Installation

How to install and build τ from source.

τ is built from source using the Zig build system. This process is straightforward and requires only a few dependencies.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed on your system:

  • Git: For cloning the source code repository.
  • Zig: The compiler and build system for τ. Version 0.12.0 or newer is recommended.

You can find instructions for installing Zig on the official Zig website.

1. Clone the Repository

First, clone the tau-db repository from GitHub to your local machine.

Terminal
1git clone https://github.com/tau-db/tau.git
2cd tau

2. Build the Project

Once you are inside the project directory, you can use the zig build command to compile the server, REPL client, and other tools.

Terminal
1zig build

This command creates optimized executables in the zig-out/bin directory:

  • tau: The database server.
  • tau-repl: The REPL client.
  • tau-benchmark: A tool for running benchmarks.

3. Verify the Build (Optional)

You can verify that the build was successful by running the built-in tests.

Terminal
1zig build test

If all tests pass, your installation is complete and you are ready to run the server.

Last updated: 2/1/2026