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The floe CLI is a single self-contained binary with no runtime dependencies.
Want a desktop app instead of a terminal tool? Floe Desktop for Windows runs on the same transfer engine as the CLI, so the two interoperate. See Install Floe Desktop. Floe Desktop is Windows only; on macOS and Linux, use this CLI or the web app.

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Package managers

The fastest way to install floe. Package manager installs also get updates via the standard upgrade command for that tool.
Terminal
Update: brew upgrade floeFirst run: if macOS blocks the binary (Gatekeeper), right-click the floe binary in Finder and choose Open, or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine $(which floe).

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One-line installer

Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows without a package manager. Re-running the script upgrades an existing install in place.
Terminal
To install a specific version, using any tag from the releases page:
Terminal
The script detects your OS and architecture, downloads the correct archive, verifies the SHA-256 checksum, and installs floe to /usr/local/bin (or ~/.local/bin when /usr/local/bin is not writable and sudo is unavailable).

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Go install

If you have Go 1.25 or later installed:
Terminal
Go writes the binary to $(go env GOPATH)/bin (or $(go env GOBIN)), which is not on your PATH on a default Go setup. Add that directory to your PATH before running floe. The package managers and the install script above handle this for you.
go install does not give you a release build. cli is a nested Go module and the repository carries no cli/vX.Y.Z tags, so @latest resolves to the current tip of main as a pseudo-version rather than to the newest release. The version string is stamped in at release time, so a binary built this way reports floe dev, and floe update refuses to run with “Cannot update a dev build.” Use a package manager or the install script if you want a released build with working self-update.

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Verify the install

Terminal
Expected output:
Output
If you pinned an older version, a third line appears once the update check completes:
Output
Set FLOE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1 to silence it. See floe version for what that check does. A binary from go install or built from source prints floe dev instead of a version number.

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Verify the checksum (manual download)

If you downloaded an archive directly from the GitHub Releases page, each release includes a checksums.txt file. To verify:
Terminal

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Update

For package manager installs, use the standard upgrade command (brew upgrade floe, winget upgrade jannskiee.floe, scoop update floe). For script or manual installs, run:
Terminal
See Updating floe for details.

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Build from source

Requires Go 1.25 or later.
Terminal
Move the resulting floe binary to a directory on your PATH. On macOS and Linux, /usr/local/bin is the usual choice, but it is root-owned on a stock system, so the move needs elevation: sudo mv floe /usr/local/bin/. A user-owned directory such as ~/.local/bin works without sudo, as long as it is on your PATH. Like a go install build, a binary compiled this way reports floe dev and cannot update itself.

Related topics

Install Floe DesktopUpdate the Floe CLIFloe FAQFloe CLI Flags ReferenceUse the Floe CLI with a Self-Hosted Server