Installation

MatchBox publishes one full CLI per supported operating system and architecture, with the VM, compiler, REPL, built-in webroot server, and embedded cross-platform runners. Running ordinary BoxLang code does not require a JVM.

Install with MVM

MatchBox Version Manager (MVM) installs stable versions side by side and manages a rolling snapshot installation.

Linux and macOS

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ortus-boxlang/matchbox-quick-installer/main/install/install.sh | bash

Windows PowerShell

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ortus-boxlang/matchbox-quick-installer/main/install/install.ps1 | iex

Review the installer before executing it, then follow its shell/PATH instructions and open a new terminal if needed.

Select a MatchBox version

mvm install latest
mvm use latest
matchbox --version

For development builds:

mvm install snapshot
mvm use snapshot
mvm current

Running mvm install snapshot again refreshes the installation when its build ID or revision changes. Unchanged builds are skipped unless you pass --force. MVM keeps the snapshot slot, saves version.json, and displays the actual version, build ID, and source revision in version listings and current.

MVM verifies the binary's SHA-256 checksum before replacing an installation. A failed verification leaves the existing installation intact. Verification uses Linux sha256sum, macOS shasum, or Windows PowerShell Get-FileHash. Historical releases without version.json cannot be newly installed with verified-download MVM.

Use latest for the latest stable release, snapshot for the rolling development build, or a specific stable version number. Versioned snapshot names are not MVM install selectors. See releases and downloads for channels and build identity.

Direct CLI installation

The direct MatchBox installer prompts for stable or snapshot and installs a single CLI outside MVM's version management. Unlike MVM, these scripts do not currently verify published checksums.

Linux and macOS

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ortus-boxlang/matchbox/master/install/install.sh | bash

Windows PowerShell

iex (Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ortus-boxlang/matchbox/master/install/install.ps1)

These commands download and execute an installer. Review the shell installer or PowerShell installer before running it if you prefer. Follow its PATH instructions and open a new terminal if needed.

Verify the installation

matchbox --version
matchbox --help
matchbox

--version shows the installed version, source commit and build date (-v does the same).

The last command starts the REPL. Try println("Hello from MatchBox!");, then type exit or press Ctrl+D to leave. See the CLI reference for every command and option.

Published distributions

Slim and standalone server binaries are no longer published. Custom build options and the server crate remain available from source.

Manual downloads are individual executables named matchbox-<os>-<arch> (.exe on Windows), not release archives. Download the appropriate binary from GitHub Releases or S3, rename it to matchbox or matchbox.exe, and add its directory to PATH. On Linux/macOS, make it executable with chmod +x matchbox. Verify its checksum against the same release's SHA256SUMS before running it.

For Docker, see the Docker guide. For repeatable builds, pin a stable version or image digest rather than a moving snapshot or latest tag.

Do I need Rust?

Not to run the prebuilt CLI or ordinary standalone applications. Rust is required to build MatchBox from source or compile Native Fusion code. Browser packaging without Fusion needs wasm-bindgen 0.2.114, not Rust; see JavaScript and WebAssembly. ESP32 builds have their own toolchain requirements; see the ESP32 guide.