RICOCHET LEARN

How to Install and Run Ricochet

The guide assumes you can run rco from a terminal.

Install Ricochet

Download published builds from the GitHub Releases page.

On Windows, run ricochet-vX.Y.Z-windows-x64-setup.exe. The installer adds Start Menu entries, including a Ricochet Shell that opens a command prompt with rco available. Portable release ZIPs are also available from the same release page. Extract the ZIP and run Ricochet Shell.cmd, or add the extracted folder to your PATH.

On Linux, install the Debian package with:

bashsudo apt install ./ricochet_X.Y.Z_amd64.deb

Portable Linux tarballs are also available. Extract the tarball and run ./install.sh, or add the extracted folder to your PATH.

On macOS, choose the unsigned tarball for your Mac: ricochet-vX.Y.Z-macos-arm64.tar.gz for Apple Silicon or ricochet-vX.Y.Z-macos-x64.tar.gz for Intel. Extract it and run ./install.sh, or add the extracted folder to your PATH. These beta tarballs are not notarized by Apple.

Check your install

bashrco --help
rco repl

Inside the REPL, try:

ricochet"hello" println

Exit the REPL with the command your shell displays for quitting, usually Ctrl+D or a quit command.

Run a file

Create hello.rco:

ricochet"Hello, Ricochet!" println

Run it:

bashrco run hello.rco

When you are working from the language source tree

The main guide keeps source-checkout commands out of the beginner path. If you are changing the Ricochet implementation itself, install the CLI once from the repository and then continue using ordinary rco commands.

powershellcargo install --path crates/ricochet_cli --bin rco --locked

Try a script or scaffold an app from the source checkout:

powershellrco run examples/basic-oop.rco
rco new my_app
rco routes my_app
cd my_app
rco serve

Native desktop UI

Native desktop UI work starts with the backend-neutral @ricochet/ui package, the live WinUI backend, and the live Slint renderer for cross-platform native availability:

powershellrco app packages/ricochet_ui/examples/counter_app.rco --backend winui --export-ui-json counter-ui.json
rco app packages/ricochet_ui/examples/native_showcase_app.rco --backend winui --export-ui-json native-showcase-ui.json
rco app packages/ricochet_ui/examples/native_showcase_app.rco --backend slint --export-ui-json native-showcase-slint-ui.json
rco app packages/ricochet_ui/examples/native_showcase_app.rco --backend slint --slint-validate-only
rco package packages/ricochet_ui/examples/counter_app.rco --app --backend winui --output Counter.exe

Omit --export-ui-json to launch the WinUI host after building hosts/winui/Ricochet.WinUI.Host, or to launch the Slint renderer directly. The native showcase app is a small release desk that combines commands, a tree view with drag/drop metadata, a data grid, rich text, and stateful update handling in one window.