# Installation

> Download a prebuilt binary for Windows, macOS or Linux, or build Arca from source with Cargo.

Every release ships prebuilt binaries for Windows, macOS and Linux. You can also build Arca from source with a stock Rust toolchain.

## Download a release

Get the file for your platform from the [latest release](https://github.com/beyondhumane/arca/releases/latest):

| Platform | File | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Windows | `arca-setup-<version>-x86_64.exe` | Installer, x86\_64 |
| Windows | `arca-v<version>-windows-x86_64.zip` | Portable, no installer |
| macOS | `arca-v<version>-macos-arm64.tar.gz` | Apple silicon |
| macOS Intel | `arca-v<version>-macos-x86_64.tar.gz` | Intel |
| Linux | `arca-v<version>-linux-x86_64.tar.gz` | x86\_64 |
| Linux ARM | `arca-v<version>-linux-arm64.tar.gz` | arm64 |
| Linux | `arca-v<version>-linux-x86_64.AppImage` | Desktop window, any distribution; also `linux-arm64` |
| Debian, Ubuntu | `arca_<version>-1_amd64.deb` | Package; also `arm64` |
| Fedora, openSUSE | `arca-<version>-1.x86_64.rpm` | Package; also `aarch64` |

Every asset for every version, with its SHA-256 digest, is on the [releases page](https://github.com/beyondhumane/arca/releases). Each one also carries a build provenance attestation, which `gh attestation verify <file> -R beyondhumane/arca` checks.

On Linux the desktop window needs glibc 2.35 or newer (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, current Fedora, Arch and openSUSE) and the command line 2.34, so it also runs on RHEL 9. Older systems, such as Debian 11, can [build from source](#build-from-source).

### Windows

Run the installer. It’s produced with Inno Setup from `windows/arca.iss` and sets Arca up together with the Explorer context menu; see [Windows integration](windows-integration.md).

### Linux packages

The `.deb` and `.rpm` install both binaries into `/usr/bin` and add Arca to the applications menu:

```sh
sudo apt install ./arca_*_amd64.deb      # Debian, Ubuntu
sudo dnf install ./arca-*.x86_64.rpm     # Fedora
sudo zypper install ./arca-*.x86_64.rpm  # openSUSE
```

The AppImage needs no installation. Make it executable and run it; `--cli` runs the command line instead of the window:

```sh
chmod +x arca-v*-linux-x86_64.AppImage
./arca-v*-linux-x86_64.AppImage
./arca-v*-linux-x86_64.AppImage --cli --help
```

### macOS and Linux

Download the tarball for your platform, unpack it, and put the `arca` binary somewhere on your `PATH`:

```sh
tar -xzf arca-v*-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
# then move the arca binary onto your PATH, for example:
sudo mv arca /usr/local/bin/
```

> [!TIP]
> **macOS Gatekeeper**
>
> If macOS refuses to run a binary downloaded through the browser, clear the quarantine flag with `xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ./arca`.

### Nix

On NixOS or any Linux with Nix and flakes enabled, the repository is a flake. It builds both programs from source and installs the desktop entry:

```sh
nix run github:beyondhumane/arca              # opens the window
nix run github:beyondhumane/arca#arca -- --help
nix profile install github:beyondhumane/arca  # installs arca and arca-gui
```

`nix develop` gives a shell with the Rust toolchain and the tools `interop.sh` and `bench.sh` compare against.

## Build from source

You need Rust 1.95 or newer. The default build also compiles libzstd, so a C compiler (cc, clang or MSVC) must be available.

```sh
git clone https://github.com/beyondhumane/arca
cd arca
cargo build --release      # binary at target/release/arca
```

### Two build profiles

| Profile | Command | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Default | `cargo build --release` | Native Zstandard codecs and read-only RAR. |
| Pure-Rust codecs with RAR | `cargo build --release --no-default-features --features rar` | No native ZIP/7z codecs; retains the RAR reader. |
| No default features | `cargo build --release --no-default-features` | No native ZIP/7z codecs or RAR reader. |

Use `--no-default-features --features codecs-native` to exclude only RAR.

### Verify your build

```sh
cargo test --workspace
bash interop.sh            # the phase acceptance criterion
```

`interop.sh` round-trips archives through the system’s `zip`, `unzip`, `tar` and 7-Zip, so have them installed first. See [Interoperability](interoperability.md) for what it checks.

### About the release profile

Release builds use fat LTO, a single codegen unit, `panic = "abort"` and stripped symbols, tuned for requirement R1 (startup) and R3/R4 (throughput).

```toml
[profile.release]
opt-level = 3
lto = "fat"
codegen-units = 1
panic = "abort"
strip = true
```