How to install Chef workstation on Windows, Mac, and Linux?

What is Chef workstation?

Chef workstation gives you everything you need to get started with Chef, ad-hoc remote execution, remote scanning, configuration tasks, cookbook creation tools, as well as robust dependency and testing software - all in one easy-to-install package.

Install Chef workstation

This knowledge base article shows simple, step-by-step instructions for installing the Chef workstation. The Chef workstation is a command-line tool used to connect to and manage the Chef infra Server and Chef automate. For ease of use and consistency, it is recommended to install the Chef workstation using a package manager on Windows, Mac, or Linux operating systems. After completing the installation, it’s essential to verify the version of the Chef workstation to ensure the installation was successful. For additional guidance, you can refer to the Chef workstation documentation.

Windows (Chocolatey)

You can use the following commands to install Chef workstation in the Chocolatey-based Windows operating system.

# Install Chef workstation.
$ choco install chef-workstation

# Check Chef workstation version.
$ chef --version

Mac (Homebrew)

You can use the following commands to install Chef workstation in the Homebrew-based Mac operating system.

# Install Chef workstation.
$ brew install --cask chef-workstation

# Check Chef workstation version.
$ chef --version

Linux (Debian)

You can use the following commands to install Chef workstation in Debian-based Linux operating systems such as Ubuntu Linux, Mint Linux, Kali Linux, Kubuntu Linux, etc., or any other similar equivalents.

# Download Chef workstation.
$ wget https://packages.chef.io/files/stable/chef-workstation/23.7.1042/ubuntu/18.04/chef-workstation_23.7.1042-1_amd64.deb -P /tmp

# Install Chef workstation.
$ sudo apt install /tmp/chef-workstation_23.7.1042-1_amd64.deb

# Check Chef workstation version.
$ chef --version