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meow ships as a single self-contained binary. There is no runtime to install alongside it, no node_modules for the tool itself, and no global package graph to manage. You install one file and you have the runtime, package manager, and toolchain.

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Install script

The fastest path on macOS and Linux: 
curl -fsSL https://meow.style/install | sh
This drops the meow binary into ~/.meow/bin and adds it to your PATH. Open a new shell afterwards (or source your profile) so the updated PATH takes effect.
The first time you run meow run or meow install, meow also writes drop-in shims for node, npm, pnpm, yarn, bun, npx, pnpx, and bunx into ~/.meow/bin. That’s what lets framework tooling that shells out to node transparently re-enter meow. See Node.js compatibility.

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Build from source

meow is a Rust workspace. If you have a stable Rust toolchain you can always build the binary yourself — this is the canonical, always-works path.
1

Install Rust (stable, 1.85+)

Use rustup. meow pins the stable channel with clippy and rustfmt.
2

Install system build dependencies (Linux only)

The embedded V8 engine needs a C/C++ toolchain:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential make cmake clang libclang-dev
macOS needs the Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install); Windows needs the MSVC build tools.
3

Clone and build

git clone https://github.com/0xchasercat/meow
cd meow
cargo build --release
The optimized binary lands at target/release/meow. Building bakes a V8 startup snapshot into the binary, which adds a few seconds to the first build.
4

Put it on your PATH

Copy target/release/meow somewhere on your PATH, or install it with Cargo:
cargo install --path crates/cli
This installs the meow binary from the meow-cli crate.

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Verify

meow --version
Run with no arguments to see the landing screen — the command catalog plus live telemetry about how meow was installed, your cache size, and any shadow installations on your PATH: 
meow
Then check your environment, config, and lockfile health at any time: 
meow doctor

╭─ meow doctor ───────────────────────────────╮
│ ◉ meow 0.0.0                                 │
│ ✓ package.json    found                      │
│ ✓ lockfile        12 packages                │
│ ✓ node_modules    materialized               │
│ ✓ cache           ~/.meow/cache              │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────╯

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Platform support

meow is tested in CI on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Package materialization uses the best primitive each platform offers:
PlatformPackage contentsDependency edges
macOS (APFS)clonefile copy-on-writesymlinks
Linuxrecursive hardlinkssymlinks
Windowsrecursive hardlinksNTFS directory junctions
See node_modules & materialization for why meow never uses symlinks for package contents.

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Where meow keeps its files

Everything global lives under ~/.meow:
PathPurpose
~/.meow/binThe meow binary and the node/npm/npx/… shims
~/.meow/cache/<algo>/<hash>Global content-addressed package cache (tarballs)
~/.meow/cache/metadataCached npm registry metadata
~/.meow/cache/unpackedUnpacked package store
~/.meow/globalGlobally installed packages (meow add -g)
Set MEOW_HOME to relocate the whole ~/.meow tree — useful for CI caching or keeping the cache on a fast volume. Child runtimes inherit it automatically.

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Multiple installations

If meow detects another meow binary earlier on your PATH, the landing screen warns you: 
⚠ Multiple meow installations detected!
  You are running: /usr/local/bin/meow
This usually means a build-from-source binary is shadowing (or being shadowed by) the installer copy in ~/.meow/bin. Keep one, or order your PATH deliberately.

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Next steps

Quickstart

Build and run something real in 60 seconds.

Migrate from Node

Map your npm / node / npx muscle memory onto meow.