Install Chef InSpec

This page documents how to install Chef InSpec from a Chef Habitat package.

Supported platforms

Chef InSpec is supported on the following platforms:

Windows x86-64
Linux x86-64

Prerequisites

Install Chef InSpec

Install the Chef InSpec Habitat package:

sudo hab pkg install chef/inspec --channel base-2025 --binlink --force --auth <HAB_BUILDER_TOKEN>

For more information, see the Habitat CLI documentation.

Verify installation

Use the following commands to verify that Chef InSpec is installed:

If you binlinked the InSpec package during installation, check the installed InSpec version:
```
inspec version
```

Manage the Chef InSpec package

Upgrade Chef InSpec

To upgrade to a newer version in the same channel, re-run the install command with --force:

sudo hab pkg install chef/inspec --channel base-2025 --binlink --force

Uninstall the InSpec package

sudo hab pkg uninstall chef/inspec

Troubleshooting

Authentication errors

While installing Chef InSpec, if you see an error like this:

✗✗✗ 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.

This indicates that Habitat CLI can’t authenticate with Chef Habitat Builder due to an invalid personal access token.

Verify your token or create a new personal access token in Chef Habitat Builder.