Installation

LynxDB ships as a single static binary with zero runtime dependencies. Choose your preferred installation method.

Pre-built Binary

Linux

curl -fsSL https://lynxdb.org/install.sh | sh

The install script auto-detects your architecture (amd64/arm64) and libc (glibc/musl for Alpine). It verifies SHA256 checksums and installs to /usr/local/bin (or ~/.local/bin if not root).

macOS

# Install script (works on Intel and Apple Silicon)
curl -fsSL https://lynxdb.org/install.sh | sh

# Or via Homebrew
brew install lynxdb/tap/lynxdb

Windows

# Download from GitHub Releases
# https://github.com/OrlovEvgeny/Lynxdb/releases

# Or use Go
go install github.com/OrlovEvgeny/Lynxdb/cmd/lynxdb@latest

On Windows, LynxDB works best under WSL2 or Git Bash.

Install Script Options

The install script supports customization via environment variables:

Variable	Default	Description
LYNXDB_VERSION	latest	Install a specific version
LYNXDB_INSTALL_DIR	auto-detect	Custom installation directory
LYNXDB_NO_MODIFY_PATH	unset	Skip PATH modification
LYNXDB_FORCE	unset	Skip confirmation prompts

# Install a specific version
LYNXDB_VERSION=v0.5.0 curl -fsSL https://lynxdb.org/install.sh | sh

# Install to a custom directory
LYNXDB_INSTALL_DIR=/opt/bin curl -fsSL https://lynxdb.org/install.sh | sh

Docker

# Run server mode
docker run -d --name lynxdb \
  -p 3100:3100 \
  -v lynxdb-data:/data \
  OrlovEvgeny/Lynxdb server --data-dir /data

# Run a one-off query
echo '{"level":"error","msg":"test"}' | \
  docker run -i OrlovEvgeny/Lynxdb query '| stats count by level'

Docker Compose

services:
  lynxdb:
    image: OrlovEvgeny/Lynxdb:latest
    command: server --data-dir /data
    ports:
      - "3100:3100"
    volumes:
      - lynxdb-data:/data

volumes:
  lynxdb-data:

From Source

Requires Go 1.25+:

# Via go install
go install github.com/OrlovEvgeny/Lynxdb/cmd/lynxdb@latest

# Or clone and build
git clone https://github.com/OrlovEvgeny/Lynxdb.git
cd lynxdb
go build -o lynxdb ./cmd/lynxdb/

Verify Installation

lynxdb version
# LynxDB v0.5.0 (abc1234) built 2026-03-01T10:00:00Z
# Go: go1.25.4 darwin/arm64

Set Up as a Service

After installing the binary, set up LynxDB as a production service with a single command:

# System-wide (creates user, dirs, config, hardened systemd service)
sudo lynxdb install

# User-local (no root required, uses ~/.local and user systemd/launchd)
lynxdb install

This replaces the manual steps of creating a dedicated user, directories, config file, and systemd/launchd unit. See the full install reference for all flags and details.

Self-Update

LynxDB can update itself:

# Check for updates
lynxdb upgrade --check

# Upgrade to latest
lynxdb upgrade

# Upgrade to a specific version
lynxdb upgrade --version v0.6.0

Shell Completion

Enable tab completion for your shell:

# Bash
lynxdb completion bash >> ~/.bashrc

# Zsh
lynxdb completion zsh >> ~/.zshrc

# Fish
lynxdb completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/lynxdb.fish

Supported Platforms

OS	Architecture	Notes
Linux	x86_64 (amd64)	glibc and musl (Alpine)
Linux	ARM64	glibc and musl
Linux	ARMv7	Raspberry Pi 3+
macOS	Intel (amd64)	macOS 12+
macOS	Apple Silicon (arm64)	M1/M2/M3/M4
Windows	x86_64	Best with WSL2

All binaries are statically linked (CGO_ENABLED=0) with zero runtime dependencies.

Next Steps

• Quick Start -- Run your first query
• Pipe Mode -- Query without a server
• Server Mode -- Start a persistent server