Install without Docker

Native install on macOS or Linux. There is no native Windows installer; use Docker with WSL2 instead.

Prerequisites

• Bun 1.x
• A git clone of this repository (or an unpacked release that includes the frontend build sources)
• macOS or Linux

The installer installs production dependencies, builds the frontend when possible, and registers a user service. You do not need to run npm install first.

Install

cd daemon
./install.sh

Then check:

curl http://127.0.0.1:3210/health

Open http://127.0.0.1:3210 when health succeeds.

If the checkout has no frontend build output and cannot build one, the installer can leave the API running without a UI. Prefer a full source clone for first installs.

Data locations

Path	Contents
~/.local/share/littleimp/	Database, built UI, backups, logs
~/.config/littleimp/config.json	Runtime settings (including AI)

Linux note

The service is a systemd user unit. If the daemon stops after you log out, enable lingering for your user so the unit can keep running:

loginctl enable-linger "$USER"

Upgrade / uninstall

cd daemon
./install.sh --upgrade

cd daemon
./install.sh --uninstall          # keep data
./install.sh --uninstall --purge  # also delete the library

Development without the installer

For day-to-day coding, prefer Development (npm run daemon:dev + npm run dev) instead of reinstalling.

Homebrew formula files may exist in the repo, but live Homebrew install is not a supported user path until it is validated against published release assets.