Install Aura On Linux

The Aura 0.3 preview supports x86-64 Ubuntu 24.04 and compatible glibc-based Linux distributions. The release does not currently include Linux ARM64 or musl archives.

1. Confirm The Host

uname -s
uname -m

The supported release path reports Linux and 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 supplies 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, downloads the archive and SHA256SUMS, rejects a checksum mismatch, and installs under ~/.local.

4. Add Aura To Bash

Add ~/.local/bin to the login environment 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 will read ~/.profile. The final command updates the current terminal immediately.

5. Verify The Installation

command -v aura
aura --version

The version should begin with aura 0.3.2-preview.

6. Run A Program

Create hello.au:

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

Then run it:

aura run hello.au

7. Enable Native Builds

Install the C compiler and linker required by direct native execution:

sudo apt install -y build-essential

Verify the toolchain and build the example:

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

Upgrade Aura

aura upgrade
aura --version

aura upgrade downloads the current installer, verifies the published release checksums, and replaces the compiler and bundled runtime in the same install prefix. Set AURA_INSTALL_PREFIX when upgrading an installation in a custom location.

Troubleshooting

aura: command not found

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

Persist the export in the startup file used by the current shell.

sha256sum is missing

Install coreutils, then rerun the installer:

sudo apt install -y coreutils

The archive will not start on the distribution

The published Linux binary targets x86-64 glibc systems. Confirm the architecture with uname -m and the C library with ldd --version. Alpine Linux and other musl systems are outside the current distribution matrix.

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