---
title: "Install"
url: "https://control.actana.ai/docs/install"
description: "The detail behind the quickstarts: install and activate a Core, deploy the Panel, betas, Windows, troubleshooting."
updated: 2026-09-01T09:02:57+00:00
---

The detailed install notes behind the [quickstarts](/docs/get-started): what each command does, what lands where, and what to do when one of them misbehaves.

Turning a machine into a **Core** is two separate acts. **Installing is not activating**: `install.sh` puts the Core bundle and the `actana` CLI on the machine and stops; `actana setup` turns the machine into a Core. Then you enroll a Panel or a CLI with a one-time [pairing code](/docs/pairing).

There is **one `actana`**. The command that installs and operates a Core is the same command that drives Cores — from the tarball or from `npm i -g @actana/cli`. A Core installed here is already in this machine's registry.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  install["install.sh"] --> setup["actana setup"]
  setup --> pair["actana pair new"]
  pair --> panel["Panel Add a Core"]
```

## In this section

- [Install Core](/docs/install/install-core) — the one-liner, what it verifies, platform notes for Linux and macOS, and why Windows cannot host a Core natively.
- [Actana Setup](/docs/install/actana-setup) — the activation step: service unit, identity, `--public-host`, harness prompts.
- [Panel Installation](/docs/install/panel-installation) — deploy the Panel: Docker or bare Node, configuration, TLS in front, backup and upgrade.
- [Installing a Beta](/docs/install/installing-a-beta) — beta trains, what pins and what tracks.
- [Windows](/docs/install/windows) — the CLI is the only native component; the mapping for everything else.
- [Troubleshooting](/docs/install/troubleshooting) — the usual install failures and their one-line fixes.

Operating a Core after install — status, logs, update, rotate, uninstall — is [Operating a Core](/docs/core/operating).