Course of Raku / Essentials / Compilers
How to install Raku++ 🆕
Raku++ is distributed through its website, raku.online, and its GitHub repository,
github.com/ash/rakupp.
Installing it gives you a single executable called rakupp —
there is nothing else to set up, as Raku++ has no separate virtual
machine to install.
The installer
On macOS, Linux, and the BSDs, one command downloads the build for
your machine, checks it, and puts rakupp on your
PATH. It does not need administrator rights:
$ curl -fsSL https://raku.online/install.sh | shOn Windows, run this in a PowerShell window instead, or download the
setup wizard, rakupp-setup-windows-x64.exe, from the
repository’s releases page:
> irm https://raku.online/install-windows.ps1 | iexThe installer asks whether you also want Raku++ under the name
raku. Open a new terminal afterwards, so that the new
PATH takes effect. Later, rakupp upgrade
replaces it with the newest release.
Other ways to install
- On macOS with Homebrew:
brew tap ash/rakupp && brew install rakupp. - With Docker, without installing anything:
docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/ash/rakuppstarts the interactive REPL. - Ready-made archives for each platform are on the repository’s releases page.
- Because Raku++ is written in C++, you can also build it yourself from the source code; the repository explains which tools you need.
Version numbers
You can check which version you have with the --version
option:
$ rakupp --version
Raku++ 5.4.1 (2026-10-13) arm64-darwinThe line tells you the release of Raku++ itself (5.4.1),
the date it was built, and the platform the binary is for. The version
of the Raku language is a separate thing, and you can ask the language
itself:
$ rakupp -e 'say $*RAKU.version'
v6.dCompare this with the Rakudo version banner on the Rakudo installation page to see how the two compilers report themselves.