Installation - Wasmtime

# Installing `wasmtime`

Here we'll show you how to install the `wasmtime` command line tool. Note that this is distinct from embedding the Wasmtime project into another, for that you'll want to consult the embedding documentation.

The easiest way to install the `wasmtime` CLI tool is through our installation script. Linux and macOS users can execute the following:

    $ curl https://wasmtime.dev/install.sh -sSf | bash

This will download a precompiled version of `wasmtime`, place it in `$HOME/.wasmtime`, and update your shell configuration to place the right directory in `PATH`.

Windows users will want to visit our releases page and can download the MSI installer (`wasmtime-dev-x86_64-windows.msi` for example) and use that to install.

You can confirm your installation works by executing:

    $ wasmtime -V
    wasmtime 0.12.0

And now you're off to the races! Be sure to check out the various CLI options as well.

## Download Precompiled Binaries

If you'd prefer to not use an installation script, or you're perhaps orchestrating something in CI, you can also download one of our precompiled binaries of `wasmtime`. We have two channels of releases right now for precompiled binaries:

1. Each tagged release will have a full set of release artifacts on the GitHub releases page.
2. The `dev` release is also continuously updated with the latest build of the `main` branch. If you want the latest-and-greatest and don't mind a bit of instability, this is the release for you.

When downloading binaries you'll likely want one of the following archives (for the `dev` release)

- Linux users - [`wasmtime-dev-x86_64-linux.tar.xz`]
- macOS users - [`wasmtime-dev-x86_64-macos.tar.xz`]
- Windows users - [`wasmtime-dev-x86_64-windows.zip`]

Each of these archives has a `wasmtime` binary placed inside which can be executed normally as the CLI would.

## Compiling from Source

If you'd prefer to compile the `wasmtime` CLI from source, you'll want to consult the contributing documentation for building. Be sure to use a `--release` build if you're curious to do benchmarking!