Install the CLI

The synod command formats, checks and runs Synod programs, and it is all the tutorial needs. It is one binary with no other dependencies.

Pick a way

The install page shows the commands for your system and the direct download links of the latest release.

System	Command
macOS, Linux (Homebrew)	`brew install synodlang/tap/synod`
macOS, Linux (script)	`curl -fsSL https://synodlang.github.io/install.sh \| sh`
Windows (Scoop)	`scoop bucket add synodlang https://github.com/synodlang/scoop-bucket` then `scoop install synod`
Any system with Go 1.23 or later	`go install github.com/synodlang/compiler/cmd/synod@latest`

On macOS and Linux:

brew install synodlang/tap/synod

On Windows:

scoop bucket add synodlang https://github.com/synodlang/scoop-bucket
scoop install synod

The install script

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

The script downloads the archive for your system from the GitHub release and checks it against the release's SHA256SUMS before it installs anything. It puts synod in ~/.local/bin; set SYNOD_INSTALL to choose another folder and SYNOD_VERSION to pin a version. If the folder is not on your PATH, the script prints the export PATH=... line to add. It does not run on Windows; use Scoop there.

Direct download

Download the archive for your system and SHA256SUMS from the releases page, check the sum, unpack it and put synod on your PATH. The binaries are not code-signed yet, so macOS and Windows warn about a file downloaded with a browser. Package managers and install.sh avoid the warning. On macOS, a binary downloaded in a browser needs xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ./synod; on Windows SmartScreen, choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

Check the install

synod version

It prints three lines: the language version, the compiler version with its commit, and the file formats it reads and writes. The language line should say language 0.2.

Try it

synod new makes a small module with a program that runs at once.

synod new hello --module example.com/hello
cd hello
synod run hello

synod run writes the trace to out/trace.jsonl and the scene to out/scene.json, and prints one status line for each. Add --summary to read the run as text.

synod run hello --summary

The same program and seed give the same bytes on every run and every platform. Add --seed 7 to change the seed.

The tutorial starts from a single sentence.
Use the Mac app to watch a run and to predict and break it.
Use Synod with Claude or another agent lets an assistant write Synod for you.
synod get needs git on your PATH, but only when a module requires another module (Publish a package).