Install

Waired installs with a single command. The installer drops in the client (waired CLI + waired-agent background service), registers it to start automatically, and — on most platforms — installs the Ollama inference engine for you.

Supported platforms

Role	Supported systems
Inference server (runs the model)	Ubuntu 24.04+, Debian trixie+, Windows 11 / Server 2025, macOS 13+ (Apple Silicon recommended)
Client (your everyday laptop)	Any of the above — it does not need a GPU

A GPU makes inference fast, but a recent CPU runs a 7B model fine. The client machine you type from needs no special hardware.

Install

Linux

curl -fsSL https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

Installs the waired apt package and a systemd unit, and auto-installs Ollama. The apt repository targets Debian trixie+ / Ubuntu 24.04+ only; other distributions are not supported by the one-liner yet.

macOS

curl -fsSL https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

The same script detects macOS, installs the client to /usr/local/bin, registers the waired-agent as a system launchd daemon, and installs Ollama. The agent runs at boot, independent of login (like the Linux and Windows services), so the installer uses sudo for the privileged steps — you’ll be asked for your administrator password. Binaries are currently unsigned (ad-hoc); signing and a Homebrew formula are planned.

Windows

iwr -useb https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex

Installs the client and registers the waired-agent Windows service (a UAC prompt handles the elevated step).

Ollama on Windows

The bare one-liner above does not bundle Ollama. If this machine will also run the model, install the engine separately:

iwr -useb https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/ollama-windows.ps1 | iex

(When you pass -Control <URL> or -Dev to install.ps1, it installs Ollama for you — see below.)

After the installer finishes, continue with First run to enroll the device.

System tray on GNOME (Linux)

GNOME has no built-in system tray, so the tray icon needs an AppIndicator host extension to show. waired init installs and enables one automatically when it detects GNOME (KDE Plasma works out of the box). If the icon is still missing, see Troubleshooting.

Skip the bundled Ollama

If you already run Ollama, or want to install it yourself, suppress the bundled engine with either a flag or an environment variable:

Linux / macOS

curl -fsSL https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh -s -- --skip-ollama
# or:
curl -fsSL https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/install.sh | WAIRED_NO_OLLAMA=1 sh

Windows

# with the script saved to a file:
.\install.ps1 -SkipOllama
# or set the environment variable before running:
$env:WAIRED_NO_OLLAMA = '1'

Point at a specific control plane

By default the client enrolls against the production control plane. To target a different one, pass its URL at install time (this also bundles Ollama on Windows):

Linux / macOS

curl -fsSL https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/install.sh \
  | sudo bash -s -- --control https://your-control-plane.example.com

Windows

iwr -useb https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 -OutFile $env:TEMP\install.ps1
& $env:TEMP\install.ps1 -Control 'https://your-control-plane.example.com'

You can also set the control plane later with waired init --control <URL>.

Update

The simplest way to update an installed host is the CLI (or the tray’s “⚠ Update available” banner):

waired update          # check, then apply if a newer version exists
waired update --check  # report only (read-only)
waired update --yes    # apply without an interactive prompt (non-interactive hosts)
waired update --edge   # update on / switch to the edge channel
waired update --stable # update on / switch to the stable channel

waired update stays on whatever channel this host is already on — a stable install updates to the latest stable, an edge install to the latest edge. It never silently moves an edge host onto stable. Use --edge or --stable to switch channels (see Edge channel below).

The background service also checks for updates every few hours and notifies you; applying is always something you trigger. Updates preserve your enrollment, identity, and on-disk state. The bundled Ollama is managed separately and is not touched by waired update.

Uninstall

Remove the Waired client with the matching one-liner. This deletes the binaries, unregisters the background service, and — best-effort — deregisters this device from your Waired account, so it’s removed from your device list and drops out of your network. Your local config and state are kept by default (add --clean below to wipe them too); either way, a later re-install signs in fresh with waired init.

Offline while uninstalling?

Deregistration is best-effort and never blocks the uninstall. If the device can’t reach Waired at the time (offline, or the service is already stopped), it may still appear in your device list — just remove it from the web admin.

Linux / macOS

curl -fsSL https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/uninstall.sh | sh

Windows

iwr -useb https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/uninstall.ps1 | iex

For a full wipe — also delete your config and state, plus the bundled Ollama and its downloaded models — add --clean (Linux / macOS) or -Clean (Windows). This is destructive and asks you to confirm first; pass --yes / -Yes to skip the prompt, or --dry-run / -DryRun to preview without changing anything.

Linux / macOS

curl -fsSL https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/uninstall.sh | sh -s -- --clean

Windows

# -Clean needs the script on disk (the piped form can't pass flags):
iwr -useb https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/uninstall.ps1 -OutFile $env:TEMP\uninstall.ps1
& $env:TEMP\uninstall.ps1 -Clean

Installed with the Windows GUI installer?

If you installed Waired with WairedSetup-<version>-x64.exe, you can also uninstall from Settings → Apps → Waired → Uninstall. The one-liner above is safe to run either way.

Edge channel (latest, unstable)

To track the latest main build instead of waiting for a stable release, opt in to the edge channel. Edge is rebuilt on every merge and is not for production use.

Linux / macOS

curl -fsSL https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/install.sh \
  | WAIRED_VERSION=edge sh

Windows

$env:WAIRED_VERSION = 'edge'
iwr -useb https://github.com/gen16k/waired-install/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex

Once on edge, waired update keeps you on edge automatically. To switch channels later, run waired update --edge or waired update --stable (or re-run the installer with --edge / --stable) — it swaps the apt source (Linux) or release asset and allows the version change in either direction.