stave-setup

name	stave-setup
description	Build Stave from source and verify the binary and control catalog work, adapting to what is already installed
triggers	["first time touching Stave","install Stave","build Stave","set up Stave","get started with Stave"]
requires	["go (>= 1.26 — see https://go.dev/dl/)","git",{"jq (apt":"sudo apt install jq)"}]

stave-setup

What this skill does

Installs prerequisites, builds Stave from source, and verifies the binary + control catalog. Adapts to what is already installed — skip steps whose check already passes.

Time: ~5 minutes. No AWS account needed.

Steps

1. Check Go (>= 1.26 required)

go version

• Go >= 1.26 → proceed.
• Missing or older → install Go 1.26.x:

  wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.26.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz
  sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go && sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.26.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz
  export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin
  go version   # → go1.26.x
  

2. Check jq

jq --version || sudo apt install -y jq

3. Clone and build

git clone https://github.com/sufield/stave
cd stave
make build

Use make build, NOT bare go build — make build runs sync-schemas / sync-controls first, which a fresh clone needs. If the build fails, report the make output verbatim (usually a Go-version mismatch).

4. Verify the binary

./stave version

Expect a version line (e.g. edge (production)). Both ./stave version and ./stave --version work.

5. Verify the control catalog

./stave controls list -i controls | wc -l

Expect 2,600+ controls. If 0, the controls/ directory didn't clone — re-check step 3.

6. Verify search

./stave search "privilege escalation"

Expect multiple results with control IDs and descriptions.

Success

A working stave binary with 2,600+ controls, search functioning. Next: first-evaluation.