Installation
Get the lific binary from a GitHub release, from crates.io with Cargo, or by building the source tree.
Lific is one executable. Download a prebuilt binary if you want it running in under a minute, or install it with Cargo if you already have a Rust toolchain. Either way you get the same program with the web UI built in.
| Way in | What you need | Good when |
|---|---|---|
| Release binary | Nothing. The download runs as it is. | You want the fastest path, or the machine has no Rust toolchain. |
cargo install lific | Rust 1.88 or later, and a few minutes to compile. | You already use Cargo, or your platform has no release binary. |
| Source build | A checkout, plus devenv, or Bun and Cargo. | You are changing Lific itself, or you want to build the exact tree you are reading. |
A container image is not published anywhere, but the repository's Dockerfile builds one. Self-hosting covers it.
Download a release binary
Every release publishes five binaries and a sha256sums.txt on the releases page.
| Platform | File |
|---|---|
| Linux x86_64 | lific-linux-x86_64 |
| Linux aarch64 | lific-linux-aarch64 |
| macOS Intel | lific-macos-x86_64 |
| macOS Apple silicon | lific-macos-aarch64 |
| Windows x86_64 | lific-windows-x86_64.exe |
On any other operating system or architecture, use Cargo.
On Linux, download the binary and the checksum file, verify the download, then put it on your PATH:
curl -LO https://github.com/VoidNullable/lific/releases/latest/download/lific-linux-x86_64
curl -LO https://github.com/VoidNullable/lific/releases/latest/download/sha256sums.txt
sha256sum --ignore-missing -c sha256sums.txt
chmod +x lific-linux-x86_64
sudo mv lific-linux-x86_64 /usr/local/bin/lificmacOS has no sha256sum. Download the same way, then check with shasum:
shasum -a 256 --ignore-missing -c sha256sums.txt--ignore-missing tells both tools to check only the file you downloaded, instead of failing on the four binaries you did not. The line for your file should end in OK.
A binary downloaded with curl runs as it is. The macOS binaries are not signed, so if you download one with a browser instead, macOS refuses to open it until you clear the quarantine flag the browser set: xattr -d com.apple.quarantine lific-macos-aarch64.
On Windows, compare the hash in PowerShell:
$expected = (Select-String -Path sha256sums.txt -Pattern 'lific-windows-x86_64\.exe').Line.Split(' ')[0]
$actual = (Get-FileHash lific-windows-x86_64.exe -Algorithm SHA256).Hash
if ($actual -ieq $expected) { "checksum ok" } else { "checksum MISMATCH" }Then rename the file to lific.exe and put it in a directory on your PATH. Windows covers the rest of that platform, including keeping the server running.
A mismatch means the file is not the one that was released. Delete it and download it again rather than running it.
Install with Cargo
cargo install lificThe package on crates.io carries the prebuilt web UI, so you do not need Bun and you get the same browser interface the release binaries have. Compiling takes several minutes and needs Rust 1.88 or later; install Rust from rustup.rs if cargo is missing. On Windows, Cargo also needs the Visual Studio C++ build tools, which Windows explains.
Cargo puts the binary in ~/.cargo/bin (%USERPROFILE%\.cargo\bin on Windows), which rustup has already added to your PATH.
Check the install
lific --versionIf the shell cannot find lific, the directory you put it in is not on your PATH.
Build from source
Source builds run through the repository's devenv environment, which pins the Rust toolchain, Bun and the cross-compilation tools. The web UI is compiled into the binary, so every build task builds the frontend into web/dist before Cargo runs.
git clone https://github.com/VoidNullable/lific
cd lific
devenv allow
devenv shell
# inside the devenv shell:
devenv tasks run lific:debug-buildThat writes target/debug/lific.
Release binaries use the dist Cargo profile and a devenv profile per operating system. These are the commands the release workflow runs:
devenv --profile release-linux tasks run lific:release:x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
devenv --profile release-linux tasks run lific:release:aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
devenv --profile release-darwin tasks run lific:release:x86_64-apple-darwin
devenv --profile release-darwin tasks run lific:release:aarch64-apple-darwin
devenv --profile release-windows-msvc tasks run lific:release:x86_64-pc-windows-msvcEach writes target/<target-triple>/dist/lific (lific.exe for Windows). The two Linux targets and the Windows target build on Linux; the macOS targets need a Mac.
Without devenv
Plain Cargo works too, but you have to build the frontend first:
cd web && bun install && bun run build && cd ..
cargo build --releaseA release build stops with an error when web/dist/index.html is missing or empty, because a release binary that serves no web UI is a broken release binary. A debug build only warns, and the resulting binary serves no embedded UI, which is what you want while running the Vite dev server against it. The build also warns when web/src is newer than web/dist, meaning the embedded UI no longer matches the frontend source.
Next
You have a binary, not yet an instance. Quickstart creates the database and your account, starts the server, and connects your AI tools.