Installation

This guide will help you install Stoffel from source. Since Stoffel is currently in active development, you'll need to build the components manually from their Git repositories.

Prerequisites

System Requirements

Operating Systems

Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, CentOS 8+, Arch Linux)
macOS (10.15+)
Windows (via WSL2 recommended)

Hardware Requirements

4GB RAM minimum (8GB recommended for MPC development)
2GB free disk space
Internet connection for downloading dependencies

Required Dependencies

Before installing Stoffel, make sure you have:

Essential Tools

Git (for cloning repositories)
Rust and Cargo (latest stable version)

Optional (based on your use case)

Python 3.8+ (for Python SDK integration)

Step-by-Step Installation

Step 1: Install Rust

If you don't have Rust installed:

# Install Rust and Cargo
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

# Source the environment
source ~/.cargo/env

# Verify installation
rustc --version
cargo --version

Step 2: Create a Stoffel Workspace

# Create a directory for all Stoffel components
mkdir ~/stoffel-dev
cd ~/stoffel-dev

Step 3: Clone the Repositories

Clone all the Stoffel components:

# Clone the main Stoffel CLI
git clone https://github.com/Stoffel-Labs/Stoffel.git

# Clone StoffelVM
git clone https://github.com/Stoffel-Labs/StoffelVM.git

# Clone Stoffel-Lang compiler
git clone https://github.com/Stoffel-Labs/Stoffel-Lang.git

# Clone MPC protocols
git clone https://github.com/Stoffel-Labs/mpc-protocols.git

# Clone Python SDK (optional)
git clone https://github.com/Stoffel-Labs/stoffel-python-sdk.git

Your directory structure should look like:

~/stoffel-dev/
├── Stoffel/                  # Main CLI
├── StoffelVM/               # Virtual Machine
├── Stoffel-Lang/            # Language compiler
├── mpc-protocols/           # MPC protocol implementations
└── stoffel-python-sdk/      # Python SDK (optional)

Step 4: Build the Components

Build each component in the correct order:

Build StoffelVM First

cd ~/stoffel-dev/StoffelVM

# Build the VM
cargo build --release

# Verify the build
./target/release/stoffel-run --version

Build Stoffel-Lang Compiler

cd ~/stoffel-dev/Stoffel-Lang

# Build the compiler
cargo build --release

# Verify the build
./target/release/stoffellang --version

Build MPC Protocols

cd ~/stoffel-dev/mpc-protocols

# Build the protocols
cargo build --release

Build the Main Stoffel CLI

cd ~/stoffel-dev/Stoffel

# Build the CLI
cargo build --release

# Verify the build
./target/release/stoffel --version

Step 5: Install to Your System

Add the built binaries to your PATH:

# Create a bin directory in your home folder
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin

# Copy the binaries
cp ~/stoffel-dev/Stoffel/target/release/stoffel ~/.local/bin/
cp ~/stoffel-dev/StoffelVM/target/release/stoffel-run ~/.local/bin/
cp ~/stoffel-dev/Stoffel-Lang/target/release/stoffellang ~/.local/bin/

# Add to your PATH (add this to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc)
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

# Reload your shell or source the profile
source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc for zsh

Step 6: Verify Installation

Test that everything is working:

# Test Stoffel CLI
stoffel --version

# Test StoffelLang compiler
stoffellang --version

# Test StoffelVM
stoffel-run --version

# Test basic functionality
stoffel --help

Python SDK Installation (Optional)

If you want to use the Python SDK:

# Navigate to the Python SDK directory
cd ~/stoffel-dev/stoffel-python-sdk

# Install in development mode
pip install -e .

# Or create a virtual environment first (recommended)
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

# Verify installation
python -c "import stoffel; print('Python SDK installed successfully')"

Development Setup

For development work, you can run the tools directly from their build directories:

# Create aliases for easier development (add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc)
alias stoffel-dev='~/stoffel-dev/Stoffel/target/release/stoffel'
alias stoffellang-dev='~/stoffel-dev/Stoffel-Lang/target/release/stoffellang'
alias stoffel-run-dev='~/stoffel-dev/StoffelVM/target/release/stoffel-run'

Keeping Up to Date

To update your Stoffel installation:

# Update each repository
cd ~/stoffel-dev/Stoffel && git pull && cargo build --release
cd ~/stoffel-dev/StoffelVM && git pull && cargo build --release
cd ~/stoffel-dev/Stoffel-Lang && git pull && cargo build --release
cd ~/stoffel-dev/mpc-protocols && git pull && cargo build --release

# Copy updated binaries
cp ~/stoffel-dev/Stoffel/target/release/stoffel ~/.local/bin/
cp ~/stoffel-dev/StoffelVM/target/release/stoffel-run ~/.local/bin/
cp ~/stoffel-dev/Stoffel-Lang/target/release/stoffellang ~/.local/bin/

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Rust/Cargo not found

# Make sure Rust is properly installed
which cargo
cargo --version

# If not found, reinstall Rust
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source ~/.cargo/env

Build errors

# Make sure you have the latest Rust version
rustup update

# Clean and rebuild
cargo clean
cargo build --release

Command not found after installation

# Check if binaries are in the right place
ls -la ~/.local/bin/stoffel*

# Make sure PATH is set correctly
echo $PATH | grep -q "$HOME/.local/bin" && echo "PATH is correct" || echo "PATH needs updating"

# Add to PATH if needed
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Permission issues

# Make sure binaries are executable
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/stoffel*

Getting Help

If you encounter issues:

Check the individual repository README files for component-specific instructions
GitHub Issues: Report issues at the respective repository
Build logs: Check cargo output for specific error messages

Next Steps

Now that you have Stoffel installed:

Quick Start: Create your first project in 5 minutes
Basic Usage: Learn the essential Stoffel commands
Your First MPC Project: Build a complete privacy-preserving application

Development Workflow

For contributors or those wanting to modify Stoffel:

# Make changes to any component
cd ~/stoffel-dev/Stoffel
# ... make your changes ...

# Rebuild and reinstall
cargo build --release
cp target/release/stoffel ~/.local/bin/

# Test your changes
stoffel --version

This manual installation process gives you full control over the Stoffel components and allows you to track the latest development progress.

Stoffel Official Documentation