Installing the CRE CLI on Windows

This page explains how to install the Chainlink Developer Platform CLI (also referred to as the CRE CLI) on Windows. The recommended version at the time of writing is v1.0.1.

Select your operating system

Windows

macOS / Linux

Windows

Installation

Choose your installation method:

• Automatic installation - Quick setup with a PowerShell script
• Manual installation - Download and install the binary yourself

Automatic installation

The easiest way to install the CRE CLI is using the installation script. Open PowerShell and run:

irm https://cre.chain.link/install.ps1 | iex

This script will:

• Download the correct binary for Windows
• Verify the binary's integrity
• Install it to a location in your PATH
• Make the binary executable

After the script completes, open a new PowerShell window and verify the installation:

cre version

Expected output: cre version v1.0.1

Manual installation

If you prefer to install manually or the automatic installation doesn't work for your environment, follow these steps:

The CRE CLI is publicly available on GitHub. Click the button below to access the releases page and download cre_windows_amd64.zip.

After downloading the file from the releases page, move on to the next step to verify its integrity.

1. Verify file integrity

Before installing, verify the file integrity using a checksum to ensure the binary hasn't been tampered with.

Check the SHA-256 checksum

Open a PowerShell terminal and run the following command in the directory where you downloaded the archive:

Get-FileHash cre_windows_amd64.zip -Algorithm SHA256

Verify against the official checksum

Compare the Hash value in the output with the official checksum below:

File	SHA-256 Checksum
cre_windows_amd64.zip	ae6f7d3a8978e12716c2cdcfdf6a35617e63c327fcf0e74b0b5d657b1cdf503a

If the checksum doesn't match, do not proceed with installation. Contact your Chainlink point of contact for assistance.

2. Extract and install

1. Navigate to the directory where you downloaded the archive.
2. Right-click the .zip file and select Extract All....
3. Choose a permanent location for the extracted folder (e.g., C:\Program Files\cre-cli).
4. Inside the extracted folder, rename the file cre_v1.0.1_windows_amd64.exe to cre.exe.

3. Add the CLI to your PATH

To run cre commands from any directory, you need to add the folder where you saved cre.exe to your system's PATH environment variable.

1. Open the Start Menu and search for "environment variables".
2. Select Edit the system environment variables.
3. In the System Properties window, click the Environment Variables... button.
4. In the System variables section, find and select the Path variable, then click Edit....
5. Click New and add the full path to the folder where you saved cre.exe (e.g., C:\Program Files\cre-cli).
6. Click OK on all windows to save your changes.

4. Verify the installation

Open a new PowerShell or Command Prompt window and run:

cre version

You should see version information: cre version v1.0.1.

Next steps

Now that you have the cre CLI installed, you'll need to create a CRE account and authenticate before you can use it.

• Creating Your Account: Create your CRE account and set up two-factor authentication
• Logging in with the CLI: Authenticate the CLI with your account

Once you're authenticated, you're ready to build your first workflow:

• Getting Started — Part 1: Project Setup & Simulation: Initialize a new, blank CRE project and run your first "Hello World!" simulation.