How to Install Zero on macOS, Linux, and Windows

One-Line Install

The fastest way to get Zero is the official install script:

curl -fsSL https://zerolang.ai/install.sh | bash

The script downloads a prebuilt compiler for your platform and drops it under ~/.zero/. The binary itself ends up at ~/.zero/bin/zero. Nothing is written outside your home directory — no sudo, no system-wide changes.

If you'd rather inspect the script before running it, fetch it without piping into a shell first:

curl -fsSL https://zerolang.ai/install.sh -o zero-install.sh
less zero-install.sh
bash zero-install.sh

This is good hygiene for any curl | bash install, and especially for an experimental project.

Add Zero to Your PATH

The install script tells you the next step, but it bears repeating. Add ~/.zero/bin to your PATH so you can run zero from any directory:

export PATH="$HOME/.zero/bin:$PATH"

To make this permanent, append the same line to whichever shell startup file you use:

• zsh (default on modern macOS): ~/.zshrc
• bash: ~/.bashrc (Linux) or ~/.bash_profile (older macOS)
• fish: add fish_add_path $HOME/.zero/bin to ~/.config/fish/config.fish

After editing the file, open a new terminal window or run source ~/.zshrc (or your equivalent) so the new PATH takes effect in the current session.

Verify the Install

In a fresh terminal, ask Zero for its version:

zero --version

You should see a version string. If you get command not found, the binary isn't on your PATH yet — re-check the export line above and confirm ~/.zero/bin/zero actually exists:

ls -l ~/.zero/bin/zero

If the file is missing, re-run the install script and watch its output for errors.

Platform Notes

macOS

On a recent macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel) the install script "just works" with the default zsh. The first time you run zero you may need to allow it through Gatekeeper — System Settings → Privacy & Security → "Allow Anyway". After that one click it runs normally.

Linux

The script targets glibc-based distributions out of the box. Tested on Ubuntu, Debian, and Arch derivatives. On a minimal container you may need curl and a working C runtime; install them with your package manager before running the script.

Windows (via WSL2)

There's no native Windows installer today. The supported path is WSL2:

1. Install WSL2 with wsl --install from PowerShell (admin).
2. Pick a Linux distribution from the Microsoft Store (Ubuntu is fine).
3. Open the new Linux shell and run the standard curl install command from there.

Zero binaries built under WSL2 are Linux executables. You can run them from inside WSL2 and call them from Windows via the WSL interop, but you can't ship them as native .exe files.

Updating Zero

The simplest way to upgrade is to re-run the same install script. It overwrites the existing binaries in ~/.zero/bin. Because Zero is pre-1.0, expect new versions to introduce breaking changes — pin a working version locally if you're sharing a codebase.

Uninstalling

Two steps:

rm -rf ~/.zero

Then remove the export PATH="$HOME/.zero/bin:$PATH" line from your shell rc file. The install never wrote anywhere else, so this is enough to remove Zero completely.

A Note on Trust

Zero is pre-1.0 software from a Vercel research project. The team explicitly recommends running it in isolated environments — a sandboxed dev box, a container, a VM — and not on your main work machine if you handle sensitive data. The install script is short and worth reading before you run it, especially as the project continues to change.

Next: Hello, World

With the toolchain installed and zero --version working, you're ready to compile your first program. Hello, World walks through writing, running, and dissecting a minimal .0 file.