Installation Guide

One-button install (no commands to type)

Download the starter pack (installers + PDF):

Zip: anoobot-self-host-installer.zip
PDF: Install in 3 steps

Unzip into your full anoobot folder (must contain scripts/install.sh), then double-click:

Platform	What to do
macOS	Double-click `Install anoobot.command`
Windows	Double-click `Install anoobot.bat` (requires Docker Desktop + Git Bash)
Linux	Double-click `install-anoobot.sh`, or run once from a file manager

Rebuild and upload the pack: pnpm installer:pack then pnpm installer:upload-r2 (requires R2 credentials).

The installer runs everything in the background:

Checks Node.js and Docker
Creates your local config (.env) with strong secrets
Starts database and mail infrastructure in Docker
Builds the app and starts the web server
Opens your browser to sign up when ready

When you see anoobot is ready, click Sign up in the browser.

Before you start (one-time)

Install these once — each has a normal “Next, Next, Install” wizard:

Docker Desktop — macOS or Windows (leave it running)
Node.js 20+ — only if the installer says Node is missing

Linux users without Docker: the installer can offer to install Docker Engine when you use --install-docker (advanced).

If you only want the mail app (not the full server)

Download the desktop app from the website download section. That is the mail client only — it connects to a server your team or IT already runs. It does not install the full anoobot stack on your PC.

If someone else hosts anoobot for you

Open the link they gave you (for example https://mail.yourcompany.com) in Chrome, Safari, or Edge. No install on your computer.

For developers (terminal)

From the repo root:

bash scripts/install.sh

Or:

pnpm install:local

Options

Flag	Purpose
`--check-only`	Verify prerequisites and installer wiring without installing
`--interactive`	Prompt for slab and site URL
`--skip-docker`	Skip `docker compose` when infra is already running
`--no-start`	Setup and build only; do not start gateway/frontend
`--install-docker`	Linux only: install Docker via get.docker.com

Interactive wizard:

bash tools/scripts/setup-wizard.sh

Validate after install:

bash scripts/validate-install.sh

Prerequisites

Node.js ≥20 (see .nvmrc)
pnpm ≥9 (enabled automatically via corepack when missing)
Docker & Docker Compose (PostgreSQL, Redis, NATS, Collabora)
Python 3.11+ (optional — cognitive services tests only)

Manual install

cd anoobot
pnpm install
cp .env.example .env
docker compose --profile free up -d
pnpm --filter @anoobot/registry prisma:generate
pnpm --filter @anoobot/registry prisma:migrate
pnpm build
pnpm --filter @anoobot/gateway start
pnpm dev

Gateway API: http://localhost:3000 (proxied from Vite at /api).