--- title: "Install Core" url: "https://control.actana.ai/docs/install/install-core" description: "The one-liner and what it verifies, the npm door, Linux and macOS specifics, and why Windows cannot host a Core natively." updated: 2026-09-01T09:02:58+00:00 --- Two commands, and the first one prints the second. `install.sh` from `main` installs the latest release. Installing is not activating: the script places the bundle and stops. Nothing is running until you run setup. ```bash curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/actana/control/main/install.sh | bash actana setup ``` Run the `actana setup` line it printed. On a machine where `~/.local/bin` was not on `PATH` when the shell started, that line is an absolute path rather than a bare `actana`. The one-liner detects OS and CPU, downloads the matching Core tarball from the latest GitHub Release, **checks it against that release's `SHA256SUMS` before extracting or running anything**, copies the bundle to `~/.local/share/actana/versions/`, points `~/.local/share/actana/current` at it, and links `~/.local/bin/actana` — unless something else already answers to `actana`, in which case it leaves that one alone and says so. The checksum catches a corrupted or truncated download: it proves the tarball is the one that release's own checksum file describes. Releases are not signed, so it is not a proof of origin — use `https` URLs, which the defaults do. A failed check leaves nothing installed. **Re-running both commands upgrades in place** — same identity, one unit, every paired client stays paired. It is always safe to paste again. ## Already have Node? If the machine already has Node 22 or newer, you do not need the shell script: ```bash npm i -g @actana/cli actana install ``` `actana install` fetches the same release tarball, verifies it against `SHA256SUMS`, and runs setup — both halves in one go. `install.sh` stays the door for a machine with no Node: the tarball carries its own pinned runtime. ## Installer flags, not setup flags Piped, the run is non-interactive. The options `install.sh` takes are its own: | Flag | Meaning | | --- | --- | | `--version ` | Install this exact version. A release (`x.y.z`) or a beta (`x.y.z-beta`). | | `--repo ` | Install from another GitHub repository. | | `--base-url ` | Fetch releases from somewhere else. | | `--help` | What this copy installs from, and the options it owns. | ```bash curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/actana/control/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --version x.y.z actana setup ``` `ACTANA_VERSION`, `ACTANA_REPO` and `ACTANA_BASE_URL` set the same three options. **Anything else is refused, not ignored.** `--yes`, `--port`, `--public-host`, `--label`, `--with-` and `--no-harnesses` belong on [setup](/docs/install/actana-setup): ```bash curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/actana/control/main/install.sh | bash ~/.local/bin/actana setup --public-host core1.example.com --yes ``` ## Platforms A release publishes three Core builds: `linux-x64`, `linux-arm64`, and `mac-arm64`. The same two commands install either platform; what differs is the auto-start mechanism. Everything runs as your user, **without sudo** — the one exception is Linux lingering, below. The bundle carries its own Node runtime; the machine's system Node does not matter. ### Linux The auto-start unit is a **systemd user unit** (`actana-core.service`); `systemctl --user` must work. Lingering (`loginctl enable-linger`) makes the daemon survive logout, so a Core keeps running on a machine nobody is logged into. `actana setup` prompts for linger and tries it without sudo. If your distribution refuses that for a normal user, run it once with an administrator: ```bash sudo loginctl enable-linger "$(whoami)" ``` WSL2 counts as Linux, with systemd enabled. ### macOS The auto-start unit is a **LaunchAgent** at `~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.actana.core.plist`. It is tied to your login session: - It starts **when you log in**, not when the machine boots. - It stops **when you log out**. Locking the screen is fine; logging out is not. - There is no linger equivalent that stays sudo-less — surviving logout would mean a root-owned LaunchDaemon, and this install does not do that. A Mac Core wants to stay logged in: enable automatic login (System Settings → Users & Groups) if the Core has to be reachable after a reboot. The first time the daemon binds its port, macOS may ask whether to allow incoming connections — allow it, or the Panel cannot dial the Core. `actana logs -f` tails `~/Library/Logs/Actana/core.log`. On macOS, the piped `bash` line can fail on the stock bash 3.2 (`asset…: unbound variable`) — workaround in [Troubleshooting](/docs/install/troubleshooting). ### Intel Mac **An Intel Mac has no on-device build** and will not get one. The installer refuses at detection — before it downloads anything — and points you at the container image: run the `core` service from the [Compose file](/docs/install/panel-installation) on that machine instead. ### Windows **Windows cannot host a Core natively**, and the Panel has no native Windows install either. The Core is a daemon built around PTYs, POSIX paths, and user-unit supervision; on Windows those live in WSL2 or in Docker Desktop, and both already run the Core well: - **WSL2** — the one-liner above runs unchanged inside WSL2 with systemd enabled; the Windows-side CLI then dials it like any remote Core. - **Docker Desktop** — the [Docker Compose quickstart](/docs/get-started/docker-compose) runs as-is in PowerShell. The `actana` CLI itself is native on Windows, as a client of Cores elsewhere. The full mapping: [Windows](/docs/install/windows). ## The port The Panel dials the Core, never the reverse. The port you choose (default **8443**) must be reachable **from the Panel's machine**: ```bash sudo ufw allow 8443/tcp ``` Check from the Panel host with `nc -zv 8443`. If the machine's address changed since setup, re-run `actana setup --public-host ` so the certificate covers it, then pair again. ## See also - [Actana Setup](/docs/install/actana-setup) - [Installing a Beta](/docs/install/installing-a-beta) - [Operating a Core](/docs/core/operating) - [Troubleshooting](/docs/install/troubleshooting)