Install

Install or build Restish and verify that the binary can make a request.

This page documents the Restish v2 install path. Homebrew is the recommended managed install path for most macOS users. Build from source when you are developing Restish itself or testing changes before they are released.

Always verify the major version after installation:

restish --version

Homebrew

Use Homebrew for the easiest managed install on macOS:

brew install rest-sh/tap/restish
restish --version

The tap also keeps a legacy restish@1 formula available for users who intentionally stay on v1 during migration.

Build From Source

Use this path for development builds from the repository:

go build ./cmd/restish
./restish --help
./restish api.rest.sh/

You can also install the latest stable v2 binary into your Go bin directory:

go install github.com/rest-sh/restish/v2/cmd/restish@latest
restish --help

mise

Use mise when you already manage developer tools with it:

mise use -g restish@latest
restish --version

latest installs the latest stable v2 release through the mise registry. Pin a v1 version when you need to stay on v1:

mise use -g restish@0.21.2

GitHub Release Archives

Download the archive for your OS and CPU from GitHub Releases, unpack it, and put the restish binary on your PATH.

Release archives are published for macOS, Linux, and Windows on amd64 and arm64.

OCI Image

Run the stable image from GitHub Container Registry:

docker run --rm ghcr.io/rest-sh/restish:latest api.rest.sh/

For local image changes, build a development image from this repository:

docker build --build-arg VERSION=dev -t restish:dev .
docker run --rm restish:dev --version
docker run --rm restish:dev api.rest.sh/

Verify The Install

restish --version
restish api.rest.sh/

The request should return an echo-shaped JSON document containing at least method, host, path, and url.

Set Up Your Shell

After the binary works, configure your shell so query strings, brackets, and shorthand arrays are not rewritten before Restish sees them:

restish shell setup zsh

Use bash or fish instead of zsh when that is your shell.

Existing v1 Users

Restish v2 can migrate default-location v1 config on first run. Read Upgrade From v1 before editing config or replacing plugins. The archived v1 documentation remains available at rest.sh/v1/ for teams that need to compare old commands during a migration.

Next Step

If you came here from the tour, continue with Shell Setup so your local shell handles Restish filters, query strings, and shorthand input cleanly. If you started with install, take the Tour of Restish next to see the major workflows before connecting your own APIs.