Installation

Requirements

• A supported database:
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • SQLite
  • SQL Server (MSSQL)

Install the CLI

The CLI provides both an interactive terminal UI and headless mode for CI/CD.

macOS / Linux

curl -fsSL https://noorm.dev/install.sh | sh

This downloads a self-contained binary for your platform. The installer looks for a user-writable bin directory already in your PATH (~/.local/bin, ~/bin, etc.) so you don't need sudo. No runtime dependencies needed.

Corporate network?

If noorm.dev is blocked, use the GitHub mirror:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/noormdev/noorm/master/install.sh | sh

You can also override the install location:

NOORM_INSTALL_DIR=~/my-tools curl -fsSL https://noorm.dev/install.sh | sh

Windows

Download noorm-windows-x64.exe from the latest @noormdev/cli release, rename it to noorm.exe, and add it to your PATH.

Verify

noorm --version

Update

noorm can update itself:

# Headless
noorm -H update

# Or from the TUI home screen, press [u]

Install the SDK (Optional)

For programmatic access in scripts, tests, or custom tooling:

npm install @noormdev/sdk kysely

The SDK uses peer dependencies. Install the driver for your database:

Dialect	Install
PostgreSQL	npm install pg
MySQL	npm install mysql2
SQLite	npm install better-sqlite3
SQL Server	npm install tedious tarn

CLI Includes Drivers

The CLI bundles all drivers — no extra installation needed. These are only required if you're using the SDK directly.

Initialize a Project

After installation, initialize noorm in your project:

cd your-project
noorm init

This creates:

your-project/
├── .noorm/
│   ├── settings.yml           # Project settings (commit this)
│   └── state/
│       └── state.enc          # Encrypted state (don't commit)
├── sql/                       # Your SQL files
│   └── .gitkeep
└── changes/                   # Versioned changes
    └── .gitkeep

Git Ignore

Add .noorm/state/ to your .gitignore. This folder contains encrypted configs and secrets specific to each developer's machine. The .noorm/settings.yml should be committed — it's the shared project configuration.

Next Steps

You're ready to go! Continue to:

• First Build - Complete the 5-minute tutorial
• Concepts - Understand the mental model