Requirements
Reqbook ships as a single static binary with no runtime dependencies: no Node, no Python, no JVM required.
| Install method | Requirement |
|---|
| Shell installer | macOS or Linux, curl, sh |
| Cargo | Rust 1.75+ |
| Homebrew | macOS, Homebrew |
| npm | Node.js 18+ |
| Docker | Docker Engine |
| Windows MSI | Windows 10 / Server 2019 or later |
Install methods
Shell installer
Cargo
Homebrew
npm
Docker
Windows (MSI)
Recommended for most macOS and Linux users. The installer fetches the latest prebuilt binary and places it in ~/.local/bin.curl -fsSL https://markapidown.net/install.sh | sh
~/.local/bin is not on your PATH, the installer prints the exact line to add to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.). Install directly from crates.io. This builds Reqbook from source and places the binary in ~/.cargo/bin.Requires Rust 1.75 or later. Upgrade your toolchain with rustup update stable if needed. Install via the official Reqbook tap on macOS (or Linux with Homebrew):brew install reqbook/tap/rqb
brew upgrade rqb. No separate tap add step is required; the formula URL handles it. Install via npm for Node.js projects. This bundles a prebuilt binary for macOS, Linux, and Windows; no Rust toolchain needed.The npm package is a thin wrapper around the native binary. You can also pin it as a devDependency to lock the version per project:npm install --save-dev reqbook
npx rqb validate api-docs/
Use the official image from GitHub Container Registry. Mount your project directory at /work:docker pull ghcr.io/ngoclinh93qt/rqb:latest
docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/work -w /work \
ghcr.io/ngoclinh93qt/rqb:latest validate api-docs/
validate api-docs/ with any rqb subcommand. To execute endpoints against a local server, use --network=host or Docker Compose.Pin a specific version in CI to avoid unexpected behavior from latest: use a tag like ghcr.io/ngoclinh93qt/rqb:0.2.3.
Download the .msi installer from the releases page. Run the installer and rqb is added to your system PATH automatically; no manual PATH edits needed.Windows support is available from the current Reqbook release. The MSI installer targets Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019 or later.
Verify the installation
After installing, confirm the binary is on your PATH and run the built-in diagnostics:
rqb version
# 0.2.3
rqb doctor
rqb doctor runs a series of checks: it verifies that api-docs/ exists, that local environment files are listed in .gitignore, that all specs in the project are valid, and that any installed AI agent skills match the current binary version.
VS Code extension
The VS Code extension uses the same rqb binary. Install Reqbook first, then configure the extension if VS Code cannot find rqb on its process PATH.
{
"reqbook.rqbPath": "/absolute/path/to/rqb",
"reqbook.env": "dev"
}
Troubleshooting
Shell installer returns 404
The shell installer downloads a platform-specific binary from the latest GitHub Release. For example, Apple Silicon macOS expects an asset named rqb-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.xz.
If the install command fails with curl: (56) The requested URL returned error: 404, the latest release is missing that binary asset. Re-run the release workflow for the current tag or pin a release tag that has assets:
curl -fsSL https://markapidown.net/install.sh | sh -s -- --version=vX.Y.Z
rqb is installed.
Shell completions
Generate and install completions for your shell so you get tab-completion for subcommands and flags:
rqb completion bash >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
rqb completion zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_rqb"
# Restart your shell or run: exec zsh
rqb completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/rqb.fish
Upgrading
Shell installer
Cargo
Homebrew
npm
Re-run the installer it replaces the existing binary in place:curl -fsSL https://markapidown.net/install.sh | sh
cargo install reqbook --force
After upgrading, run rqb doctor --fix to automatically update any installed AI agent skills (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot) to the new version. Stale skill files can cause agents to call deprecated flags.
