Install Aura On Linux

The Aura 0.6 preview supports x86-64 Ubuntu 24.04 and compatible Linux distributions that use glibc. The release has no Linux ARM64 or musl archives.

1. Confirm The Host

uname -s
uname -m

On a supported host, the output is Linux, then x86_64 or amd64.

2. Install Download And Verification Tools

On Ubuntu 24.04:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y curl ca-certificates tar coreutils

coreutils provides sha256sum, which the installer uses to verify the downloaded archive.

3. Install Aura

curl -fsSL https://johnolafenwa.github.io/Aura/install.sh | sh

The installer selects x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu and downloads the archive and SHA256SUMS. It rejects the archive if the checksum does not match, and otherwise installs under ~/.local.

4. Add Aura To Bash

Add ~/.local/bin to your login environment. You only need to do this once:

grep -qxF 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' "$HOME/.profile" || \
  printf '%s\n' 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> "$HOME/.profile"
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

New login shells read ~/.profile. The last command updates the current terminal right away.

5. Verify The Installation

command -v aura
aura --version

The version begins with aura 0.6.0-preview.

6. Run A Program

Create hello.au:

def main():
    print("hello from Aura on Linux")

Run it:

aura run hello.au

7. Enable Native Builds

Direct native execution needs a C compiler and linker. Install them:

sudo apt install -y build-essential

Check the toolchain, then build and run the example:

cc --version
aura build -o hello hello.au
./hello

Upgrade Aura

aura upgrade
aura --version

aura upgrade downloads the current installer and verifies the published release checksums. It then replaces the compiler and bundled runtime in the same install prefix. If Aura lives in a custom location, set AURA_INSTALL_PREFIX when you upgrade.

Troubleshooting

aura: command not found

ls -l "$HOME/.local/bin/aura"
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

To make the fix permanent, add the export to the startup file your shell reads.

sha256sum is missing

Install coreutils, then run the installer again:

sudo apt install -y coreutils

The archive will not start on the distribution

The published Linux binary targets x86-64 glibc systems. Check the architecture with uname -m and the C library with ldd --version. Alpine Linux and other musl systems are not in the current distribution matrix.

Continue with the VS Code extension guide or Getting Aura Running.