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CHEF-32332 : [Documentation] Update docs for InSpec 7 installation using Native installer #82

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InSpec native installer install doc
chandra-progress Apr 6, 2026
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update inpsec package name as inspe-ie
chandra-progress Apr 9, 2026
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204 changes: 172 additions & 32 deletions content/install/_index.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,17 +1,18 @@
+++
title = "Install Chef InSpec"
title = "Install Chef InSpec with a native installer"
draft = false

[menu.install]
title = "Install InSpec"
identifier = "install/install"
title = "Install with native installer"
identifier = "install/installer"
parent = "install"
weight = 10
weight = 20
+++

<!-- cSpell:ignore binlink, binlinks, binlinked -->
<!-- cSpell:ignore dpkg deb rpm Uvh msiexec qn amd el8 x86 chefdownload eol -->

This page documents how to install Chef InSpec from a Chef Habitat package.
The Chef InSpec native installers provide an efficient way to install Chef InSpec 7 on Windows, Debian, or RPM-based Linux distributions.
You can download and install the pre-built `.msi`, `.deb`, or `.rpm` packages using your existing package management tools, simplifying the deployment process for compliance automation.

## Supported platforms

Expand All @@ -22,58 +23,197 @@ Chef InSpec is supported on the following platforms:

## Prerequisites

- [Chef Habitat installed on your workstation](https://docs.chef.io/habitat/install_habitat/)
- [A Chef Habitat Builder profile with a personal access token](https://docs.chef.io/habitat/builder_profile/)
This installation process has the following prerequisites:

- Chef Automate isn't installed on the target system.
- Chef Workstation isn't installed on the target system.
- On Windows systems, `tar` is installed on the target system.
- On Debian-based systems, the `dpkg` package manager is installed on the target system.
- On RPM-based systems, the `rpm` and either the `dnf` or `yum` package managers are installed on the target system.

For Amazon Linux 2, use the `rpm` and `yum` package managers.

- You have a valid Progress Chef license key.
- The target system is connected to the internet.

## Uninstall an older version of Chef InSpec

If an older version of Chef InSpec is already installed, uninstall it before installing a newer version to avoid package conflicts.

### Uninstall on Debian-based distributions

```sh
sudo apt-get remove inspec
```

Verify that the package has been removed:

```sh
dpkg -l inspec
```

The command returns no output if the package is removed successfully.

### Uninstall on RPM-based distributions

Using `dnf`:

```sh
sudo dnf remove inspec
```

For Amazon Linux 2 or systems using `yum`:

```sh
sudo yum remove inspec
```

Verify that the package has been removed:

```sh
rpm -qa inspec
```

The command returns no output if the package is removed successfully.

### Uninstall on Windows

To uninstall using the Windows UI:

1. Open **Settings > Apps > Installed apps**.
2. Search for **Chef InSpec**.
3. Select **Uninstall**, then follow the on-screen prompts.

To uninstall from the command line, run the following command in an elevated PowerShell or Command Prompt session:

```powershell
msiexec /x inspec-ie-<version>-x64.msi /qn
```

Replace `<version>` with the version number of the currently installed package.

## Install Chef InSpec

Install the Chef InSpec Habitat package:
To install Chef InSpec, follow these steps:

### Step 1: Download the Chef InSpec installer

Download the installer package from the [Chef downloads page](https://www.chef.io/downloads).
Select **Chef InSpec**, then choose the target platform and version.

To download programmatically, use the following commands.
Replace `<VERSION>` with the version number to install and `<LICENSE_ID>` with your Chef license ID.

#### Download the Debian-based installer

Using `wget`:

```sh
sudo hab pkg install chef/inspec --channel base-2025 --binlink --force --auth <HAB_BUILDER_TOKEN>
wget -O "inspec-ie-<VERSION>-linux.deb" "https://chefdownload-commercial.chef.io/stable/inspec/download?eol=false&license_id=<LICENSE_ID>&m=x86_64&p=linux&pm=deb&v=<VERSION>"
```

For more information, see the [Habitat CLI documentation](https://docs.chef.io/habitat/habitat_cli/#hab-pkg-install).
Using `curl`:

