> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.malbox.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Automatic install

> The fastest way to get started with Malbox

## Prerequisites

* A **Linux** host (x86\_64 or aarch64)
* **curl** installed
* **PostgreSQL 16+** installed and running (or let the installer manage one for you)

<Note>
  Malbox does not support macOS or Windows hosts directly. Use WSL2 on Windows.
</Note>

## 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:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="bash / zsh">
    ```bash theme={null}
    bash <(curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MalboxSandbox/malbox/dev/back-end/scripts/install.sh)
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="fish">
    ```fish theme={null}
    bash (curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MalboxSandbox/malbox/dev/back-end/scripts/install.sh | psub)
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="non-interactive">
    Piping into bash disables interactive prompts. Set the channel via an environment variable instead:

    ```bash theme={null}
    MALBOX_CHANNEL=nightly curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MalboxSandbox/malbox/dev/back-end/scripts/install.sh | bash
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

| Variable         | Values              | Default  | Description                                    |
| ---------------- | ------------------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| `MALBOX_CHANNEL` | `stable`, `nightly` | `stable` | Release channel to download from               |
| `MALBOX_FORCE`   | `1`                 | -        | Overwrite an existing binary without prompting |

Make sure `~/.local/bin` is in your `PATH`. If it is not, add it to your shell profile:

```bash theme={null}
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
```

## Run the installer

Once the CLI is on your system, run the interactive installer:

```bash theme={null}
malbox daemon install
```

The installer walks you through each step:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Release channel">
    Choose between **stable** (recommended) and **nightly** builds.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="PostgreSQL setup">
    Connect to an existing PostgreSQL server or let Malbox set up a managed instance. The installer validates the connection before continuing.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Systemd service">
    Optionally install a systemd user service so the daemon starts automatically.
  </Step>
</Steps>

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.

### Non-interactive install

Skip all prompts with `--yes`. This selects nightly channel, prebuilt binaries, a managed PostgreSQL instance, and systemd:

```bash theme={null}
malbox daemon install --yes
```

<Warning>
  `--yes` requires PostgreSQL tools (`initdb`, `psql`) to be installed on the system. If they are missing, the command fails immediately with an error.
</Warning>

## Start the daemon

If you enabled the systemd service:

```bash theme={null}
systemctl --user start malbox
```

Otherwise, start it manually:

```bash theme={null}
malbox daemon start
```

The daemon serves the HTTP API on `http://127.0.0.1:8080` by default.

## What gets installed

| Component                 | Default 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` |

## Upgrading

Upgrade to the latest version on your current release channel:

```bash theme={null}
malbox daemon upgrade
```

To change providers or switch channels during an upgrade:

```bash theme={null}
malbox daemon upgrade --reconfigure
```

To roll back to the previous version:

```bash theme={null}
malbox daemon upgrade --rollback
```

See the [`malbox daemon upgrade`](/reference/cli/malbox-daemon#upgrade) reference for all flags.

## Uninstalling

There is no dedicated uninstall command yet. Remove the installed files manually:

```bash theme={null}
# 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:

```bash theme={null}
pg_ctl -D ~/.local/share/malbox/pgdata stop
```