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Installation

Install Cupcake using the official install scripts:

Unix/macOS

curl -fsSL https://get.eqtylab.io/cupcake | bash

Windows PowerShell

irm https://get.eqtylab.io/cupcake | iex

The install scripts will:

  • Download the appropriate binary for your platform
  • Verify checksums for security
  • Install to your system PATH
  • Set up the cupcake command globally

Manual Installation

If you prefer to install manually or need a specific version, you can download pre-built binaries of the latest release from GitHub. Cupcake also requires Open Policy Agent (OPA) to compile and evaluate policies. Install OPA before using Cupcake.

Install OPA

Install OPA

Using Homebrew

brew install opa

Or download directly:

# Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)
curl -L -o opa https://openpolicyagent.org/downloads/latest/opa_darwin_arm64

# Intel Macs
curl -L -o opa https://openpolicyagent.org/downloads/latest/opa_darwin_amd64

chmod 755 opa
sudo mv opa /usr/local/bin/

# AMD64
curl -L -o opa https://openpolicyagent.org/downloads/latest/opa_linux_amd64

# ARM64
curl -L -o opa https://openpolicyagent.org/downloads/latest/opa_linux_arm64

chmod 755 opa
sudo mv opa /usr/local/bin/

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://openpolicyagent.org/downloads/latest/opa_windows_amd64.exe" -OutFile "opa.exe"

# Add to PATH (run as Administrator or add to user PATH)
mkdir C:\Tools\OPA
move opa.exe C:\Tools\OPA\
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "$env:Path;C:\Tools\OPA", "User")

Verify OPA Installation

opa version

You should see output like Version: 1.11.0 or similar.

For more installation options including Docker, see the OPA documentation.

Install Cupcake

  1. Download the archive for your platform
  2. Verify the checksum (optional but recommended): sha256sum -c cupcake-v0.2.0-<platform>.tar.gz.sha256
  3. Extract the archive: tar -xzf cupcake-v0.2.0-<platform>.tar.gz or if using Windows (PowerShell) Expand-Archive cupcake-v0.2.0-<platform>.zip
  4. Move the binary to your PATH: sudo mv cupcake /usr/local/bin/ or to a directory in your PATH mv cupcake ~/.local/bin/

Verify Installation

After installation, verify that Cupcake is working:

cupcake --version

You should see output like:

cupcake 0.2.0

Next Steps

Once installed, you can:

  • Initialize a new Cupcake project: cupcake init
  • Evaluate policies: cupcake eval
  • Check out the Usage Guide to get started with policies

Security

All release binaries and install scripts include SHA256 checksums and are built with SLSA Level 3 compliance. The install scripts themselves are also checksummed (install.sh.sha256, install.ps1.sha256).

Troubleshooting

Command not found

If you get a "command not found" error after installation:

  1. Make sure the binary is in a directory that's in your PATH
  2. Restart your terminal or run hash -r to refresh the PATH cache
  3. Check permissions: chmod +x $(which cupcake)

Permission denied

On Unix/macOS, if you get a permission error:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/cupcake

macOS Gatekeeper

On macOS, you may need to allow the binary to run:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /usr/local/bin/cupcake

Or go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and allow the app to run.