Installation

LLM Client can be installed from source or using pre-built binaries. Choose the method that works best for your system.

Prerequisites

System Dependencies

Before installing LLM Client, you need to install system dependencies required for building Rust applications that use OpenSSL and native libraries.

Linux

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y pkg-config libssl-dev build-essential

RHEL/CentOS/Fedora:

# RHEL/CentOS
sudo yum install -y pkgconfig openssl-devel gcc

# Fedora
sudo dnf install -y pkgconf-devel openssl-devel gcc

Alpine Linux:

sudo apk add pkgconf openssl-dev build-base

macOS

On macOS, Xcode Command Line Tools usually provide the necessary dependencies:

xcode-select --install

If you encounter OpenSSL-related build errors, install additional dependencies via Homebrew:

brew install pkg-config openssl@3

Windows

On Windows, Rust typically bundles OpenSSL statically, so no additional system packages are required. However, you'll need:

• Visual Studio Build Tools or Visual Studio Community with C++ support
• Windows SDK

You can install these via the Visual Studio Installer.

Why These Dependencies?

LLM Client uses several Rust crates that require native system libraries:

• pkg-config: Helps the build system locate installed libraries and their configuration
• OpenSSL development libraries: Required for HTTPS/TLS connections to AI providers
• Build tools: C compiler and linker for compiling native dependencies

Install Rust

LLM Client is written in Rust, so you'll need the Rust toolchain installed:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source ~/.cargo/env

Verify the installation:

rustc --version
cargo --version

Installation Methods

🚀 One-Liner Install Script (Recommended)

The fastest way to get started on any platform!

# Install latest version
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rajashekar/lc/main/install.sh | bash

Customization options:

# Install to custom directory
LC_BIN_DIR=~/.bin curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rajashekar/lc/main/install.sh | bash

# Install specific version
LC_VERSION=v0.1.1 curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rajashekar/lc/main/install.sh | bash

# Force overwrite existing installation
LC_FORCE=true curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rajashekar/lc/main/install.sh | bash

Supported platforms:

• Linux (x86_64, ARM64)
• macOS (Intel, Apple Silicon)
• Windows (WSL, WSL2, Git Bash, MSYS2)

Features:

• ✅ Automatic platform and architecture detection
• ✅ Downloads pre-built binaries from GitHub releases
• ✅ Installs to $HOME/.local/bin by default
• ✅ Provides PATH setup instructions
• ✅ Verifies installation

📦 From Cargo (Rust Users)

# Install from crates.io (published!)
cargo install lc-cli

# Or install directly from git (development version)
cargo install --git https://github.com/rajashekar/lc

📁 Manual Binary Download

1. Download the latest binary for your platform from GitHub Releases
2. Extract and place in your PATH

Platform	Architecture	Binary Name
Linux	x86_64	lc-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
Linux	ARM64	lc-linux-arm64.tar.gz
macOS	Intel	lc-macos-x86_64.tar.gz
macOS	Apple Silicon	lc-macos-arm64.tar.gz
Windows	x86_64	lc-windows-amd64.zip

🚧 Package Managers (Coming Soon)

# macOS
brew install lc                    # 🚧 Coming soon

# Windows
scoop install lc                   # 🚧 Coming soon
choco install lc                   # 🚧 Coming soon
winget install lc                  # 🚧 Coming soon

# Linux
apt install lc                     # 🚧 Coming soon
dnf install lc                     # 🚧 Coming soon
yay -S lc                          # 🚧 Coming soon (AUR)

🔨 From Source (Current Method)

1. Clone the repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd lc

2. Build the release binary:

# Full build with all features (including PDF support)
cargo build --release

# Or build without PDF support to reduce dependencies
cargo build --release --no-default-features

3. The binary will be available at target/release/lc

Add to PATH

To use lc from anywhere on your system, add it to your PATH:

Linux/macOS

# Option 1: Copy to system bin directory
sudo cp target/release/lc /usr/local/bin/

# Option 2: Copy to user bin directory
cp target/release/lc ~/.local/bin/

# Option 3: Add the target directory to PATH
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/lc/target/release"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Windows

# Copy to a directory in your PATH
copy target\release\lc.exe C:\Windows\System32\

# Or add the directory to PATH via System Properties

Platform-Specific Builds

Cross-Compilation

You can build for different platforms:

# Windows from Linux/macOS
cargo build --target x86_64-pc-windows-gnu --release

# macOS Intel
cargo build --target x86_64-apple-darwin --release

# macOS Apple Silicon
cargo build --target aarch64-apple-darwin --release

# Linux x86_64
cargo build --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu --release

# Linux ARM64
cargo build --target aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu --release

Verify Installation

After installation, verify that lc is working:

# Check version
lc --version

# Show help
lc --help

# List providers (should show empty list on first run)
lc providers list

Configuration Directories

LLM Client stores its configuration and data in platform-specific locations:

Platform	Directory
Linux	~/.config/lc/
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/lc/
Windows	%APPDATA%\lc\

These directories are created automatically on first run.

Building with Specific Features

# Build with all default features (includes PDF support)
cargo build --release

# Build without any optional features
cargo build --release --no-default-features

# Build with specific features only
cargo build --release --no-default-features --features pdf

# Build for distribution (smaller binary without PDF support)
cargo build --release --no-default-features

Next Steps

Now that you have lc installed, proceed to the Quick Start Guide to configure your first provider and start using the tool.

Troubleshooting

System Dependencies Issues

If you encounter build errors related to OpenSSL or pkg-config, ensure you have installed the system dependencies listed above. See the Troubleshooting Guide for detailed solutions.

Rust Installation Issues

If you encounter issues installing Rust:

• Ensure you have a C compiler installed (gcc, clang, or MSVC)
• On Windows, you may need Visual Studio Build Tools
• Check the Rust installation guide for platform-specific help

Build Errors

Common solutions:

• Update Rust: rustup update
• Clean build: cargo clean && cargo build --release
• Check for missing system dependencies

Permission Denied

If you get permission errors when copying to system directories:

• Use sudo on Linux/macOS
• Run as Administrator on Windows
• Or choose a user-writable directory instead