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One of my colleagues recently asked me how to install yq on his Upsun project, and after some searching, I discovered that the library can be easily installed from a GitHub repository. This whole process made me realize that I didn’t really explain how this github-install-asset.sh shell script works in my previous blogpost about how to install Pandoc on Upsun. So, this is it. In this guide, you will learn how to install any binary from a GitHub release into your Upsun project using this script. I’ve chosen yq as an example here, but feel free to test the process using your own favorite GitHub repository.
Assumptions:
  • You already have an Upsun account. If you don’t, please register for a trial account. You can sign up with an email address or an existing GitHub, Bitbucket, or Google account. If you choose one of these accounts, you can set a password for your Upsun account later.
  • You already have an Upsun project live and ready on local. If you don’t, please follow this blogpost first to install a Symfony Demo on Upsun.
  • You have the Upsun CLI installed locally.

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Create a new environment

As we never test things directly on production, we first need to create a new preview environment in order to test before going live. To create a new environment, execute the following from the root of your source code. 
upsun branch install-yq

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Call github-install-asset.sh in your hooks.build

As your application container is writable only during the hooks.build phase, you can install any additional packages you need. Using this github-install-asset.sh script allows you to install any chosen GitHub release asset you want. In this guide we’re using yq as an example, so you can update your .upsun/config.yaml file with the following: 
applications:
  app:
    #.. 
    hooks:
      build: |
        set -x -e
        #...
        curl -fsS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/upsun/snippets/main/src/install-github-asset.sh | bash /dev/stdin "mikefarah/yq"
      deploy: |
        set -x -e
        #..
        yq -v
This generic install-github-asset.sh script can take 3 parameters: 
curl -fsS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/upsun/snippets/main/src/install-github-asset.sh | bash /dev/stdin "<org/repo>" ["<release_version>"] ["<asset_name>"]
  • <org/repo>: required, the GitHub organisation/repository where to find the asset
  • <release_version>: optional, get the latest release version if empty
  • <asset_name>: optional, if empty, we look for the first asset that contains linux + [amd64|arm64|x86] in its name.
🚨 Please note: In this blogpost, we’re using yq as an example, but this script also works with other GitHub release assets, like Pandoc or FrankenPHP:
applications:
  app:
    #.. 
    hooks:
      build: |
        set -x -e
        #...
        curl -fsS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/upsun/snippets/main/src/install-github-asset.sh | bash /dev/stdin "jgm/pandoc" "3.6.4"
        curl -fsS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/upsun/snippets/main/src/install-github-asset.sh | bash /dev/stdin "dunglas/frankenphp" "v1.5.0" "frankenphp-linux-x86_64-gnu"
      deploy: | 
        set -x -e
        #..
        pandoc -v
        frankenphp -v
Now commit your change: 
git add . && git commit -m "adding yq installation and/or pandoc + frankenphp"
upsun push
Any tool installed via this install-github-asset.sh script will be available globally (installed in the /app/.global/bin folder) and you will be able to call it using the repo name: 
upsun ssh 
yq -v
pandoc -v
frankenphp -v

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Install from private GitHub repository

If you’re trying to install a GitHub release asset from a private repository, you’ll likely encounter an error like the one below in your deployment logs: 
>> Install <org/repo> GitHub asset.
On an Upsun/Platform.sh environment.
❌ Repository not accessible (404).
💡 It might be a private repository. Please set a valid GITHUB_API_TOKEN environment variable.
This is the excepted result, as the GitHub API returns a 404 HTTP response when access is denied. At this point, you’re still an anonymous GitHub user making the API request. To fix this, you need to use a GitHub API Token, with at least the repo read access. To access private GitHub repositories, you will need to define a GITHUB_API_TOKEN environment variable in your Upsun project. Our install-github-asset.sh will automatically use this GITHUB_API_TOKEN envVar and install any corresponding private release assets. To define an environment variable in your project, use the Console or the following ‘variable:create’ command line: 
upsun variable:create env:GITHUB_API_TOKEN --value=ghp_[...] --sensitive=true --visible-build=true
and then redeploy your environment: 
upsun redeploy

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Conclusion

Et voilà, you’re now in control and can easily install any GitHub release asset you want in your Upsun project. Stay tuned.
Last modified on April 27, 2026