Installation

Install the Windows x64 developer preview, then add its native build dependencies. The website’s Downloads page shows which portable packages are available. If prebuilt packages are not listed as available, follow Build the compiler from source below. There is no MSI installer, automatic updater or package-manager distribution yet.

System requirements

Component	Required for	Version or configuration
Windows x64	Prebuilt compiler and VSIX	Verified on Windows 11; Windows Server qualification pending
Ryft	Check, format, language server and compilation	0.3.0
Rust and Cargo	Building, running or testing Ryft programs	Rust 1.89 or later, MSVC x64 host toolchain
Microsoft C++ Build Tools	Native linking and bundled SQLite compilation	Desktop development with C++ workload, MSVC and Windows SDK
Visual Studio Code	Optional editor	1.96 or later
Microsoft x64 C runtime	Running native executables	Compatible Visual C++ runtime; validate on the deployment host
Internet access	First native build	Cargo downloads the dependencies recorded in the embedded lockfile

Node.js is needed only to develop this documentation website or the extension. Python is needed only for repository integration/operations scripts. Neither runs your compiled Ryft service.

1. Install the build toolchain

Download Rust from the official Rust installation page. Select the Windows x64 MSVC toolchain. Install the C++ workload and Windows SDK using Microsoft’s C++ installation guide.

Open a fresh PowerShell terminal and verify:

rustc --version
cargo --version
rustup show active-toolchain

Use a Rust version of at least 1.89. The active host should be x86_64-pc-windows-msvc. If the linker cannot be found, retry from Developer PowerShell for Visual Studio after verifying the C++ workload is installed.

2. Extract the portable release

Download ryft-0.3.0-windows-x64.zip. Compare its SHA-256 with the value displayed on the download page:

Get-FileHash .\ryft-0.3.0-windows-x64.zip -Algorithm SHA256
Expand-Archive .\ryft-0.3.0-windows-x64.zip -DestinationPath "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Ryft\0.3.0"

Choose a new destination folder. The archive contains ryft.exe, examples, documentation, prebuilt demonstration servers, the VSIX and dependency notices. SHA-256 detects changed downloads; these preview artifacts are not code-signed.

Add the extracted folder to your user PATH through Windows Environment Variables, then reopen your terminal. For the current terminal only:

$env:Path = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Ryft\0.3.0;$env:Path"
ryft --version

Expected output: ryft 0.3.0. You can also invoke the executable using its full path without changing PATH.

3. Verify a native build

ryft init hello-ryft
cd hello-ryft
ryft check
ryft build -o hello.exe
.\hello.exe

The current init template is a two-app HTTP server. While it is running, open http://127.0.0.1:8080/shop/products in a second terminal or browser, then stop it with Ctrl+C. For a console program, follow the quickstart.

The first build can take longer while Cargo fetches and compiles dependencies. Later builds reuse a local cache. check and formatting do not require a Rust build.

4. Install VS Code support

Download ryft-language-0.3.0.vsix. In VS Code, open Extensions, select the overflow menu, choose Install from VSIX, and select the file. Alternatively:

code --install-extension .\ryft-language-0.3.0.vsix

The Windows VSIX bundles the compiler for analysis. It does not install Cargo, Rust or Microsoft C++ Build Tools. If necessary, set ryft.compilerPath in VS Code to your ryft.exe. See editor support.

Build the compiler from source

From the Ryft repository root, with the same native toolchain installed:

cargo build --release --locked
.\target\release\ryft.exe --version

Alternatively, cargo install --path . --locked installs the compiler into Cargo’s bin directory. The repository source must contain the runtime files included by the compiler. No crates.io installation is published for this release.

Application runtime dependencies

Deliver the generated .exe to the target host with any required data/configuration and compatible Microsoft x64 C runtime. A SQLite application uses the bundled native SQLite library, with databases created in its configured data directory. A MongoDB application needs its declared URI, database privileges, network connectivity and trusted TLS certificates. Rust and Ryft are build-time tools and do not need to be installed on the application server.

Update or uninstall

Extract each Ryft version into a separate directory, update PATH and install the matching VSIX. Keep your application data outside the compiler installation. To uninstall the portable compiler, remove its PATH entry and extracted directory; uninstall the extension through VS Code. Rust and Build Tools are separate installations and may be shared with other projects.

There are no qualified Linux, macOS or ARM64 downloads in this release. Cross-target flags expose the underlying Rust toolchain but do not imply those platforms have passed Ryft compatibility tests.