---
topic: installation
source_keys:
  - context7-promptfoo-dev
  - context7-promptfoo-github
---

## Acquisition notice

Promptfoo was acquired by OpenAI in March 2026. OpenAI has committed to keeping it open-source and multi-provider. **Always pin to a specific version** — do not track `@latest`. Monitor for neutrality degradation in future releases, particularly for non-OpenAI provider evaluation. Documented fallbacks: DeepEval (pytest-native, Python teams) and Arize Phoenix (self-hosted, vendor-neutral).

Pinned version in this skill: **0.121.17**. Update via CI when a new version has been validated.

## Prerequisites

- Node.js 18+ (Node 22 recommended for CI)
- npm or npx

No database or server process is required. Promptfoo stores evaluation results in a local SQLite cache.

## Installation options

**One-off via npx (no install required — preferred):**
```bash
npx promptfoo@0.121.17 eval
```

**Global install (pinned):**
```bash
npm install -g promptfoo@0.121.17
```
After a global install, use `promptfoo` directly without `npx`.

**Project dependency (for Node.js API usage):**
```bash
npm install promptfoo@0.121.17
```

## Initialising a project

```bash
npx promptfoo@0.121.17 init
```

Creates a `promptfooconfig.yaml` scaffold in the current directory with example prompts, providers, and tests.

To start from an official example:
```bash
npx promptfoo@0.121.17 init --example openai-mcp
npx promptfoo@0.121.17 init --example openai-structured-output
npx promptfoo@0.121.17 init --example openai-responses
npx promptfoo@0.121.17 init --example openai-audio
```

## API keys

Promptfoo reads provider credentials from environment variables. Set them before running evals:

```bash
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
```

Other providers (Bedrock, Azure, Vertex) follow their own SDK credential conventions — see provider-specific docs.

## Global timeout

```bash
export REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS=600000  # 10 minutes default
```