Ward

How do I install Ward?

Updated

Run one command to install Ward, then run ward init in your project. The installer supports Linux x86_64, macOS on Apple Silicon, Windows x86_64 and Git Bash.

How do I install Ward on Linux, macOS or Git Bash?

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RicardoRB/ward-ai/main/install.sh | sh
ward --version

The script finds your OS and CPU, downloads the release from GitHub Releases, checks its SHA-256 checksum and installs ward in ~/.local/bin. If that folder is not on your PATH, the script prints the line to add.

How do I install Ward on Windows?

In PowerShell:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RicardoRB/ward-ai/main/install.ps1 | iex
ward --version

It installs ward.exe in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\ward\bin. It needs no administrator rights. Restart open terminals to see the new PATH.

How do I install a specific version?

Set WARD_VERSION to a release tag. WARD_INSTALL_DIR changes the folder.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RicardoRB/ward-ai/main/install.sh | WARD_VERSION=v0.7.1 WARD_INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin sh

Can I download Ward by hand?

Yes. Each GitHub release has one archive per platform and a .sha256 file: ward-linux-x86_64.tar.gz, ward-macos-aarch64.tar.gz and ward-windows-x86_64.zip. There is no macOS Intel binary. On an Intel Mac, build the JAR from source and run it on JDK 25.

How do I set up my project after installing?

cd your-project
ward init
ward check

ward init is a wizard. It asks for a preset, the checks, your coding agent and the Git hooks. If something fails, run ward doctor.

Can my coding agent set Ward up for me?

Yes. Ward ships three agent skills: ward-init, ward-tune and ward-fix. Install them with:

npx skills add RicardoRB/ward-ai --skill ward-init ward-tune ward-fix

Ward is in alpha, so the CLI and the configuration may change before 1.0.

Where do I go next?

Ready to try it? Install Ward and run ward init in your project.