Prepare The Binary

Every deployment starts with the lyftdata executable.

The same binary can operate as a server or a worker, so you only need to download it once per host. Choose the commands that match your platform.

Linux (systemd hosts)

Download the archive

mkdir -p /opt/lyftdata
cd /opt/lyftdata
curl -LO https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz

(Optional) Verify the checksum

curl -LO https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz.sha256
sha256sum -c lyftdata-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz.sha256

Extract the archive and make it executable

tar -xJf lyftdata-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz
chmod +x lyftdata

If you prefer a global location, create a symlink:

sudo ln -s /opt/lyftdata/lyftdata /usr/sbin/lyftdata

Confirm the version
Terminal window
```
./lyftdata --version
```

macOS (launchd hosts)

Download the archive

mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/lyftdata
cd /usr/local/lib/lyftdata
curl -LO https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.xz

Replace the archive name if you need the x86-64 build instead of Apple Silicon.

(Optional) Verify the checksum

curl -LO https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.xz.sha256
shasum -a 256 -c lyftdata-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.xz.sha256

Extract and install the binary
Terminal window
```
tar -xJf lyftdata-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.xz
chmod +x lyftdata
sudo mv lyftdata /usr/local/bin/lyftdata
# Remove the Gatekeeper quarantine flag so the unsigned binary can run
sudo xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /usr/local/bin/lyftdata || true
```
If you extracted the archive with Finder, the quarantine flag can be applied to the whole directory. Run sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /usr/local/lib/lyftdata before moving the binary, or execute the commands above from Terminal to clear the attribute. Use man xattr on macOS to learn more about how the command manages extended attributes.
Confirm the version
Terminal window
```
lyftdata --version
```

Windows (PowerShell)

Download the archive

$downloadDir = 'C:\Program Files\LyftData'
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $downloadDir -Force | Out-Null
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip -OutFile "$downloadDir\lyftdata.zip"
Unblock-File -Path "$downloadDir\lyftdata.zip" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

(Optional) Verify the checksum

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip.sha256 -OutFile "$downloadDir\lyftdata.zip.sha256"
$expected = (Get-Content "$downloadDir\lyftdata.zip.sha256").Split()[0]
$actual = (Get-FileHash "$downloadDir\lyftdata.zip" -Algorithm SHA256).Hash
if ($expected -ne $actual) { throw "Checksum mismatch: expected $expected but saw $actual" }

Extract the archive

Expand-Archive -Path "$downloadDir\lyftdata.zip" -DestinationPath $downloadDir -Force
Unblock-File -Path "$downloadDir\lyftdata.exe" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Confirm the version
Terminal window
```
& "$downloadDir\lyftdata.exe" --version
```
Add $downloadDir to PATH or copy lyftdata.exe into a directory that is already on PATH so services can find it.

If you extracted the archive with File Explorer, Windows may mark the files with the “Downloaded from the Internet” flag. Running Unblock-File clears that mark so SmartScreen does not prompt when the service starts—see the Microsoft PowerShell documentation for more details. Alternatively, right-click the ZIP (or lyftdata.exe), choose Properties, and select Unblock before running the installer commands.

Once the executable is available on the host, continue with the platform-specific server and worker setup guides.