Chef InSpec install guide

You can install Chef InSpec using a platform-native installer on:

• Windows
• Debian-based Linux distributions
• RPM-based Linux distributions

You can install the Chef InSpec Habitat package on:

• macOS
• Windows
• Debian-based Linux distributions
• RPM-based Linux distributions

Install Chef InSpec using a platform-native installer

Supported platforms

• Windows x86-64
• Linux x86-64
• Linux ARM64

Prerequisites

This installation process has the following prerequisites:

• Chef InSpec, Chef Automate, and Chef Workstation aren’t installed on the target system.

  If Chef InSpec is already installed, see the Chef InSpec uninstall documentation.

• Windows systems have tar installed.

• Debian-based systems have the DPKG package manager installed.

• RPM-based systems have RPM and either DNF or YUM installed. Amazon Linux 2 systems use RPM and YUM.

• You have a valid Progress Chef license key.

• The target system has an internet connection.

Install Chef InSpec on Debian-based systems

To install Chef InSpec on a Debian-based system, follow these steps:

1. Download the Debian-based installer using one of the following methods:

   • Download using wget:

     wget -O "inspec-enterprise-<VERSION>_<ARCHITECTURE>.deb" "https://chefdownload-commercial.chef.io/stable/inspec/download?eol=false&license_id=<LICENSE_ID>&m=<ARCHITECTURE>&p=linux&pm=deb&v=<VERSION>"
     

   • Download using curl:

     curl -o "inspec-enterprise-<VERSION>_<ARCHITECTURE>.deb" "https://chefdownload-commercial.chef.io/stable/inspec/download?eol=false&license_id=<LICENSE_ID>&m=<ARCHITECTURE>&p=linux&pm=deb&v=<VERSION>"
     

   Replace:

   • <VERSION> with the version number to install.
   • <LICENSE_ID> with your Chef license ID.
   • <ARCHITECTURE> with x86_64 or aarch64.

2. Install Chef InSpec:

   sudo dpkg -i inspec-enterprise-<VERSION>_<ARCHITECTURE>.deb
   

   Replace:

   • <VERSION> with the version number of the downloaded package, for example 7.1.6.
   • <ARCHITECTURE> with x86_64 or aarch64.

3. Verify that Chef InSpec is installed:

   inspec version
   

   The output displays the installed Chef InSpec version.

4. Accept the Chef EULA.

Install Chef InSpec on RPM-based systems

To install Chef InSpec on an RPM-based system, follow these steps:

1. Download the RPM-based installer using one of the following methods:

   • Download using wget:

     wget -O "inspec-enterprise-<VERSION>.<ARCHITECTURE>.rpm" "https://chefdownload-commercial.chef.io/stable/inspec/download?eol=false&license_id=<LICENSE_ID>&m=<ARCHITECTURE>&p=linux&pm=rpm&v=<VERSION>"
     

   • Download using curl:

     curl -o "inspec-enterprise-<VERSION>.<ARCHITECTURE>.rpm" "https://chefdownload-commercial.chef.io/stable/inspec/download?eol=false&license_id=<LICENSE_ID>&m=<ARCHITECTURE>&p=linux&pm=rpm&v=<VERSION>"
     

   Replace:

   • <VERSION> with the version number to install.
   • <LICENSE_ID> with your Chef license ID.
   • <ARCHITECTURE> with x86_64 or aarch64.

2. Install Chef InSpec using one of the following methods:

   • Install using rpm:

     sudo rpm -Uvh inspec-enterprise-<VERSION>.<ARCHITECTURE>.rpm
     

   • Install using dnf:

     sudo dnf install ./inspec-enterprise-<VERSION>.<ARCHITECTURE>.rpm
     

   • For Amazon Linux 2 or systems using yum:

     sudo yum install ./inspec-enterprise-<VERSION>.<ARCHITECTURE>.rpm
     

   Replace:

   • <VERSION> with the version number of the downloaded package, for example 7.1.6.
   • <ARCHITECTURE> with x86_64 or aarch64.

3. Verify that Chef InSpec is installed:

   inspec version
   

   The output displays the installed Chef InSpec version.

4. Accept the Chef EULA.

Install Chef InSpec on Windows

To install Chef InSpec on Windows, follow these steps:

1. Download the installer in an elevated PowerShell session:

   Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://chefdownload-commercial.chef.io/stable/inspec/download?eol=false&license_id=<LICENSE_ID>&m=x86_64&p=windows&pm=msi&v=<VERSION>" -OutFile "inspec-enterprise-<VERSION>-x64.msi"
   

2. Install Chef InSpec using one of the following methods:

   • Run the following command in an elevated PowerShell or Command Prompt session:

     msiexec /i inspec-enterprise-<VERSION>-x64.msi /qn
     

     Replace <VERSION> with the version number of the downloaded package, for example inspec-enterprise-7.1.6-1-x64.msi.

   • Double-click the .msi file and follow the on-screen installation wizard.

3. Verify that Chef InSpec is installed:

   inspec version
   

   The output displays the installed Chef InSpec version.

4. Accept the Chef EULA.

Install the Chef InSpec Habitat package

Supported platforms

• Windows x86-64
• Linux x86-64
• Linux ARM64
• macOS ARM64

Prerequisites

• Chef Automate, and Chef Workstation aren’t installed on the target system.
• Chef Habitat is installed on your workstation.
• You have a Chef Habitat Builder profile with a personal access token.
• You have a valid Progress Chef license key.
• The target system has an internet connection.

Install Chef InSpec

To install the Chef InSpec Habitat package, follow these steps:

1. Install the Chef InSpec Habitat package:

   sudo hab pkg install chef/inspec --channel base-2025 --binlink --force --auth <HAB_BUILDER_TOKEN>
   

   For more information, see the Habitat CLI documentation.

2. Verify that Chef InSpec is installed.

   inspec version
   

3. Accept the Chef EULA.

See also

• Chef Download API documentation
• Uninstall Chef InSpec
• Upgrade Chef InSpec