Installation

The CARTO CLI is published on npm as @carto/carto-cli and installs as a global carto binary.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or newer. Check with node --version.

• A CARTO organization. The CLI works against CARTO Cloud (any region) and CARTO Self-Hosted deployments.

CARTO Self-Hosted compatibility

The CARTO CLI evolves with the rest of the CARTO Platform. The latest version of the CARTO CLI will always be compatible with the SaaS version of the platform. However, newer versions of the CLI might not be compatible with older versions of CARTO Self-Hosted deployments, due to missing API functionalities.

For a full compatibility list, check the CARTO Self-Hosted release notes.

Install via npm

npm install -g @carto/carto-cli

Verify the install:

carto --version
carto --help

Standalone executables

For environments where Node.js is not available, single-file executables are produced for macOS, Linux, and Windows during release. See the carto-cli releases for download links and SHA checksums.

Upgrade

npm install -g @carto/carto-cli@latest

Next steps

• Authenticate to your CARTO organization with carto auth login.

• If you manage multiple CARTO organizations or environments, set up named profiles.