Install

Bombadil bundles its own copy of uv, so you don't need to install anything else.

Installerpip / uvcargoFrom source

Download the file for your system from the latest release:

System	File
Debian, Ubuntu	bombadil_<version>-1_amd64.deb or _arm64.deb
Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE	bombadil-<version>-1.x86_64.rpm or .aarch64.rpm
macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel)	bombadil-<version>-macos-universal.dmg
Windows	bombadil-<version>-x86_64-windows-setup.exe

Install a .deb with sudo apt install ./bombadil_*.deb and an .rpm with sudo dnf install ./bombadil-*.rpm. On macOS, open the .dmg and drag Bombadil into Applications. The Windows setup installs for your user only unless you choose otherwise, and needs no administrator rights.

Each release also has the bare binary in a .tar.gz (or a .zip on Windows), and a SHA256SUMS file to check the downloads against.

pip install bombadil
# or
uv tool install bombadil

The wheel contains the compiled app and puts a bombadil command on your PATH. There is no Python code inside it.

cargo install bombadil

This needs Rust 1.88 or newer.

git clone https://github.com/marcelotrevisani/bombadil
cd bombadil
cargo run --release -p bombadil

The build downloads the pinned uv release for your platform.

Then run:

bombadil

Supported platforms

Platform	Prebuilt wheel	cargo install
Linux x86-64 and ARM64	yes	yes
macOS on Apple Silicon	yes	yes
macOS on Intel	no	yes (builds from source)
Windows x86-64	yes	yes

First launch on macOS and Windows

The macOS app and the Windows installer are not signed with a paid developer certificate, so the system asks before the first launch.

• macOS: if macOS says it cannot check the app for malicious software, open System Settings › Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway next to Bombadil. You only need to do this once.
• Windows: if SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway.

Linux desktop integration

Each time Bombadil starts on Linux, it writes its own desktop entry and icons under ~/.local/share. No root access is needed. This is what lets GNOME on Wayland show the right icon in the dock and the window switcher. See Gotchas.

Updating

Upgrade the same way you installed it: install the newer package or run the newer setup over the old one, or use pip install -U bombadil, uv tool upgrade bombadil or cargo install bombadil. Upgrading keeps your settings and projects, which live in the configuration file.