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Install Kast

Kast ships two independent components. Install the one that fits your workflow, or install both.

  • Standalone CLI — for terminal workflows, CI pipelines, and LLM agents. Includes a native launcher and a JVM daemon.
  • IntelliJ plugin — for IDE-integrated analysis. Starts automatically when IntelliJ opens a project.

Prerequisites

Before you install, confirm these are in place:

  • Java 21 or newer available through JAVA_HOME or your shell PATH. The launcher is native-first, but the daemon runs on the JVM.
  • macOS, Linux, or Windows — the installer covers all three.

One-line install

Run this from any directory. It downloads the latest release and installs the standalone CLI.

Install standalone CLI
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/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/amichne/kast/HEAD/kast.sh)"

Or via pipe:

Install via pipe
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/amichne/kast/HEAD/kast.sh | bash

The installer prints a config summary at the end showing the install root, binary path, and shell RC file path.

Choose your components

Default — standalone CLI
./kast.sh install

This is the default. It installs the native launcher and the JVM daemon runtime.

Install the IntelliJ plugin
./kast.sh install --components=intellij

Downloads the plugin zip to $KAST_INSTALL_ROOT/plugins/. Then install it from disk in IntelliJ: Settings → Plugins → ⚙️ → Install Plugin from Disk.

Install everything
./kast.sh install --components=all --non-interactive

Installs the standalone CLI and downloads the IntelliJ plugin zip in one step. Add --non-interactive to skip all prompts.

Installer flags

Flag What it does
--components=<list> Comma-separated: standalone, intellij, all. Default: standalone
--non-interactive Skip all interactive prompts

Install the IntelliJ plugin manually

If you prefer to install the plugin without the unified installer:

  1. Download kast-intellij-<version>.zip from the latest release.
  2. In IntelliJ, open Settings → Plugins → ⚙️ → Install Plugin from Disk and select the zip.
  3. Restart IntelliJ when prompted.

Note

The IntelliJ plugin does not require the standalone CLI. It reuses the IDE's own K2 analysis session. Install the standalone CLI separately if you also want terminal access.

Enable shell completion

The installer can set up completion in your shell init file. If you skip the prompt or want to enable it manually:

Source completion in Bash
source <(kast completion bash)
Source completion in Zsh
source <(kast completion zsh)

Verify the install

Open a new shell session so the updated PATH takes effect, then run:

Verify kast is on PATH
kast --help

You should see the grouped help page with available commands.

Next steps

  • Quickstart — run your first analysis command
  • Backends — understand standalone vs IntelliJ plugin