Coral ships as a desktop app on macOS, Linux, and Windows. For servers, or for automation, it is also available as a CLI.
Install Coral
The macOS desktop app is a universal build that runs on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
- Download the universal DMG. You can also take a look at the latest release’s assets.
- Open the DMG and drag Coral into your Applications folder.
- Launch Coral and add your first sources from the app.
The macOS app updates itself. The Linux desktop app is x86_64 only. Take the AppImage to run it without installing, or the deb on Debian and Ubuntu.
-
Download the x86_64 AppImage or the amd64 deb. You can also take a look at the latest release’s assets.
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For the AppImage, make it executable and run it:
For the deb, install it and launch Coral from your application menu:
-
Launch Coral and add your first sources from the app.
The AppImage updates itself. The deb does not, because dpkg owns the installed
package: install a new release to upgrade it.
The Windows desktop app is x64 only. It is an unsigned preview.
- Download the x64 installer. You can also take a look at the latest release’s assets.
- Run the installer. Windows SmartScreen shows a warning for an unrecognized app, because the installer is unsigned. Select More info, then Run anyway.
- The installer writes Coral under
%LOCALAPPDATA% for your user only, and asks for no administrator rights. You can select a different directory on the install page.
- Launch Coral from the Start menu and add your first sources from the app.
The Windows app does not update itself. Download and run the new installer to
upgrade.
A release can ship without a Windows installer. The download link fails if the
latest release has no .exe asset. Take the installer from the release before
it.
coral binary it runs queries with, so you don’t need a separate CLI install.
Upgrade
When a new version is available, Coral will show a notification in the UI. You can use the menu bar to check for an update manually.
The AppImage updates itself. Coral shows a notification in the UI when a new
version is available, and you can use the menu bar to check for an update
manually. Coral replaces your image file and restarts.The deb has no updater, and it shows no update notification. Download the
latest amd64 deb and install it over the
old package: The Windows app does not update itself, and it has no update notification or
menu item. Download the latest x64 installer
and run it. The installer replaces your installed copy. Uninstall
Quit Coral and move it to the trash.
For the AppImage, quit Coral and delete the image file.For the deb, remove the package: Quit Coral, then remove it from Settings > Apps > Installed apps. You
can also run Uninstall Coral.exe in the installation directory.
CLI
The CLI runs Coral on a server, in a script, or on a platform the desktop app does not cover. The desktop app already includes it, so you only need this if you want coral on your PATH.
Install the CLI
Homebrew
Install script
Windows ZIP
Build from source
Build for Windows
Download and install the Windows x86_64 release ZIP:If that directory is not already on your user PATH, add it:Verify the install: Requires Rust and Cargo, Node.js/npm, and Make.This installs Coral’s source-management, SQL, and MCP surfaces. Native Windows source builds target Windows 10 or 11 on
x86_64-pc-windows-msvc. WSL is not required for this path.Prerequisites:
- Git for Windows
- Rust via rustup, using the
default MSVC toolchain
- Visual Studio Build Tools with the “Desktop development with C++” workload
- Windows 10 SDK or Windows 11 SDK
Build the CLI:The compiled binary is:Install it under your user profile:If that directory is not already on your user PATH, add it:Verify the build:This build includes Coral’s source-management, SQL, and MCP surfaces. Once installed, run coral onboard to start the interactive wizard to
complete the setup.
Upgrade the CLI
Homebrew
Install script
Windows ZIP
Re-run the installer to upgrade a direct install: Download the latest coral-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip, expand it, and
overwrite the installed coral.exe: Uninstall the CLI
Homebrew
Install script
Windows ZIP
Skills
Coral publishes a set of agent skills that teach your coding agent how to use Coral effectively. Install them with:
Available skills:
coral — teaches your agent the discovery-first MCP workflow for answering data questions through Coral, including how to use search, list_catalog, coral.tables, coral.table_functions, coral.columns, and coral.inputs.coral-create-source-spec — guides your agent through authoring or repairing a custom source spec YAML for coral source add --file, or adapting it into a bundled source.coral-review-source-spec — guides source manifest and source PR reviews for correctness, query ergonomics, documentation quality, and consistency with existing Coral sources.
Installable skill packages are published from github.com/withcoral/skills.
Local state
Coral stores local state in its platform-specific configuration directory. You can override that location with:
On Windows PowerShell:
On Windows, the default local state path is
%APPDATA%\withcoral\coral\config.
Important files include:
config.toml for installed-source metadata, non-secret variables, and runtime settings. See Configuration.coral.db for Coral’s internal local database.- imported source specs under
workspaces/<workspace>/sources/<source>/manifest.yaml
- source secrets stored separately within the same local trust boundary
Bundled source specs are not copied into the
config directory. Coral resolves them from the current binary when you
validate or query a bundled source, so upgrades pick up newer bundled
manifests without re-adding the source. 
