2 min read 488 words Updated Mar 14, 2026 Created Mar 14, 2026

Installation

Kiln is distributed as a single binary with zero dependencies — no Node.js, no Ruby, no Docker required. Choose the method that fits your workflow to get started on macOS, Linux, or Windows.

If you have Go 1.25 or later installed, this is the fastest way to install Kiln:

go install github.com/otaleghani/kiln/cmd/kiln@latest

This downloads, compiles, and places the kiln binary in your $GOPATH/bin directory.

macOS (Apple Silicon / ARM64)

Download the binary

Download the latest release for Apple Silicon:

curl -LO https://github.com/otaleghani/kiln/releases/latest/download/kiln_darwin_arm64

Ensure the file was downloaded correctly and has not been tampered with:

curl -LO https://github.com/otaleghani/kiln/releases/latest/download/checksums.txt

sha256sum -c checksums.txt --ignore-missing

You should see kiln_darwin_arm64: OK.

Install

Make the binary executable and move it to a directory in your PATH:

chmod +x kiln_darwin_arm64
sudo mv kiln_darwin_arm64 /usr/local/bin/kiln

Allow Execution (First Run Only)

Since this binary is not notarized by Apple, you may need to allow it to run. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click Allow Anyway next to the notification about kiln. Alternatively, remove the quarantine attribute via terminal:

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

Linux (AMD64)

Download the binary

curl -LO https://github.com/otaleghani/kiln/releases/latest/download/kiln_linux_amd64

curl -LO https://github.com/otaleghani/kiln/releases/latest/download/checksums.txt

sha256sum -c checksums.txt --ignore-missing

You should see kiln_linux_amd64: OK.

Install

Make the binary executable and move it to /usr/local/bin:

chmod +x kiln_linux_amd64
sudo mv kiln_linux_amd64 /usr/local/bin/kiln

Windows (AMD64)

Download the binary

Download kiln_windows_amd64.exe from the Releases Page or via PowerShell:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/otaleghani/kiln/releases/latest/download/kiln_windows_amd64.exe" -OutFile "kiln.exe"

Run the following in PowerShell to verify the hash matches:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/otaleghani/kiln/releases/latest/download/checksums.txt" -OutFile "checksums.txt"
$expected = Select-String -Path .\checksums.txt -Pattern "kiln_windows_amd64.exe" | ForEach-Object { $_.Line.Split(' ')[0] };
(Get-FileHash .\kiln_windows_amd64.exe -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLower() -eq $expected

This should return True.

Install

Move kiln.exe to a folder of your choice (e.g., C:\Program Files\Kiln\) and add that folder to your System PATH environment variable so you can run kiln from any terminal window.

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm Kiln is available by checking the version:

kiln version

Quick Start: Generate Your First Site

Once installed, you can turn your Obsidian vault into a website with two commands:

kiln generate --input ./my-vault --output ./public
kiln serve --output ./public

Open http://localhost:8080 to preview your site locally. The Generate Command accepts flags for [themes](./Features/User Interface/Themes.md), fonts, site name, and base URL — run kiln generate --help to see all options.

When you are ready to publish, check the deployment guides for [Cloudflare Pages](./Deployment/Cloudflare Pages.md), [GitHub Pages](./Deployment/GitHub Pages.md), Netlify, or Vercel.

Troubleshooting

If something doesn't look right after generating your site, run the Doctor Command to scan your vault for broken links and common issues:

kiln doctor --input ./my-vault