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Prerequisites

  • A Linux host (x86_64 or aarch64)
  • curl installed
  • PostgreSQL 16+ installed and running (or let the installer manage one for you)
Malbox does not support macOS or Windows hosts directly. Use WSL2 on Windows.

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Bootstrap the CLI

The bootstrap script downloads the malbox binary to ~/.local/bin and verifies its checksum. Use process substitution so stdin stays connected to your terminal and the interactive prompts work: 
bash <(curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MalboxSandbox/malbox/dev/back-end/scripts/install.sh)
VariableValuesDefaultDescription
MALBOX_CHANNELstable, nightlystableRelease channel to download from
MALBOX_FORCE1-Overwrite an existing binary without prompting
Make sure ~/.local/bin is in your PATH. If it is not, add it to your shell profile: 
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

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Run the installer

Once the CLI is on your system, run the interactive installer: 
malbox daemon install
The installer walks you through each step:
1

Release channel

Choose between stable (recommended) and nightly builds.
2

Daemon source

Download a prebuilt binary or compile from source. Compiling from source lets you choose exactly which virtualization providers and machine provisioners to include.
3

PostgreSQL setup

Connect to an existing PostgreSQL server or let Malbox set up a managed instance. The installer validates the connection before continuing.
4

Systemd service

Optionally install a systemd user service so the daemon starts automatically.
The installer shows a live progress display as it downloads binaries, sets up the database, writes configuration, and configures services. If the install is interrupted, re-running malbox daemon install detects the incomplete state and offers to resume from where it stopped.

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Non-interactive install

Skip all prompts with --yes. This selects nightly channel, prebuilt binaries, a managed PostgreSQL instance, and systemd: 
malbox daemon install --yes
--yes requires PostgreSQL tools (initdb, psql) to be installed on the system. If they are missing, the command fails immediately with an error.

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Start the daemon

If you enabled the systemd service: 
systemctl --user start malbox
Otherwise, start it manually: 
malbox daemon start
The daemon serves the HTTP API on http://127.0.0.1:8080 by default.

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What gets installed

ComponentDefault path
Daemon binary (malboxd)~/.local/bin/malboxd
CLI binary (malbox)~/.local/bin/malbox
Front-end assets~/.local/share/malbox/web
Configuration~/.config/malbox/malbox.toml
Installation manifest~/.config/malbox/manifest.json
Systemd unit (if enabled)~/.config/systemd/user/malbox.service

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Upgrading

Upgrade to the latest version on your current release channel: 
malbox daemon upgrade
To change providers or switch channels during an upgrade: 
malbox daemon upgrade --reconfigure
To roll back to the previous version: 
malbox daemon upgrade --rollback
See the malbox daemon upgrade reference for all flags.

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Uninstalling

There is no dedicated uninstall command yet. Remove the installed files manually: 
# Stop the daemon
systemctl --user stop malbox
systemctl --user disable malbox

# Remove binaries and data
rm ~/.local/bin/malboxd ~/.local/bin/malbox
rm -rf ~/.local/share/malbox
rm -rf ~/.config/malbox
rm ~/.config/systemd/user/malbox.service
systemctl --user daemon-reload
If the installer set up a managed PostgreSQL instance, stop it first: 
pg_ctl -D ~/.local/share/malbox/pgdata stop