Amber V2 now has one public home for learning the framework, installing its standalone CLI, and generating a web application that looks and feels like it belongs to the same project.
The framework remains 2.0.0-beta.2. The companion Amber CLI 2.0.3 updates
the generated web starter and is the minimum version used throughout the new
site and V2 guides.
Install the CLI
On Apple Silicon macOS or x86_64 Linux with Homebrew:
brew install amberframework/amber_cli/amber_cli
amber --version
Verified archives and checksum files are available from the Amber CLI v2.0.3 release.
Generate the new web starter
amber new my_app
cd my_app
crystal spec
amber watch
Web is the default application type; amber new my_app --type web is the
explicit equivalent. The generated application pins the official Amber
2.0.0-beta.2 framework release and starts with ECR, typed configuration,
locally served CSS and JavaScript, and a browser-native import map. It does not
require Node, npm, a bundler, a UI library, a CDN, an ORM, or a database.
Learn the Amber way
The new Amber's Way page explains the beliefs behind the code:
controllers coordinate work, respond_with makes HTML and JSON
representations explicit, ECR owns server-rendered HTML, and local browser
assets provide a complete front end before another dependency is added.
The V2 documentation now includes the exact generated file system, complete ECR and import-map examples, supported and preview boundaries, deployment guidance, and benchmark evidence with its workload and limitations.
Start with Installation, build the first web application, and keep the beta support matrix nearby while evaluating other generators.
What we need from beta testers
Try the complete path on a supported Mac or Linux machine. When something breaks or reads ambiguously, report the operating system and architecture, Crystal version, Amber CLI version, install method, exact command, and complete output.
Amber V2 is still a beta. Persistence-backed generators, Grant, Gemma, the separate Asset Pipeline, and native generation remain clearly labeled preview surfaces. The public web path is narrower on purpose: it is the path we can document, reproduce, and improve together.