Documentation

Installing the CLI

One command, one file, no runtime. This chapter is what it does, in order, and how to undo it.

The one-liner

On macOS and Linux, paste this into a terminal. It needs no sudo, and it writes nothing outside your home directory.

curl -fsSL https://graphlit.co/install.sh | sh

On Windows, use PowerShell instead: irm https://graphlit.co/install.ps1 | iex. Git Bash also works, and the shell script will tell you so.

The real installer, run on a Mac. Roughly nine seconds end to end — most of it the download.

What it actually does

Works out which build this machine needs

From uname. The architecture is asked for explicitly rather than guessed, because macOS spells the same chip arm64 and Linux spells it aarch64 — and a wrong guess downloads a binary that fails with cannot execute binary file, which reads like a corrupt download rather than a wrong build.

Downloads one compiled binary

About 8 MB. No Python, no Node, no package manager — nothing is installed that you did not ask for. It lands in a temporary file first and is only moved into place once it is complete and has answered --version, so a dropped connection cannot leave a half-written graph on your PATH.

Puts `~/.local/bin` on your PATH

By appending one guarded line to your shell's rc file — .zshrc, .bashrc, or config.fish. Run it twice and it says already on your PATH rather than appending again.

Hands over to `graph setup`

Which signs you in and asks which folder to attach to a project. That step is a real command, not more shell, so you can re-run it any time. Pass --no-setup to skip it.

What	Where
The binary	`~/.local/bin/graph` (plus a `graphlit` alias to the same file)
Credentials	`~/.vipl/credentials.json`, mode 600
Settings	`~/.vipl/config.json`
The list of linked folders	`~/.vipl/links.json`
Per-project state	`.vipl/` inside each project folder

Nothing is written outside your home directory, and nothing needs root.

One thing it does not install

The builds happen on your machine, run by your own coding CLI — claude by default, or codex. Graphlit shells whichever one you have; it does not bundle a model and does not want a model key for this step. If neither is installed, everything in these docs works except pressing Execute.

claude --version     # the default
codex --version      # or: graph config agent codex

See Which agent writes the code.

Installing without signing in

For a CI image, a container, or a machine with no browser, install the binary and stop there:

curl -fsSL https://graphlit.co/install.sh | sh -s -- --no-setup

Point it at a different deployment with --api https://your-host. See The API, tokens and CI for how a machine with no browser signs in.

Checking it worked

Open a new terminal, so the updated PATH is picked up, and type the name of the thing you just installed:

`graph help` is the whole reference. It makes no network call, so it answers instantly and works on a plane, in a container, and while the deployment is down.

Which version you have

graph --version
#  graph 0.1.5

Any command that was already talking to the network prints a once-a-day note when a newer build exists. It goes to standard error and never onto a --json document, so it cannot break a script.

Removing it

rm -f ~/.local/bin/graph ~/.local/bin/graphlit   # the binary
rm -rf ~/.vipl                                    # credentials and settings

The PATH line in your rc file is harmless once the directory is empty, but you can delete it too — it is the one commented added by Graphlit.

If the download fails

Ask the deployment which builds it is actually serving. This needs no credentials:

curl -s https://graphlit.co/v1/cli/platforms