Install the Vibgrate CLI on macOS and Linux

This guide walks new developers through installing the Vibgrate CLI (@vibgrate/cli) on macOS and Linux. After installation the command-line scanner is available as vg, and a bare vg scans the current directory for upgrade drift.

Prerequisites

• A supported shell (zsh, bash, or fish)
• Node.js 18 or newer if you install through a package manager (run node --version to check)
• Network access for the first install and for downloading optional models on first use

Install with npm (global)

The most common approach is a global install, which puts vg on your PATH for every project:

npm install -g @vibgrate/cli

Once complete, scan the current directory by running the bare command:

vg

Vibgrate prints a DriftScore from 0 to 100 along with the findings it detected.

Install with the curl installer

If you prefer not to use a Node package manager, the curl installer fetches a self-contained build:

curl -fsSL https://vibgrate.com/install.sh | sh

The installer places vg on your PATH. Open a new terminal session afterward so the updated PATH is picked up.

Verify the installation

Confirm the binary resolves and reports a version:

vg --version

Then run your first scan from inside a project directory:

vg

Troubleshooting

• vg: command not found — open a new terminal so PATH changes take effect, or confirm your global npm bin directory is on PATH.
• Permission errors on global npm installs — use a Node version manager (nvm or fnm) so global installs do not require elevated privileges.

Related

Next, try the first scan walkthrough to interpret your results, or read about understanding your first DriftScore. To run Vibgrate without installing at all, see the no-install guide that uses npx @vibgrate/cli scan.