Installation

Install clai with Go, Nix, or from source, and verify your config directory.

clai ships as a single static Go binary with no runtime dependencies.

Install with Go

With a Go toolchain installed, run:

go install github.com/baalimago/clai@latest

Ensure $(go env GOPATH)/bin is on your PATH, then verify the binary:

clai version

Install with Nix

Run clai directly from the flake or install it into your Nix profile:

nix profile install github:baalimago/clai

Build from source

Clone the repository and install locally:

git clone https://github.com/baalimago/clai.git
cd clai
go install .

First-run configuration directory

On its first run, clai initializes its configuration directory at <os.UserConfigDir()>/.clai (typically ~/.config/.clai on Linux and ~/Library/Application Support/.clai on macOS). Override the location at any time with CLAI_CONFIG_DIR.

Run clai setup to interactively configure text, photo, and video models, profiles, and shell contexts. See Configuration for every file in ~/.config/.clai/.

Last updated October 21, 2026

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