How To Download and Install Heroku on Ubuntu with Command Line

In this article, we will guide you through the process of downloading and installing Heroku on Ubuntu using the command line. Heroku is a cloud platform that lets companies build, deliver, monitor, and scale apps.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure that you have:

• A running Ubuntu system (16.04 or later is recommended).
• Sudo or root privileges to the system.
• Basic knowledge of the command line.

Method 1: Using Heroku Toolbelt

Heroku Toolbelt is a package of the Heroku CLI, Foreman, and Git — everything you need to get started using Heroku.

Step 1: Download Heroku Toolbelt

Open your terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T. Then, run the following command to download the Heroku Toolbelt:

sudo wget -qO- https://toolbelt.heroku.com/install-ubuntu.sh | sh

This command uses wget to download the installation script from Heroku’s official website. The -qO- option tells wget to output the file content to stdout, which is then piped to sh for execution.

Step 2: Install Heroku Toolbelt

If you receive a warning about package authentication, run the following command to force the installation:

sudo apt-get install -y --force-yes heroku-toolbelt

The -y option tells apt-get to automatically answer yes to all prompts, and --force-yes forces apt-get to proceed even if the package authentication warning appears.

Step 3: Verify Installation

After the installation, you can use the heroku command in the terminal to interact with Heroku. Run heroku --version to verify that Heroku has been installed correctly.

Method 2: Using Snap

Snap is a software deployment and package management system developed by Canonical. It’s the recommended method by Heroku.

Step 1: Install Heroku

Open your terminal and run the following command to install the stable version of Heroku:

sudo snap install --classic heroku

The --classic option is used to enable classic snap confinement, which gives the snap access to all system resources.

Step 2: Verify Installation

Check that Heroku is installed correctly by running heroku --version.

Optional: Install Edge Version

If you want to install the edge version with updates for every upstream commit, run the following command:

sudo snap install --classic --edge heroku

Method 3: Manual Installation on DigitalOcean

If you’re using a DigitalOcean droplet, you can manually install Heroku.

Step 1: Download Heroku CLI

SSH into your DigitalOcean droplet and run the following commands:

wget https://cli-assets.heroku.com/heroku-cli/channels/stable/heroku-cli-linux-x64.tar.gz -O heroku.tar.gz
tar -xvzf heroku.tar.gz
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/lib /usr/local/bin

These commands download the Heroku CLI, extract the tarball, and create necessary directories.

Step 2: Install Heroku CLI

List the content of the current directory with ls and find the output that matches the format heroku-cli-vX.XX.XX-XXXXXXX-linux-x64.

Use the first file name in the next command:

sudo mv heroku-cli-vX.XX.XX-XXXXXXX-linux-x64 /usr/local/lib/heroku
sudo ln -s /usr/local/lib/heroku/bin/heroku /usr/local/bin/heroku

These commands move the Heroku CLI to the /usr/local/lib directory and create a symbolic link to the heroku binary in the /usr/local/bin directory.

Step 3: Verify Installation

Verify that Heroku is installed correctly by running heroku --version.

Conclusion

You have now learned how to download and install Heroku on Ubuntu using the command line. You can start deploying and managing your applications on the Heroku platform. For more details on how to use Heroku, refer to the official Heroku documentation.