Guides / Ferrum Anvil / Getting Started

Getting Started with Ferrum Anvil

Install the published v0.1.1 unsigned preview, or build from its release tag. The source commands below follow the tagged Anvil README.

Ferrum Anvil v0.1.1 is an unsigned preview. Verify downloads with SHA256SUMS. macOS installers are not Developer ID signed or notarized and Windows installers have no code-signing certificate. In-app updates use verified minisign signatures; this does not code-sign the installers. See the preview downloads and Anvil overview.
Step 1

Downloads or Source Requirements

Use the preview installers or CLI archives for your platform. Rust and Node.js are needed only when building from source.

  • Rust (stable; the repository's rust-toolchain.toml selects it)
  • Node.js 22 or newer
  • On Linux, the WebKitGTK libraries that Tauri needs. Windows uses WebView2 and macOS uses WKWebView.
  • For source builds, clone the repository and check out anvil-v0.1.1. Run commands from that root. For packaged builds, use the preview downloads.
Step 2

Build and Run

The engine, the anvil CLI and the lab build as one Cargo workspace. The desktop app runs in Tauri's development mode.

bash
cargo build --workspace                        # engine, CLI, lab
cargo test --workspace --exclude anvil-desktop
cd apps/desktop && npm ci && npx tauri dev     # desktop app (development)

On first launch there is no account or sign-up. Choose Start now — no password to keep the data key in the OS keychain and go straight to the workbench, or Protect with a passphrase and save the recovery key Anvil shows once. No account is needed and nothing is synced. The workbench then opens empty:

The empty Ferrum Anvil workbench. A sidebar with Collections and History tabs says No requests yet. Create one, or import a bundle. The top bar has workspace and environment selectors, Requests, Runner and Load tests tabs, and Profiles, Import, Export and Lock controls. The centre shows the tagline Put your APIs to the test and a New request button, and the status bar reads Local-only, no account.
Pre-release build. Captured by the automated desktop test suite.
Step 3

CLI Quick Start

The anvil command-line client uses the same engine and local store as the desktop app.

bash
anvil profile create me          # passphrase from --passphrase-stdin or ANVIL_PASSPHRASE
anvil workspace create Demo
anvil add Demo "Health" --url https://example.com/health
anvil send Health --workspace Demo
anvil import-spec Demo openapi.yaml     # OpenAPI/WSDL/Postman/Insomnia/cURL/HAR
anvil run Demo --folder Smoke --junit report.xml

Data lives in the platform's application-data directory under Ferrum Anvil. Set ANVIL_DATA_DIR, or pass --data-dir to the CLI, to use another location.

Optional

Run the Real-Gateway Lab

The lab runs a checksum-pinned Ferrum Edge release binary on loopback with controllable test servers, and checks what Anvil concludes from each failure. The default pin is Ferrum Edge 0.9.8; earlier supported releases 0.9.7 and 0.9.5 use an explicit --release, as shown below for 0.9.5.

bash
lab/scripts/fetch-gateway.sh              # download + verify the pinned binary
cargo run -p anvil-lab -- list            # profiles
cargo run -p anvil-lab -- run all --untrusted-pass
cargo run -p anvil-lab -- up core         # keep the core lab up for manual testing
lab/scripts/fetch-gateway.sh v0.9.5       # an earlier supported release …
cargo run -p anvil-lab -- --release v0.9.5 run all --untrusted-pass   # … and its run
  • The lab has 14 profiles: core, policy, admission, drain, tls, auth, streams, cpdp, h3x, mesh, proxyproto, workload (the SPIFFE Workload API), early (0-RTT early data) and mcp (MCP tool routing). run all runs every one; run <profile> runs one, and up <profile> keeps one up for manual testing.
  • fetch-gateway.sh uses an authenticated GitHub CLI (gh) and refuses a binary whose checksum does not match the release's lock file.
  • The lab uses fixed loopback ports. Stop any other lab first, and raise the open-file limit (ulimit -n 4096) before a full run.
  • The workload profile needs Unix domain sockets (macOS or Linux). When the checkout's path is too long for Ferrum Edge's socket rules, or a parent directory is group-writable, it puts its sockets in a private temporary directory instead and records why.
  • With up core running, the lab gateway listens on 127.0.0.1:18080. Declare it as a Ferrum gateway profile in Anvil, naming the release the lab runs (0.9.8 unless you passed --release), to see gateway findings in the desktop app.
Before You Rely on It

What Is Not There Yet

  • Published preview installers lack platform code signing. In-app updates are opt-in and signature-verified; DEB/RPM packages need manual updates.
  • The release publishes native Linux x86_64, Windows x86_64 and macOS x86_64/ARM64 checks. Consult release-evidence.json for their scope; this guide does not certify your OS.
  • Social sign-in providers are unavailable until they are registered. They are never needed to unlock Anvil.

All known limitations →

Next: Read a Diagnosis

Ferrum Diagnostics Guide → Auth and TLS Anvil Overview