Install the tools

Choose one path. Use the CLI to inspect, Python to automate, or Rust to embed. For the local client/server lab, start with Python; the CLI is optional.

CLI

Install a CLI executable

Download the file for the machine that will run the tool. These are v0.11.0 release assets, not an automatic platform recommendation.

macOS ↓Apple siliconbacnet-macos-arm64Release build: BACnet/SCmacOS ↓Intelbacnet-macos-amd64Release build: BACnet/SCLinux ↓x86-64bacnet-linux-amd64Release build: BACnet/SC · packet captureLinux ↓ARM64bacnet-linux-arm64Release build: BACnet/SC · packet captureWindows ↓x86-64bacnet-windows-amd64.exeRelease build: BACnet/SC

Windows ARM64 is not listed in this release. The feature labels reflect the release workflow, not a blanket transport or conformance guarantee.

Run it from the download directory

macOS / Linux

CLI on macOS or Linux

For Apple silicon, after downloading bacnet-macos-arm64:

chmod +x ./bacnet-macos-arm64
./bacnet-macos-arm64 --version
./bacnet-macos-arm64 --help

On Intel Macs or Linux, substitute the exact filename you downloaded. Do not run a filename intended for another processor architecture.

Linux runtime dependency

The reviewed Linux release binary links to libpcap. On a machine without that library, even --version can fail with libpcap.so.0.8: cannot open shared object file. Install your distribution’s libpcap runtime through its normal package manager, or build the basic CLI without the pcap feature below. A capture-enabled executable needs the library even when the command does not capture packets.

Windows

CLI on Windows

In PowerShell, from the download directory:

.\bacnet-windows-amd64.exe --version
.\bacnet-windows-amd64.exe --help

The .\ prefix means “run the file in this directory.” You do not need to change PowerShell’s script-execution policy to run this executable. Follow your organization’s executable approval process; do not disable operating-system protections to follow a tutorial.

✓ Check the executable

The version should identify 0.11.0, and --help should list the available commands. This checks the executable and its runtime dependencies; it does not send a BACnet discovery request.

The guides use bacnet for readability. Rename the executable to bacnet / bacnet.exe and place it on your PATH, or substitute its downloaded filename in commands. On Windows, Get-Command bacnet; on macOS/Linux, command -v bacnet helps identify which executable will run.

Prefer a source build?

With Rust 1.93 or later and the toolchain’s platform prerequisites installed:

git clone --branch v0.11.0 https://github.com/jscott3201/rusty-bacnet.git rusty-bacnet-v0.11
cd rusty-bacnet-v0.11
cargo install --path crates/bacnet-cli --locked
bacnet --version

That basic build does not enable packet capture. To include BACnet/SC without adding packet capture:

cargo install --path crates/bacnet-cli --locked --features sc-tls

pcap is a separate optional Cargo feature and needs native development dependencies when building. Add it only when packet capture is needed.

CONTINUERead a known deviceStart with one authorized device and one property.→

Python

Install the Python package

The package is named rusty-bacnet; the import is rusty_bacnet. It does not install the documented bacnet CLI executable.

The package minimum is Python 3.11. The reviewed release workflow builds ordinary CPython 3.11, 3.12, and 3.13 wheels. Start with one of those interpreters; newer or free-threaded Python builds are not implied by that minimum. These are build targets, not a promise that every machine has a compatible downloadable wheel.

macOS / Linux

Python on macOS or Linux

Check that python3 is an appropriate interpreter, then create a local environment:

python3 --version
python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/python -m pip install --only-binary=:all: rusty-bacnet==0.11.0

Verify that the native module loads, not just that package metadata exists:

.venv/bin/python -c "from rusty_bacnet import BACnetClient; from importlib.metadata import version; print(version('rusty-bacnet'))"

Windows

Python on Windows

This example explicitly selects Python 3.13. Use an installed, supported interpreter:

py -3.13 -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install --only-binary=:all: rusty-bacnet==0.11.0

.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -c "from rusty_bacnet import BACnetClient; from importlib.metadata import version; print(version('rusty-bacnet'))"

Using the environment’s interpreter directly avoids a separate activation step or an execution-policy change.

✓ Check the import

The command prints 0.11.0 without an import or shared-library error. Use this same environment’s interpreter for the next script.

“No matching distribution found”

--only-binary=:all: deliberately prevents an unexpected native source build. Check the interpreter version, operating system, architecture, and configured package index. A missing wheel is not a BACnet network failure.

A source build is a different installation path: it needs Rust and the native prerequisites for the release’s PyO3/Maturin build. Review the Python packaging source before choosing it. Do not silently drop the binary-only option and call that an equivalent install.

CONTINUETry the local client/server labRead an example point without a physical controller or building network.→

Rust

Add the Rust crates

Rust 1.93 or later is the reviewed workspace minimum. Use the bacnet-* crates; rusty-bacnet is the Python package name, not the Rust client crate.

Start with the exact release baseline while learning:

[dependencies]
bacnet-client = "=0.11.0"
bacnet-types = "=0.11.0"
bacnet-encoding = "=0.11.0"
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["macros", "rt-multi-thread"] }

Keep related BACnet crate versions aligned. Add transport features only when the application needs them. The Rust quickstart supplies a directed-read example and explains the address format.

CONTINUEEmbed the Rust clientBuild a small client, then choose the transport your application needs.→

Installation is not connectivity

A working executable or Python import is the first checkpoint. Network reachability, certificate trust, and serial timing are separate checks. Start locally, then move to a known authorized device.

Sources and release scope

Guides target v0.11.0. Release assets · Release build matrix · CLI feature flags · Python packaging · Workspace minimum.