Installation

Basilisk is a single Rust binary with no runtime dependencies. No Node.js. No Python interpreter. No package manager required after installation.

VS Code extension (recommended)

The fastest way to get started. Install the Basilisk extension from the VS Code Marketplace:

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for Basilisk
4. Click Install

The extension automatically downloads the correct Basilisk binary for your platform on first activation. No manual setup required. The binary is downloaded from GitHub Releases and stored in the extension's global storage directory.

git clone https://github.com/MelbourneDeveloper/Basilisk
cd basilisk
cargo build --release

If the binary is already on your PATH (e.g. from cargo install), the extension uses that instead of downloading.

Pre-built binaries

Download the latest release for your platform from GitHub Releases:

# macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -sSfL https://github.com/MelbourneDeveloper/Basilisk/releases/latest/download/basilisk-darwin-aarch64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv basilisk /usr/local/bin/

# macOS (Intel)
curl -sSfL https://github.com/MelbourneDeveloper/Basilisk/releases/latest/download/basilisk-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv basilisk /usr/local/bin/

# Linux (x86_64)
curl -sSfL https://github.com/MelbourneDeveloper/Basilisk/releases/latest/download/basilisk-linux-x86_64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv basilisk /usr/local/bin/

Verify the installation:

basilisk --version

Install via Cargo

If you have Rust installed:

cargo install basilisk

This installs the binary to ~/.cargo/bin/, which is typically already on your PATH if you installed Rust via rustup.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/MelbourneDeveloper/Basilisk
cd Basilisk
cargo build --release

The binary is built at target/release/basilisk. Add it to your PATH:

cp target/release/basilisk /usr/local/bin/

Rust 1.87+ required.

Track progress at github.com/MelbourneDeveloper/Basilisk.

CI integration

Basilisk integrates naturally into any CI pipeline. Download the binary in your workflow:

# GitHub Actions example
- name: Install Basilisk
  run: |
    curl -sSfL https://github.com/MelbourneDeveloper/Basilisk/releases/latest/download/basilisk-linux-x86_64.tar.gz | tar xz
    sudo mv basilisk /usr/local/bin/

- name: Type check
  run: basilisk check src/

Exit codes:

• 0 — No errors found
• 1 — Type errors found
• 2 — Configuration error
• 3 — Internal error

Zed extension

Basilisk provides a native Zed extension that registers the LSP for Python files. When installed, Basilisk automatically activates as the language server for all .py files.

Install the extension

1. Build and install the Basilisk CLI binary:

cargo install --path crates/basilisk-cli

This installs the binary to ~/.cargo/bin/basilisk.

2. Install the dev extension in Zed:

• Open the command palette: Cmd+Shift+P
• Run zed: install dev extension
• Select the basilisk-zed/ directory from the repository

Zed compiles the extension's Rust source to WASM automatically. You do not need to pre-build or copy any .wasm files.

3. Open a Python file — Basilisk is now your Python language server.

How Zed finds the binary

The Zed extension resolves the Basilisk binary in this order:

1. Zed LSP settings — if you configure an explicit path in your Zed settings.json:

{
  "lsp": {
    "basilisk": {
      "binary": {
        "path": "/path/to/basilisk"
      }
    }
  }
}

2. BASILISK_PATH environment variable — set this to override the default location
3. ~/.cargo/bin/basilisk — the default location where cargo install places the binary

Zed does not resolve bare command names from PATH. The extension always returns an absolute path to the binary.

Configure Basilisk settings in Zed

Add Basilisk-specific settings to your Zed settings.json:

{
  "lsp": {
    "basilisk": {
      "settings": {
        "inlayHints": {
          "paramNames": true,
          "varTypes": true
        },
        "ruff": {
          "enabled": true
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Rebuilding after changes

If you modify the Basilisk source:

1. Rebuild the CLI binary: cargo install --path crates/basilisk-cli --force
2. Reinstall the dev extension in Zed: Cmd+Shift+P → zed: install dev extension → select basilisk-zed/

Zed recompiles the WASM and reloads the extension automatically.

Editor support (LSP)

Basilisk implements the Language Server Protocol. Any editor with LSP support can use it:

• VS Code — via the official Basilisk extension (auto-downloads the binary)
• Zed — via the Basilisk Zed extension (see above)
• Neovim — via nvim-lspconfig
• Helix — native LSP support
• Emacs — via eglot or lsp-mode

How the VS Code extension finds the binary

The extension resolves the Basilisk binary in this order:

1. basilisk.executablePath setting — if you set an explicit path, it's used directly
2. System PATH — checks ~/.cargo/bin/, /usr/local/bin/, /opt/homebrew/bin/
3. Extension storage — checks for a previously downloaded binary
4. Download prompt — offers to download the matching version from GitHub Releases