Automatic install - Malbox Docs

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.

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 / zsh
fish
non-interactive

bash <(curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MalboxSandbox/malbox/dev/back-end/scripts/install.sh)

bash (curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MalboxSandbox/malbox/dev/back-end/scripts/install.sh | psub)

Piping into bash disables interactive prompts. Set the channel via an environment variable instead:

MALBOX_CHANNEL=nightly curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MalboxSandbox/malbox/dev/back-end/scripts/install.sh | bash

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:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Run the installer

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

malbox daemon install

The installer walks you through each step:

Release channel

Choose between stable (recommended) and nightly builds.

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.

PostgreSQL setup

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

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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

​Prerequisites

​Bootstrap the CLI

​Run the installer

​Non-interactive install

​Start the daemon

​What gets installed

​Upgrading

​Uninstalling

Prerequisites

Bootstrap the CLI

Run the installer

Non-interactive install

Start the daemon

What gets installed

Upgrading

Uninstalling