Getting Started

Installation

Currently, you can install Lula from Repository Releases, Homebrew, or by building from source. Lula is compatible only with Linux and macOS distributions.

Repository Release

1. Navigate to the Latest Release Page: Open your web browser and go to the following URL to access the latest release of Lula:

   https://github.com/defenseunicorns/lula/releases/latest

2. Download the Binary: On the latest release page, find and download the appropriate binary for your operating system. E.g., lula_<version>_Linux_amd64

3. Download the checksums.txt: In the list of assets on the release page, locate and download the checksums.txt file. This file contains the checksums for all the binaries in the release.

4. Verify the Download: After downloading the binary and checksums.txt, you should verify the integrity of the binary using the checksum provided:

   • Open a terminal and navigate to the directory where you downloaded the binary and checksums.txt.

   • Run the following command to verify the checksum if using Linux:

     sha256sum -c checksums.txt --ignore-missing
     

   • Run the following command to verify the checksum if using MacOS:

     shasum -a 256 -c checksums.txt --ignore-missing
     

5. On most Linux distributions, install the binary onto your $PATH by moving the downloaded binary to the /usr/local/bin directory:

   sudo mv ./download/path/lula_<version>_Linux_amd64 /usr/local/bin/lula
   
   

Homebrew

1. Homebrew is a package manager for macOS and Linux. You can install Lula with Homebrew by running the following:

   brew tap defenseunicorns/tap && brew install lula
   

From Source

1. Clone the repository to your local machine and change into the lula directory

   git clone https://github.com/defenseunicorns/lula.git && cd lula
   

2. While in the lula directory, compile the tool into an executable binary. This outputs the lula binary to the bin directory.

   make build
   

3. On most Linux distributions, install the binary onto your $PATH by moving the downloaded binary to the /usr/local/bin directory:

   sudo mv ./bin/lula /usr/local/bin/lula
   

Quick Start

See the following tutorials for some introductory lessons on how to use Lula. If you are unfamiliar with Lula, the best place to start is the “Simple Demo”.

Tutorials

• Simple Demo
• Using Lula in CI

Lula Validations

Lula Validation manifests are the underlying mechanisms that dictates the evaluation of a system against a control as resulting in satisfied or not satisfied. A Lula Validation is linked to a control within a component definition via the OSCAL-specific property, links.

Developing Lula Validations can sometimes be more art than science, but generally they should aim to be clear, concise, and robust to system changes. See our guide for developing Lula Validations and the references for additional information.

Configuration

Lula supports the addition of a configuration file for specifying CLI flags and templating values. See our configuration guide for more information.