---
title: "Install the CLI"
description: "Install the generative-icons CLI with npm, or download its binary: supported systems, and what to do when npx fails."
canonical: https://generativeicons.com/install/
---

# Install the CLI

The `generative-icons` CLI finds, installs and creates animated icons in web, iOS and Android apps. It is one binary for macOS and Linux, installed through npm: the `generative-icons` package is a small Node.js shim, and npm adds the binary for your machine as an optional dependency. Nothing runs at install time.

## With npm

In your app's folder, with Node.js 18 or later:

```sh
npx generative-icons init
```

pnpm (`pnpm dlx generative-icons init`) and Bun (`bunx generative-icons init`) work too. To pin a version in the project, add it as a dev dependency: `npm install --save-dev generative-icons`. Don't install with `--omit=optional` or `--no-optional`, which leave the binary out.

## Supported systems

| System | Processor | Binary package |
| --- | --- | --- |
| macOS 11 or later | Apple silicon (arm64) | `@lottiefiles/generative-icons-darwin-arm64` |
| macOS 11 or later | Intel (x64) | `@lottiefiles/generative-icons-darwin-x64` |
| Linux with glibc 2.35 or later | arm64 | `@lottiefiles/generative-icons-linux-arm64-gnu` |
| Linux with glibc 2.35 or later | x64 | `@lottiefiles/generative-icons-linux-x64-gnu` |

- x64 binaries need a processor with FMA, so they don't run under Rosetta: on an Apple silicon Mac, use the arm64 build of Node.js.
- glibc 2.35 or later means Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12 or newer.
- Windows is not supported yet. Use WSL 2 with Ubuntu.
- Alpine and other musl-based Linux are not supported. Use a glibc-based image, such as `node:22-bookworm-slim`.

## Download the binary

Each [release](https://github.com/LottieFiles/generative-icons/releases) has a tarball per target (`aarch64-apple-darwin`, `x86_64-apple-darwin`, `aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu`, `x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu`) with the binary, its licenses and a SHA-256 checksum. On an Apple silicon Mac, for example:

```sh
v=0.1.1; target=aarch64-apple-darwin
curl -fLO https://github.com/LottieFiles/generative-icons/releases/download/v$v/generative-icons-$v-$target.tar.gz
curl -fLO https://github.com/LottieFiles/generative-icons/releases/download/v$v/generative-icons-$v-$target.tar.gz.sha256
shasum -a 256 -c generative-icons-$v-$target.tar.gz.sha256
tar -xzf generative-icons-$v-$target.tar.gz
sudo install generative-icons-$v-$target/generative-icons /usr/local/bin/
```

On Linux, check with `sha256sum -c`. Download with curl rather than a browser: macOS quarantines browser downloads, and the binary is not notarized. To build it yourself, see the [development guide](https://github.com/LottieFiles/generative-icons/blob/main/docs/development.md).

## If npx fails

- **"…has no prebuilt binary for…"**: your system is not in the table above; see the notes under it.
- **"The platform package … is missing"**: npm skipped the optional dependency. Install again without `--omit=optional`. If the lockfile was made on another system, delete `node_modules` and the lockfile, then install again.
- **On an Apple silicon Mac**, check that `node -p process.arch` prints `arm64`. An Intel Node.js running under Rosetta installs the x64 binary, which doesn't run there.

`generative-icons doctor` checks the binary, the processor and your app's setup. Then see [Installing the packages](/docs/using-packages/) and [Create an icon](/docs/creating-icons/).