Chio/Docs

Installation

Chio ships as a single binary plus multi-language SDKs. The default install path does not require Rust or Cargo.

Prerequisites

For the default installer, you need:

  • curl or wget
  • tar

If you plan to build from source, you also need:

  • Rust 1.93+: install via rustup if you don't have it
  • A C linker (included with Xcode Command Line Tools on macOS, or build-essential on Debian/Ubuntu)

Install with curl

This downloads the matching release archive for your OS and CPU, verifies its SHA-256 checksum, and installs chio into /usr/local/bin:

bash
$ curl -fsSL https://www.chio.world/install.sh | sh

To install into a user-writable directory:

bash
$ curl -fsSL https://www.chio.world/install.sh | CHIO_INSTALL_DIR="$HOME/.local/bin" sh

Pin a version or point the installer at a private mirror:

bash
$ curl -fsSL https://www.chio.world/install.sh | CHIO_VERSION=0.1.0 sh
$ curl -fsSL https://www.chio.world/install.sh | \
    CHIO_RELEASE_BASE_URL=https://mirror.example.com/chio/releases/v0.1.0 sh

Install via Cargo

If you already have a Rust toolchain:

bash
$ cargo install chio

Homebrew

On macOS and Linuxbrew, install the release formula directly:

bash
$ curl -fsSL https://www.chio.world/releases/chio/latest/chio.rb -o /tmp/chio.rb \
    && brew install --formula /tmp/chio.rb

Prebuilt Binaries

The installer downloads the same release archives directly. Builds are available for these targets:

PlatformArchitectureArtifact
macOSApple Silicon (aarch64)chio-0.1.0-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
macOSIntel (x86_64)chio-0.1.0-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
Linuxx86_64chio-0.1.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
Linuxaarch64chio-0.1.0-aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
Windowsx86_64chio-0.1.0-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip
bash
$ VERSION=0.1.0
$ TARGET=aarch64-apple-darwin
$ ARCHIVE="chio-$VERSION-$TARGET.tar.gz"
$ BASE="https://www.chio.world/releases/chio/v$VERSION"
$ curl -fL "$BASE/$ARCHIVE" -o "$ARCHIVE"
$ curl -fL "$BASE/$ARCHIVE.sha256" -o "$ARCHIVE.sha256"
$ shasum -a 256 -c "$ARCHIVE.sha256"
$ tar -xzf "$ARCHIVE"
$ sudo install -m 0755 "chio-$VERSION-$TARGET/chio" /usr/local/bin/chio

Docker

Run the Chio kernel as a container. CI runners, ephemeral build agents, and anywhere shipping a native binary is friction.

bash
$ docker pull ghcr.io/backbay-labs/chio-sidecar:latest

Run a governed MCP server inside the container:

bash
$ docker run --rm -v ./policy.yaml:/policy.yaml \
    ghcr.io/backbay-labs/chio-sidecar:latest \
    mcp serve --policy /policy.yaml --server-id srv-files \
    -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /workspace

SDK Installation

To embed Chio governance directly in your application instead of running the CLI as a sidecar, use one of the language SDKs.

TypeScript

bash
$ npm install @chio-protocol/sdk

Or with your preferred package manager:

bash
$ yarn add @chio-protocol/sdk
$ pnpm add @chio-protocol/sdk
$ bun add @chio-protocol/sdk

Python

bash
$ pip install chio-py

Go

bash
$ go get github.com/backbay-labs/chio

SDK and CLI complement each other

Same wire format, same receipts. Prototype with the CLI, then switch to an SDK for production embedding without rewriting policies or invalidating tokens.

Verify Installation

Confirm the CLI is installed and reachable:

bash
$ chio --version
chio-cli 0.1.0

If you see a version string, you're ready. If you get a command not found error, ensure the install directory is in your PATH.

Next Steps

With the CLI installed, explore the system architecture or jump straight into writing policies:

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