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Setup from source

Step-by-step guide to run Minnow from a git clone for development. End users should download a packaged build from Releases and follow Install and first launch. Index: ../README.md. Architecture orientation: architecture.md. Exhaustive reference: ../context.md.

1. Prerequisites

RequirementNotes
Node.js 18+ (20+ recommended)ES modules, Vite 6, native node:test. Check with node -v.
npmShips with Node.
GitTo clone and contribute.
LM Studio or another OpenAI-compatible providerNeeded to chat; the UI launches without one.
Python 3 (optional)Local voice (STT/TTS) only; provisioned on demand.

Native modules (better-sqlite3, @lydell/node-pty) ship prebuilt binaries for common platforms. A C/C++ toolchain is only required if npm falls back to building from source.

2. Clone and install

git clone https://github.com/HenriGrimm/Minnow.git
cd Minnow
npm install

postinstall automatically:

  • vendors the Impeccable UI-design skill into src/skills/impeccable/ (scripts/sync-impeccable-skill.mjs) — the shipped copy Minnow installs into ~/.minnow/skills/impeccable/ at runtime, and
  • ensures the Electron binary is present (scripts/ensure-electron.mjs).

Both are idempotent — safe to re-run.

Optional document parsers

PDF/Word/Excel attachment support comes from optionalDependencies, which install best-effort. If an attachment type fails, install it explicitly:

npm install pdf-parse mammoth officeparser
# xlsx is fetched from the SheetJS CDN per package.json

3. Start a model provider

You need at least one OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Easiest is LM Studio:

  1. Install and open LM Studio.
  2. Download and load a chat model.
  3. Open the Developer / Server tab and Start Server (default http://localhost:1234).
  4. Confirm the model is listed in LM Studio’s server UI.

Alternatives — all configured in the Models app under Providers:

  • Ollama — point Minnow at http://localhost:11434/v1.
  • llama.cpp llama-server — or let the Models app download and serve a model for you.
  • Cloud APIs — any OpenAI-compatible base URL + API key (stored encrypted).

LM Studio headless (optional, for servers/CI)

curl -fsSL https://lmstudio.ai/install.sh | bash
export PATH="$HOME/.lmstudio/bin:$PATH"
lms daemon up && lms server start
lms get <model-name> -y
lms load <model-name> -y

4. Run Minnow

npm start

This starts Vite + the Node tool server on port 9473 (or the next free port — watch the terminal) and launches the Electron desktop shell. It also prints Minnow data: <path> showing your ~/.minnow home.

Dev variants

CommandWhen to use
npm startDefault. Full stack: tool server, persistence, Electron.
MINNOW_BROWSER=1 npm startSystem browser tab instead of Electron.
BROWSER=none npm start or MINNOW_HEADLESS=1 npm startNo auto-open (CI/headless).
PORT=3000 npm startCustom port (PowerShell: $env:PORT=3000; npm start).
npm run devVite-only UI/HMR — no file/git tools, terminal, or most APIs.
npm run desktop / npm run electron:devVite + Electron HMR without full server.js bootstrap.

PORT=5173 is deliberately ignored and coerced back to 9473 — 5173 is reserved for dev servers in your workspace, so agents can start a Vite app without colliding with Minnow.

Use npm start (not npm run dev) whenever you need file/git tools, persistence, terminal, attachments, browser preview, or any of the apps.

Health check

Every /api/* route requires the per-boot session token in ~/.minnow/session-token:

curl -H "X-Minnow-Token: $(cat ~/.minnow/session-token)" http://localhost:9473/api/tools/ping
# {"ok":true}
curl.exe -H "X-Minnow-Token: $(Get-Content $env:USERPROFILE\.minnow\session-token)" http://localhost:9473/api/tools/ping

A bare request without the header returns 401 Unauthorized — that is the gate working, not a broken server.

5. First-run checklist in the UI

  1. Provider — Models → Providers: confirm the base URL and that the provider is reachable.
  2. Model — pick one from the menubar model chip (use refresh if empty). Vision tasks need a VLM; tool-calling models work best for agent turns.
  3. Mode — composer: General / Build / Plan / Debug. (Orchestrate opens from the sidebar hub, not the composer picker.)
  4. Tools — Settings → Tools & integrations → Tools: enable capabilities; set per-tool permission (full / ask / off). Server tools need npm start and a healthy tools ping.
  5. Workspace — open Code and pick a project folder; file/git tools resolve under this root.

6. Optional contributor setup

  • WSL / Git Bash (Windows) — Settings → General → Chat & terminal → Default shell. Git Bash appears when Git for Windows is installed; WSL distros appear when WSL is installed. Requires npm start.
  • Voice — Models → Voice: local Whisper / Qwen3-TTS or provider APIs.
  • Memory & Brain — the Brain app owns memory settings and embeddings.
  • MCP — Settings → Tools & integrations → MCP servers: Context7 built in; add custom servers.
  • Skills — Settings → Tools & integrations → Skills / Skills Library: 19 built-in skills ship in-tree, plus third-party SKILL.md packs.
  • Webhooks — Settings → Tools & integrations → Webhooks: HMAC-signed outbound deliveries.

Compare, Benchmarking, and Experts are release-gated off in this build — see apps-and-routes.md.

7. Next steps

Edit this page Updated 2026-09-15
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