Install

Nimbus installs per-user — no administrator or sudo access required on any platform. The installer places the nimbus binary on your PATH, creates a data directory, and configures the Gateway to autostart with your session.

Quick install — pick your platform

Import the Nimbus signing key, then download and run the install script:

# Import the signing key (fingerprint cross-checked in scripts/release/nimbus-verify.sh)
gpg --keyserver keys.openpgp.org --recv-keys 5A20457CCD8B53FFAA945240886ADA6B487CAB6E

# Download and run the installer
curl -fsSL https://github.com/nimbus-agent/Nimbus/releases/latest/download/install.sh \
  -o /tmp/nimbus-install.sh
# Inspect the script before running it (recommended):
# less /tmp/nimbus-install.sh
bash /tmp/nimbus-install.sh

The install script detects your architecture (amd64 / arm64), downloads the matching .deb package, verifies the GPG signature and SHA-256 hash, then installs it with dpkg.

After installation:

nimbus --version

Download and run the install script:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/nimbus-agent/Nimbus/releases/latest/download/install.sh \
  -o /tmp/nimbus-install.sh
# Inspect the script before running it (recommended):
# less /tmp/nimbus-install.sh
bash /tmp/nimbus-install.sh

The script downloads a signed SHA256SUMS.asc manifest and verifies the tarball hash before extracting. Gatekeeper note: macOS will display an “unverified developer” warning the first time the nimbus binary runs. See First-run setup for the one-time bypass step.

After installation:

nimbus --version

Open PowerShell (no administrator required) and run:

irm https://github.com/nimbus-agent/Nimbus/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 |
  Invoke-Expression

Or download first and inspect before running (recommended):

# Download
Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Uri "https://github.com/nimbus-agent/Nimbus/releases/latest/download/install.ps1" `
  -OutFile "$env:TEMP\nimbus-install.ps1"

# Inspect
notepad "$env:TEMP\nimbus-install.ps1"

# Run
& "$env:TEMP\nimbus-install.ps1"

SmartScreen note: Windows may show an “unrecognised app” warning. Click More info → Run anyway. The SHA256SUMS.asc GPG manifest is your cryptographic integrity proof — see Verify your download for details.

After installation, open a new PowerShell window:

nimbus --version

What the installer does

The installer is non-privileged and idempotent on all three platforms.

Linux

Item	Location
`nimbus` binary	`~/.local/bin/nimbus`
Gateway data dir	`~/.local/share/nimbus/`
Shell PATH update	Sentinel marker block added to `~/.bashrc`, `~/.zshrc`, `~/.profile`
Autostart	`~/.config/systemd/user/nimbus-gateway.service` (if systemd available)

The installer checks for the sentinel block before writing — it will not duplicate PATH entries.

macOS

Item	Location
`nimbus` binary	`~/.local/bin/nimbus`
Gateway data dir	`~/Library/Application Support/nimbus/`
Shell PATH update	Sentinel marker block added to `~/.zshrc` (and `~/.bash_profile` if present)
Autostart	`~/Library/LaunchAgents/dev.nimbus-agent.gateway.plist`

Windows

Item	Location
`nimbus.exe`, `nimbus-gateway.exe`	`%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Nimbus\bin\`
Gateway data dir	`%LOCALAPPDATA%\nimbus\`
PATH update	User `PATH` registry key under `HKCU\Environment`
Autostart	`HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run`

The installer performs a case-insensitive PATH segment check before writing — it will not add a duplicate entry if Nimbus\bin is already present.

Re-running the installer

Both install.sh and install.ps1 are idempotent. Running them again after a successful install:

Detects the existing installation and upgrades binaries in place.
Does not create duplicate PATH entries (Linux/macOS: checks for the sentinel marker block; Windows: performs the case-insensitive segment check before writing).
Does not overwrite your existing data directory or configuration.

To force a fresh install, remove the existing binaries and data directory first, then re-run the script.

Uninstall

The release tarball includes a companion uninstall script that reverses every change the installer makes:

Linux / macOS
Windows

curl -fsSL https://github.com/nimbus-agent/Nimbus/releases/latest/download/uninstall.sh \
  | bash

irm https://github.com/nimbus-agent/Nimbus/releases/latest/download/uninstall.ps1 |
  Invoke-Expression

The uninstaller removes binaries, the autostart entry, and the PATH modification. It does not delete your data directory (~/.local/share/nimbus/ on Linux, ~/Library/Application Support/nimbus/ on macOS, %LOCALAPPDATA%\nimbus\ on Windows) — your indexed data and credentials are preserved. Delete that directory manually if you want a complete removal.

Verify your download

Before running the installer, you can cross-check the GPG signature and SHA-256 hash of every release artefact. This confirms the bytes you downloaded are the bytes the maintainer signed.

See the full walkthrough: Verify your download.

AppImage (Linux alternative)

If you prefer a portable single-file executable that does not require dpkg, use the AppImage:

# Download
curl -fsSL \
  https://github.com/nimbus-agent/Nimbus/releases/latest/download/Nimbus-x86_64.AppImage \
  -o ~/bin/nimbus
chmod +x ~/bin/nimbus

# Verify GPG sidecar signature
curl -fsSL \
  https://github.com/nimbus-agent/Nimbus/releases/latest/download/Nimbus-x86_64.AppImage.asc \
  -o /tmp/nimbus.asc
gpg --keyserver keys.openpgp.org --recv-keys 5A20457CCD8B53FFAA945240886ADA6B487CAB6E
gpg --verify /tmp/nimbus.asc ~/bin/nimbus

# Run
nimbus --version

The AppImage is self-contained — no installation step required. PATH management and autostart are your responsibility when using this method.

Next steps

Once nimbus --version prints a version number, continue to First-run setup to launch the desktop app and connect your first service.