Skip to main content

Installation & Setup

Getting started with Freight is a three-step process designed for maximum speed and zero friction.

1. Install​

Homebrew (macOS)​

Install Freight as a Cask:

brew install --cask devbytes-cloud/tap/freight

One-liner Install (Linux/macOS/WSL)​

Install Freight directly with a single command:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/devbytes-cloud/freight/main/curl.sh | bash

Custom Install Directory: By default, Freight installs to /usr/local/bin. You can customize this:

INSTALL_DIR=~/.local/bin curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/devbytes-cloud/freight/main/curl.sh | bash

The installer script:

  • Auto-detects OS (Linux, macOS, Windows/MSYS)
  • Auto-detects architecture (x86_64, arm64, armv6)
  • Downloads the latest release from GitHub
  • Installs to the specified directory (default: /usr/local/bin)
  • May require sudo for system directories

GitHub Releases​

You can also download the pre-compiled binaries directly from the GitHub Releases page.

Build from source​

If you prefer to build Freight from source:

git clone https://github.com/devbytes-cloud/freight.git
cd freight
go mod tidy
make build-all

2. Setup​

Navigate to any existing Git repository and initialize Freight:

freight init

This command performs the following actions:

  • Extracts the Conductor binary to your repository root.
  • Generates a starter Railcar manifest (railcar.json).
  • Rewires your .git/hooks to point to the Conductor.

By default, Freight installs all supported Git hooks. You can use the --allow flag to specify only the hooks you want:

freight init --allow pre-commit,commit-msg

This is particularly useful for incremental adoption. If you already have a complex set of hooks and only want to move pre-commit to Freight for now, you can do so without affecting your other hooks.

Pro-Tip

For total team portability, commit the conductor binary directly to your repository. This ensures that every team member (and your CI/CD pipeline) can execute hooks immediately without needing to install the freight CLI tool themselves.

3. Verify​

Add a simple command to your railcar.json and trigger a hook:

git add .
git commit -m "Testing Freight"

For the complete CLI reference, see CLI Reference.