Is Zig in the official Ubuntu repositories?

No — Zig is not packaged in the official Ubuntu archives. This free mirror serves the newest Zig release that is at least 2 months old; the main repository at deb.griffo.io serves every release within hours of upstream.

How do I install the latest Zig on Ubuntu?

Add the deb-free.griffo.io repository once using the instructions above, then run: sudo apt install zig-stable. New releases arrive through the normal sudo apt upgrade.

Are the packages signed and how are they built?

Every package is signed with the repository's GPG key (EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256) and built from upstream releases in public GitHub packaging repositories that anyone can inspect.

Which Ubuntu releases are supported?

Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy, 24.04 Noble, 25.10 Questing and 26.04 Resolute.

Install Zig on Ubuntu via apt

Source	Version
deb.griffo.io (main)	0.16.0 ✅
Official Ubuntu	🚫 not packaged

← Back to home

What is Zig?

Zig is a general-purpose programming language and toolchain designed for maintaining robust, optimal, and reusable software. Created by Andrew Kelley, Zig aims to be a better alternative to C, offering modern language features while maintaining the simplicity and performance that systems programmers need.

            🚀 Why Staying Current Matters: Zig is rapidly evolving with significant performance improvements, new language features, and critical bug fixes in each release. The latest 0.16.0 includes major enhancements like improved cross-compilation, faster compilation times, and enhanced debugging capabilities.
        

🔥 Key Features of Zig

⚡ Simple & Fast

No hidden control flow, no hidden memory allocations, no preprocessor. Focus on debugging your application, not your language knowledge.

🔧 Comptime Magic

Compile-time code execution and lazy evaluation. Call any function at compile-time and manipulate types as values without runtime overhead.

🌐 Cross-Compilation

Built-in cross-compilation support for dozens of targets. No external dependencies needed for most platforms.

🔄 C/C++ Interop

Use Zig as a drop-in C/C++ compiler with better cross-compilation. Incrementally adopt Zig in existing codebases.

            🆓 Free forever, patched immediately: Debian and Ubuntu freeze package versions when a release ships; this free mirror instead serves the newest release once it is at least 2 months old, with security fixes published immediately. Want every release within hours instead? That's the main repository at deb.griffo.io.
        

📦 Installation from deb-free.griffo.io

Step 1: Add Repository

sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb-free.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb-free.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb-free.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
sudo apt update
                

install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb-free.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb-free.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb-free.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
apt update
                

Step 2: Install Zig

# Install current stable Zig
sudo apt install zig

# Or install nightly builds for cutting-edge features
sudo apt install zig-master
                

# Install current stable Zig
apt install zig

# Or install nightly builds for cutting-edge features
apt install zig-master
                

🎯 Basic Usage Examples

Create a new project:

# Create and enter project directory
mkdir my-zig-project && cd my-zig-project

# Initialize new Zig project
zig init

# Build and run
zig build run
        

Compile a single file:

# Create hello.zig
echo 'const std = @import("std");
pub fn main() void {
    std.debug.print("Hello, Zig!\n", .{});
}' > hello.zig

# Compile and run
zig run hello.zig
        

Use as C compiler:

# Compile C code with Zig
zig cc -o program program.c

# Cross-compile for different targets
zig cc -target x86_64-windows -o program.exe program.c
        

🚀 Why Choose deb-free.griffo.io?

⚠️ Official Debian Lag: Official Debian repositories often contain outdated Zig versions that may be months or even years behind the latest release, missing critical features and performance improvements.

✅ Never Frozen: Get the newest Zig release once it is at least 2 months old — security fixes ship immediately
✅ Nightly Builds: Access cutting-edge features with zig-master package
✅ Automatic Updates: Packages updated once a release is at least 2 months old; security fixes ship immediately
✅ Proper Dependencies: Correctly packaged with all required dependencies
✅ Multi-Distribution: Works on Jammy and Noble
✅ Zero Hassle: No manual compilation or complex setup required

📦 Package Build Repository

The Ubuntu packages are automatically built and maintained in these GitHub repositories:

🇿 zig-debian (stable) - Stable release builds
🇿 zig-master-debian (nightly) - Nightly development builds

🔗 Related Packages

Also available from deb.griffo.io:

ZLS Language Server - IDE support for Zig
Yazi File Manager - Terminal file manager

            🎯 Perfect for: Systems programming, game development, embedded systems, performance-critical applications, and anyone wanting a modern alternative to C with better safety and tooling.
        

💝 Support This Project

If this repository saves you time and effort, please consider supporting it!

⭐ Star on GitHub 🐦 Share on Twitter

🇿 Install Latest Zig on Ubuntu