Installation

Prerequisites

Before installing the VibeKit CLI, ensure you have:

Node.js version 18.0.0 or higher
npm or yarn package manager
Docker installed and running (optional, for maximum security)
Claude Code CLI or Gemini CLI for the agents you want to use

Installation Methods

Global Installation (Recommended)

Installing globally makes the vibekit command available system-wide:

npm install -g vibekit

yarn global add vibekit

pnpm add -g vibekit

Project Installation

For project-specific installations:

npm install --save-dev vibekit

yarn add --dev vibekit

pnpm add -D vibekit

Using npx (No Installation)

Run commands without installing:

npx vibekit claude "Generate a REST API"
npx vibekit dashboard

Verify Installation

After installation, verify that the CLI is working:

# Check version
vibekit --version

# View help
vibekit --help

Post-Installation Setup

1. Install Required Agents

Install the coding agents you want to use:

# Install Claude Code CLI
npm install -g @anthropic/claude-code

# Install Gemini CLI (if available)
# Follow Gemini CLI installation instructions

2. Configure Environment Variables

Set up your API keys:

# For Claude
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."

# For Gemini
export GOOGLE_API_KEY="..."

# For proxy configuration (optional)
export HTTP_PROXY="http://proxy.example.com:8080"

Or add them to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc):

echo 'export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

3. Configure Settings (Optional)

Run the settings interface to configure VibeKit:

vibekit

This allows you to:

Enable/disable Docker sandbox
Configure proxy server settings
Enable/disable analytics
Set up global aliases

4. Docker Setup (Optional)

For maximum security, ensure Docker is running:

# Check Docker status
docker info

# Start Docker daemon if needed
# On macOS: Open Docker Desktop
# On Linux: sudo systemctl start docker

Troubleshooting Installation

Command Not Found

If vibekit command is not found after global installation:

npm
yarn

# Check npm global bin directory
npm config get prefix

# Add to PATH (example for macOS/Linux)
export PATH="$(npm config get prefix)/bin:$PATH"

# Make permanent by adding to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
echo 'export PATH="$(npm config get prefix)/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc

# Check yarn global bin directory
yarn global bin

# Add to PATH
export PATH="$(yarn global bin):$PATH"

Permission Errors

If you encounter permission errors during global installation:

# Option 1: Use a Node version manager (recommended)
# Install nvm: https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm
nvm install node
npm install -g vibekit

# Option 2: Change npm's default directory
mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH
npm install -g vibekit

Docker Not Running (Optional)

If you want to use Docker sandbox and see Docker-related errors:

# Check if Docker is installed
docker --version

# Check if Docker daemon is running
docker ps

# Start Docker
# macOS: Open Docker Desktop application
# Linux: sudo systemctl start docker
# Windows: Start Docker Desktop

Agent Not Found

If you see “command not found” errors for Claude or Gemini:

# For Claude Code CLI
npm install -g @anthropic/claude-code

# Verify installation
claude --version

# Set up global aliases (optional)
vibekit setup-aliases

Platform-Specific Notes

macOS

Docker Desktop is recommended
May need to grant terminal permissions for Docker
Homebrew users can install Node.js with brew install node

Linux

Add your user to the docker group: sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
Log out and back in for group changes to take effect
Some distributions may require sudo for global npm installs

Windows

Use WSL2 for best compatibility
Docker Desktop with WSL2 backend is recommended
Run commands in WSL2 terminal, not Command Prompt

Updating the CLI

To update to the latest version:

npm update -g vibekit

yarn global upgrade vibekit

# npx always uses the latest version
npx vibekit@latest

Uninstalling

To remove the CLI:

npm uninstall -g vibekit

yarn global remove vibekit

Next Steps

After installation, you’re ready to:

Configure settings with vibekit
Run your first agent with vibekit claude "Hello world"
Set up monitoring with vibekit dashboard

For a quick overview of all commands, see the Quick Reference.

Getting Started

Core Features

Configuration

Prerequisites

Installation Methods

Global Installation (Recommended)

Project Installation

Using npx (No Installation)

Verify Installation

Post-Installation Setup

1. Install Required Agents

2. Configure Environment Variables

3. Configure Settings (Optional)

4. Docker Setup (Optional)

Troubleshooting Installation

Command Not Found

Permission Errors

Docker Not Running (Optional)

Agent Not Found

Platform-Specific Notes

macOS

Linux

Windows

Updating the CLI

Uninstalling

Next Steps

​Prerequisites

​Installation Methods

​Global Installation (Recommended)

​Project Installation

​Using npx (No Installation)

​Verify Installation

​Post-Installation Setup

​1. Install Required Agents

​2. Configure Environment Variables

​3. Configure Settings (Optional)

​4. Docker Setup (Optional)

​Troubleshooting Installation

​Command Not Found

​Permission Errors

​Docker Not Running (Optional)

​Agent Not Found

​Platform-Specific Notes

​macOS

​Linux

​Windows

​Updating the CLI

​Uninstalling

​Next Steps

Prerequisites

Installation Methods

Global Installation (Recommended)

Project Installation

Using npx (No Installation)

Verify Installation

Post-Installation Setup

1. Install Required Agents

2. Configure Environment Variables

3. Configure Settings (Optional)

4. Docker Setup (Optional)

Troubleshooting Installation

Command Not Found

Permission Errors

Docker Not Running (Optional)

Agent Not Found

Platform-Specific Notes

macOS

Linux

Windows

Updating the CLI

Uninstalling

Next Steps