What is odin-install?

This Claude skill automates the end-to-end setup of the Odin programming language environment. It simplifies complex installation procedures, including binary deployment, building from source, and configuring essential developer tools like the Odin Language Server (OLS) and the odinfmt formatter to ensure a seamless coding experience.

When should I use odin-install?

odin-install is useful in the following scenarios: • Setting up a complete Odin development environment on a new Linux or macOS machine with all necessary dependencies. • Updating an existing Odin installation to the latest version or switching between stable and development builds. • Configuring the Odin Language Server (OLS) and formatting tools to enable IDE features like syntax highlighting, autocomplete, and code linting. • Bootstrapping new Odin projects with standardized directory structures, Makefiles, and environment configurations. • Troubleshooting common installation hurdles such as LLVM version mismatches or missing vendor libraries like SDL2.

name	odin-install
description	\|

Odin Installation

Quick Install (Linux)

Step 1: Get the download URL for the latest release:

curl -sL https://api.github.com/repos/odin-lang/Odin/releases/latest | grep -o '"browser_download_url": "[^"]*linux[^"]*amd64[^"]*"' | head -1 | cut -d'"' -f4

Step 2: Download using the URL from Step 1 (replace URL as needed):

curl -L "https://github.com/odin-lang/Odin/releases/download/dev-2025-12a/odin-linux-amd64-dev-2025-12a.tar.gz" -o /tmp/odin.tar.gz

Step 3: Extract and install:

sudo tar -xzf /tmp/odin.tar.gz -C /opt/

Step 4: Find the extracted directory and create symlink:

ls /opt/ | grep odin
# Then create symlink (adjust directory name as needed):
sudo ln -sf /opt/odin-linux-amd64-nightly+2025-12-04/odin /usr/local/bin/odin

Step 5: Verify installation:

odin version

Prerequisites

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

# Odin uses libatomic from GCC
clang++ -v  # Check "Selected GCC installation" version
sudo apt install libstdc++-12-dev  # or version 14

# For SDL2 (vendor library)
sudo apt install libsdl2-dev

macOS

# Using Homebrew
brew install odin
brew install sdl2  # For SDL2 projects

From Source

# Install LLVM (14, 17, 18, 19, 20, or 21)
sudo apt install llvm-17 clang-17 lld-17

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/odin-lang/Odin
cd Odin
make release-native

# Add to PATH
export PATH="$PWD:$PATH"

Language Server (OLS) and Formatter

Install OLS from Source

# Clone OLS repository
cd /tmp && git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DanielGavin/ols.git

# Build OLS (uses build script)
cd /tmp/ols && ./build.sh

# Build odinfmt formatter
./odinfmt.sh

# Install to system
sudo cp /tmp/ols/ols /usr/local/bin/
sudo cp /tmp/ols/odinfmt /usr/local/bin/

# Verify installation
which ols odinfmt

Check if OLS is installed

# Check for OLS and odinfmt
which ols odinfmt

# If missing, follow the install steps above

Configure OLS (ols.json in project root)

After installing, create ols.json in your project root:

{
    "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DanielGavin/ols/master/misc/ols.schema.json",
    "collections": [
        { "name": "core", "path": "/opt/odin-linux-amd64-nightly+2025-12-04/core" },
        { "name": "vendor", "path": "/opt/odin-linux-amd64-nightly+2025-12-04/vendor" }
    ],
    "enable_semantic_tokens": true,
    "enable_snippets": true,
    "enable_inlay_hints": true,
    "enable_hover": true,
    "enable_document_symbols": true,
    "enable_format": true,
    "enable_procedure_snippet": true,
    "enable_references": true,
    "odin_command": "/usr/local/bin/odin"
}

Note: Adjust the collection paths to match your actual Odin install directory (use ls /opt/ | grep odin).

Using odinfmt

# Format a file (output to stdout)
odinfmt /path/to/file.odin

# Format and overwrite file in place
odinfmt -w /path/to/file.odin

# Format from stdin
echo 'package main; main :: proc() { x:=1 }' | odinfmt -stdin

Project Setup

# Create new project
mkdir my-project && cd my-project
mkdir -p src build

# Create main file
cat > src/main.odin << 'EOF'
package main

import "core:fmt"

main :: proc() {
    fmt.println("Hello, Odin!")
}
EOF

# Create ols.json for language server
cat > ols.json << 'EOF'
{
    "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DanielGaworski/ols/master/misc/ols.schema.json",
    "collections": [
        { "name": "core", "path": "ODIN_ROOT/core" },
        { "name": "vendor", "path": "ODIN_ROOT/vendor" }
    ]
}
EOF

# Create Makefile
cat > Makefile << 'EOF'
.PHONY: build run clean debug test

build:
	odin build src -out:build/app

run: build
	./build/app

debug:
	odin build src -out:build/app -debug

clean:
	rm -rf build/

test:
	odin test src -out:build/test
EOF

# Create .gitignore
cat >> .gitignore << 'EOF'
build/
*.o
*.obj
EOF

# Build and run
make run

Verify Installation

# Check version
odin version

# Check LLVM backend
odin report

# Run hello world
odin run -file:src/main.odin

Update Odin

Step 1: Remove old version:

sudo rm -rf /opt/odin-*

Step 2: Follow the Quick Install steps above to download and install the latest version.

Step 3: Verify the update:

odin version

Troubleshooting

"atomic.h not found"

sudo apt install libstdc++-12-dev
# or libstdc++-14-dev depending on clang version

LLVM version mismatch

# Check supported versions
odin report

# Set explicit LLVM
LLVM_CONFIG=/usr/bin/llvm-config-17 make release-native

SDL2 not found

sudo apt install libsdl2-dev
# Or on macOS: brew install sdl2

odin-install

When & Why to Use This Skill

Use Cases