Install Chef Workstation

System requirements

Chef Workstation 26 has the following requirements:

• Linux x86-64 (64-bit) systems only
• Chef Habitat 1.6.0 or later installed
• Minimum 2GB available disk space for installation
• Internet connectivity for package downloads (or access to internal Habitat Builder)

Prerequisites

We use Chef Habitat to distribute and install Chef Workstation and its components. See the following guides to install and configure Chef Habitat:

• Install Chef Habitat
• Create a Chef Habitat Builder profile

Install Chef Workstation

Chef Workstation supports several installation methods to accommodate different deployment scenarios. Installing the Latest Stable Version To install the most recent stable release from the default channel, execute the following command:

Installing with Binary Linking (Recommended)

The recommended installation method includes binary linking, which creates symbolic links to the package binaries in your system PATH. This enables direct command execution without requiring the full Habitat exec syntax:

hab pkg install chef/chef-workstation --binlink --force

Installing from the Unstable Channel

For access to pre-release versions and the latest development builds, install from the unstable channel:

hab pkg install chef/chef-workstation --channel unstable

Installing a Specific Version

When you need to install a particular version of Chef Workstation Enterprise , specify the version and timestamp in the package identifier:

hab pkg install chef/chef-workstation/<VERSION>/<TIMESTAMP>

For example, to install version 26.0.15 with timestamp 20260320102857:

hab pkg install chef/chef-workstation/26.0.15/20260320102857

Post-Installation Verification

After completing the installation, verify that Chef Workstation is correctly installed by checking the version information:

chef-workstation -v

OR

chef -v

A successful installation will display output similar to the following:

Product Name: Chef Workstation
Product Version: 26.0.16

Default Installed Components:

Chef Infra Client Version: 19.2.12
Chef CLI Version: 6.1.29
Chef Test Kitchen Enterprise Version: 2.0.11
Berkshelf Version: 8.1.21
Ohai Version: 19.1.24
Fauxhai Version: 9.4.20
Chef Vault Version: 4.2.9
Cookstyle Version: 8.6.10
Chef InSpec Version: 7.0.107

Note: After installing a Habitat package on Windows, you need to add (use hab cli setup) C:\hab\bin to your system PATH so that binlinked commands (like knife, chef-cli, inspec) work smoothly from any terminal.

Usage Guide

Chef Workstation provides two primary methods for executing the bundled tools. This section describes each approach and provides guidance on selecting the appropriate method for your use case.

Method 1: Using Direct Executables with Binary Linking

Binary linking creates symbolic links to package executables in a system-wide location, allowing you to invoke tools directly without the Habitat exec prefix. This method provides a more familiar command-line experience similar to traditional installations. To enable binary linking during the initial installation, include the binlink flag:

hab pkg install chef/chef-workstation --binlink

If you have already installed Chef Workstation without binary linking, you can enable it afterwards:

hab pkg binlink chef/chef-workstation

Once binary linking is enabled, you can invoke tools directly from the command line:

kitchen -v
chef-cli -v
chef-client --version
berks -v
inspec version
knife -v

Method 2: Using Habitat Exec

The Habitat exec command provides explicit control over which package and version is used to execute a command. This method is recommended when you need to ensure a specific package version is used or when binary linking isn’t available. The general syntax for the Habitat exec command is as follows:

hab pkg exec chef/<package-name> <binary-name> <command>

The following table provides examples of common tool invocations using the Habitat exec method:

Install Chef Workstation tools

The following applications are included with Chef Workstation, but they can be installed as standalone applications.

Follow these instructions to install a Workstation tool.

1. Install a package using hab pkg install:

   hab pkg install <PACKAGE_IDENT> --binlink --force
   

   Replace <PACKAGE_IDENT> with the package identifier:

   • chef/berkshelf
   • chef/chef-cli
   • chef/chef-infra-client
   • chef/chef-test-kitchen-enterprise
   • chef/chef-vault
   • chef/cookstyle
   • chef/fauxhai
   • chef/inspec
   • chef/knife
   • chef/ohai

   The --binlink --force options overwrite any existing package symbolic links in the system’s PATH directory with the new version so you can run it directly in the command line.

2. Verify that the correct version runs:

   berks -v
   chef-cli -v
   chef-client -v
   chef-client -v
   chef-vault <args>
   cookstyle -v
   fauxhai -v
   knife -v
   ohai -v
   

Troubleshooting

Binlinks not found

If commands aren’t found after installation, verify that Chef Habitat created the binlinks:

ls -la /bin | grep chef

If binlinks are missing, recreate them:

hab pkg binlink --force chef/chef-workstation

Permission errors

Ensure you’re running installation commands with sudo for system-wide access.

Habitat channel issues

If the package can’t be found, verify channel availability:

hab pkg search chef/chef-workstation --channel unstable

Next step

• Set up Workstation
• Add a license

More information

• Chef Habitat documentation
• Upgrade Chef Workstation 26 and its components