## Verify installation
```sh
curl -o "inspec-ie-<VERSION>-linux.deb" "https://chefdownload-commercial.chef.io/stable/inspec/download?eol=false&license_id=<LICENSE_ID>&m=x86_64&p=linux&pm=deb&v=<VERSION>"
```

Use the following commands to verify that Chef InSpec is installed:
#### Download the RPM-based installer

- If you binlinked the InSpec package during installation, check the installed InSpec version:
Using `wget`:

```sh
inspec version
```
```sh
wget -O "inspec-ie-<VERSION>-linux.rpm" "https://chefdownload-commercial.chef.io/stable/inspec/download?eol=false&license_id=<LICENSE_ID>&m=x86_64&p=linux&pm=rpm&v=<VERSION>"
```

## Manage the Chef InSpec package
Using `curl`:

### Upgrade Chef InSpec
```sh
curl -o "inspec-ie-<VERSION>-linux.rpm" "https://chefdownload-commercial.chef.io/stable/inspec/download?eol=false&license_id=<LICENSE_ID>&m=x86_64&p=linux&pm=rpm&v=<VERSION>"
```

#### Download the Windows installer

Run the following command in an elevated PowerShell session:

```powershell
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://chefdownload-commercial.chef.io/stable/inspec/download?eol=false&license_id=<LICENSE_ID>&m=x86_64&p=windows&pm=msi&v=<VERSION>" -OutFile "inspec-ie-<VERSION>-windows.msi"
```

### Step 2: Install the package

Navigate to the directory containing the downloaded installer and run the appropriate install command for your platform.

#### Install on Debian-based distributions

```sh
sudo dpkg -i inspec-ie-<version>_amd64.deb
```

Replace `<version>` with the version number of the downloaded package, for example:

```sh
sudo dpkg -i inspec-ie-7.6.0-1_amd64.deb
```

To upgrade to a newer version in the same channel, re-run the install command with `--force`:
#### Install on RPM-based distributions

Using `rpm`:

```sh
sudo rpm -Uvh inspec-ie-<version>.x86_64.rpm
```

Using `dnf`:

```sh
sudo hab pkg install chef/inspec --channel base-2025 --binlink --force
sudo dnf install ./inspec-ie-<version>.x86_64.rpm
```

### Uninstall the InSpec package
For Amazon Linux 2 or systems using `yum`:

```sh
sudo hab pkg uninstall chef/inspec
sudo yum install ./inspec-ie-<version>.x86_64.rpm
```

Replace `<version>` with the version number of the downloaded package, for example `inspec-ie-7.6.0-1.el8.x86_64.rpm`.

#### Install on Windows

Run the following command in an elevated PowerShell or Command Prompt session:

```powershell
msiexec /i inspec-ie-<version>-x64.msi /qn
```

## Troubleshooting
Replace `<version>` with the version number of the downloaded package, for example `inspec-ie-7.6.0-x64.msi`.

### Authentication errors
Alternatively, double-click the `.msi` file and follow the on-screen installation wizard.

While installing Chef InSpec, if you see an error like this:
### Step 3: Verify the installation

```sh
✗✗✗ When applicable, we try once, then re-attempt 5 times to
✗✗✗ download a package. Unfortunately, we failed to download
✗✗✗ chef/inspec/7.*.**/2025****** for x86_64-linux.
✗✗✗ Last error: [401 Unauthorized] Please check that you have specified a valid Personal Access Token.
inspec version
```

This indicates that Habitat CLI can't authenticate with Chef Habitat Builder due to an invalid personal access token.
The output displays the installed version of Chef InSpec, for example:

```sh
7.6.0
```

### Upgrade Chef InSpec

To upgrade Chef InSpec to a newer version:

1. [Uninstall the current version](#uninstall-an-older-version-of-chef-inspec) using the steps for your platform.
2. [Download and install the new version](#install-chef-inspec) using the steps for your platform.

### Uninstall Chef InSpec

To remove Chef InSpec from your system, follow the steps in [Uninstall an older version of Chef InSpec](#uninstall-an-older-version-of-chef-inspec).

## More information

- [Verify your token or create a new personal access token](https://docs.chef.io/habitat/builder_profile/#create-a-personal-access-token) in Chef Habitat Builder.
- [Chef Download API documentation](https://docs.chef.io/download/)
- [Chef InSpec documentation](https://docs.chef.io/inspec/7.0/)
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