Installation – CyberEther Docs

CyberEther can be installed through pre-built binaries, container images, or by building from source. Pick the option that matches your platform and workflow.

Pre-built Binaries

The easiest way to install CyberEther is to download a pre-built binary from the CyberEther website.

If your platform is not listed or you want to customize the build, follow the Build From Source instructions below.

Container Images

Docker images are also published to the GitHub Container Registry (ghcr.io) for each release:

BASH

docker pull ghcr.io/luigifcruz/cyberether:ubuntu24-x86_64
docker pull ghcr.io/luigifcruz/cyberether:ubuntu24-aarch64

Build From Source

CyberEther requires a C++20 compiler (GCC 11+ or Clang 14+), Meson 1.11+, and Ninja. Most third-party libraries are bundled as Meson subprojects, so the packages below focus on the platform toolchain, graphics headers or SDKs, shader tools, and Python modules used during resource generation.

If your system blocks global pip installs, use a Python virtual environment or equivalent distribution packages.

Dependencies

Linux (Arch Linux)

Core build tools, graphics headers, and desktop integration.

BASH

pacman -S git base-devel pkgconf python python-pip glslang \
          vulkan-headers vulkan-icd-loader zenity

Display server headers used by the bundled GLFW build.

BASH

pacman -S libx11 libxcursor libxi libxinerama libxrandr \
          libxkbcommon wayland wayland-protocols systemd

Python build modules.

BASH

python -m pip install meson ninja numpy mapbox_earcut pyyaml

Optional

Remote streaming support uses bundled GStreamer sources, but still needs a few generator tools.

BASH

pacman -S bison flex nasm

No system GLFW, SoapySDR, or GStreamer packages are required for the normal source build.

Linux (Ubuntu 22.04)

Core build tools, graphics headers, and desktop integration.

BASH

apt install git build-essential pkg-config python3 python3-pip glslang-tools \
            libvulkan-dev mesa-vulkan-drivers zenity

Display server headers used by the bundled GLFW build.

BASH

apt install libx11-dev libxcursor-dev libxi-dev libxinerama-dev libxrandr-dev \
            libxkbcommon-dev libwayland-dev wayland-protocols libudev-dev

Python build modules.

BASH

python3 -m pip install meson ninja numpy mapbox_earcut pyyaml

Optional

Remote streaming support uses bundled GStreamer sources, but still needs a few generator tools.

BASH

apt install bison flex nasm

No system GLFW, SoapySDR, or GStreamer packages are required for the normal source build.

macOS 13+ (Apple Silicon)

This assumes Homebrew and Xcode Command Line Tools are installed. Older versions of macOS might work but installing a newer Clang compiler (14+) will be necessary. Metal on Intel-based Macs is not supported by CyberEther. As a workaround, make sure to install the optional Vulkan dependencies listed below.

Core build and shader tools.

BASH

brew install pkg-config glslang spirv-cross

Python build modules.

BASH

python3 -m pip install meson ninja numpy mapbox_earcut pyyaml

Optional

Remote streaming support uses bundled GStreamer sources, but still needs NASM.

BASH

brew install nasm

No system GLFW, SoapySDR, or GStreamer packages are required for the normal source build.

Vulkan backend (required for Intel-based Macs).

BASH

brew install molten-vk vulkan-tools vulkan-headers

Windows

Install Visual Studio Build Tools with the C++ workload, Python 3, and the Vulkan SDK. If you use Chocolatey, install the remaining build helper with:

BASH

choco install pkgconfiglite -y

Python build modules.

BASH

python -m pip install meson ninja numpy mapbox_earcut pyyaml

Optional

Remote streaming support uses bundled GStreamer sources, but still needs NASM and WinFlexBison.

BASH

choco install nasm winflexbison3 -y

Browser (Chrome)

All CyberEther runtime dependencies for the browser are included in the repository. Make sure Emscripten, Rust Cargo, Python 3, pkg-config, glslangValidator, and spirv-cross are available.

On Debian or Ubuntu, the CI-equivalent packages are:

BASH

apt install git build-essential pkg-config python3-pip glslang-tools spirv-cross cargo
python3 -m pip install meson ninja numpy mapbox_earcut pyyaml

iOS (iPhone & iPad)

Build iOS from macOS with the latest Xcode installed. You also need the same Homebrew shader tools and Python build modules used by the macOS build.

BASH

brew install pkg-config glslang spirv-cross
python3 -m pip install meson ninja numpy mapbox_earcut pyyaml

Clone

Clone the repository from GitHub.

BASH

git clone --recursive https://github.com/luigifcruz/CyberEther.git
cd CyberEther

Build & Install

Linux or macOS

Create a debug-optimized build directory, compile CyberEther, and install the resulting binary and libraries.

BASH

meson setup -Dbuildtype=debugoptimized build
meson compile -C build
meson install -C build

To compile the optional remote streaming support, add -Dremote=enabled to the setup command.

After installation, run cyberether --help for usage instructions.

Windows

Configure, build, and install from a Visual Studio Developer PowerShell or any shell where the Visual Studio toolchain is available.

BASH

meson setup --vsenv -Dbuildtype=debugoptimized build
meson compile -C build
meson install -C build

To compile the optional remote streaming support, add -Dremote=enabled to the setup command.

After installation, run cyberether --help for usage instructions.

Browser (Chrome)

Build the project with cross-compilation to WebAssembly.

BASH

meson setup --cross-file meson/crosscompile/emscripten.ini \
            -Dbuildtype=debugoptimized \
            build-wasm
meson compile -C build-wasm

The browser build does not have an install target. The distributable outputs are generated in build-wasm/.

TEXT

build-wasm/cyberether.js
build-wasm/cyberether.wasm
build-wasm/cyberether.js.symbols
build-wasm/cyberether.wasm.map

Serve those files from a WebGPU-capable website with cross-origin isolation enabled, which is required by Emscripten pthreads. The hosted browser app at cyberether.org/web can also load custom builds, so you can test your own cyberether.js and cyberether.wasm files. A fully offline browser version is on the roadmap.

iOS (iPhone & iPad)

Build the project with cross-compilation to iOS and install binaries in the Xcode project.

BASH

meson setup --cross-file meson/crosscompile/ios.ini \
            --prefix "$(pwd)/apps/ios/CyberEtherMobile/Library" \
            -Dbuildtype=debugoptimized \
            -Dtests=false \
            -Dexamples=false \
            build-ios
meson compile -C build-ios
meson install -C build-ios

After the build is complete, open the Xcode project in apps/ios/ and run it on your device.