Before you begin

Make sure that you have the following prerequisites:

• Windows 10 or 11
• PowerShell 5.1
• Node.js version 24 or later

Set up your PowerShell working directory

1. Start PowerShell with Run as administrator. When you start PowerShell as an administrator, the default working directory is C:\Windows\system32.

2. Create a dedicated working directory, such as C:\Paver, and change to that directory:

   New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path C:\Paver -Force
   

   Set-Location C:\Paver
   

   Do not run setup commands or store files in C:\Windows\system32.

Install the Paver CLI on Windows

1. In the PowerShell window that you started as an administrator, make sure that your current working directory is C:\Paver.

2. Run the following command:

   iwr https://paver.cloud.ibm.com/cli/install.ps1 | iex
   

3. After the installer completes, open a new PowerShell window as an administrator and change to the C:\Paver directory.

   Set-Location C:\Paver
   

   Existing PowerShell windows don't pick up the updated PATH, so you must open a new window.

4. Verify the installation. A version string is displayed.

   paver --version
   

5. Update the CLI to the latest version, even if the CLI was already installed.

   paver update --yes
   

After the installation completes, you must authenticate with your IBM Cloud account and target a specific account to get started.

Log in with SSO

To use SSO, run the following command:

paver login --sso

Log in with an API key

To use an API key and target your account, run the following commands:

1. Log in with your API key:

   paver login --apikey CLOUD_API_KEY
   

   When you run paver login --apikey CLOUD_API_KEY, Paver automatically writes ibmcloud_api_key to your keyring with a 24-hour TTL. No extra step is required. The credential is available immediately in your next session.