source, clone the repository from one of the two mirrors:

    git clone https://github.com/ruuda/rcl.git
    git clone https://codeberg.org/ruuda/rcl.git

Then build with [Cargo][cargo]. The repository includes a `rust-toolchain.toml`
file that specifies a compatible Rust version. When Cargo is managed by
[Rustup][rustup], Rustup will automatically fetch the right toolchain.

    cargo build --release

Put the binary on your `PATH` to be able to use it system-wide, e.g.:

    cp target/release/rcl ~/.local/bin

[cargo]:  https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/guide/
[rustup]: https://rust-lang.github.io/rustup/index.html

See the [building chapter](building.md) for more details about building from
source, including cross-compilation and building static binaries.

## As a Nix flake

The repository includes a Nix flake. You can run <abbr>RCL</abbr> with a
[flake-enabled][flakes] version of [Nix][nix], such as Nix 2.18:

    nix run 'github:ruuda/rcl?ref=v0.12.0' -- --help

[flakes]: https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/command-ref/new-cli/nix3-flake
[nix]:    https://nixos.org/download

The Nix flake also includes the Python module:

    PYTHONPATH=$(nix build github:ruuda/rcl?ref=v0.12.0#pyrcl --print-out-paths)/lib python3

The Nix flake also includes a shell with all the tools needed for development,
as well as the environment that is tested on <abbr>CI</abbr>.

## Python module

The Python module is available [from Pypi as `rcl-lang`][pypi]. You can install
it with your favorite Python package manager, e.g.:

    uv run --with rcl-lang python3
    >>> import rcl
    >>> rcl.loads("10 + 32")
    42

To build the Python module from source, see `README.md` in the `pyrcl` directory
in the repository.

[pypi]: https://pypi.org/project/rcl-lang/