Install Coven

Use this page when you need a working coven command, a verified daemon, and at least one harness CLI ready to launch sessions.

Choose An Install Path

The npm wrapper currently resolves native packages for darwin-arm64, linux-x64, and win32-x64. Before making version-specific release claims, check npm:

npm view @opencoven/cli version dist-tags
npm view @opencoven/cli-macos version dist-tags
npm view @opencoven/cli-linux-x64 version dist-tags
npm view @opencoven/cli-windows version dist-tags

Install With npm

For one-off use:

npx @opencoven/cli doctor
pnpm dlx @opencoven/cli doctor

For repeated local use:

npm install -g @opencoven/cli
coven doctor

CovenCLI is the user-facing command surface, and the shell command is always coven. The wrapper downloads the matching native package when npm can resolve one for your OS/CPU pair. If npm reports a missing optional dependency, reinstall @opencoven/cli from the same environment where you plan to run Coven.

Build From Source

Use this path when contributing to Coven, testing unreleased behavior, or running on an unsupported npm platform.

git clone https://github.com/OpenCoven/coven.git
cd coven
cargo build --workspace
cargo run -p coven-cli -- doctor

To install the Rust binary onto your Cargo bin path:

cargo install --path crates/coven-cli
coven doctor

Make sure Cargo's bin directory is on PATH:

echo "$PATH" | tr ':' '\n' | grep "$HOME/.cargo/bin"

Platform Notes

macOS

• Published npm support targets Apple Silicon (darwin-arm64).
• Install Node.js 18+ if you use the npm wrapper.
• Install Rust stable if you build from source or need an unsupported macOS architecture.
• Keep ~/.coven owned by your user. The daemon socket lives at ~/.coven/coven.sock by default.
• coven pc diagnostics are macOS-first; write operations require --confirm.

npx @opencoven/cli doctor
coven daemon start
coven run codex "summarize this repo"

Linux

• Published npm support targets glibc-based x64 Linux (linux-x64).
• Alpine/musl is not supported by the published npm wrapper today.
• Install build tools, Git, Node.js 18+, and Rust stable when building from source.
• Keep COVEN_HOME on a local filesystem owned by the same user that runs Coven.

npx @opencoven/cli doctor
coven daemon start
coven sessions --plain

Windows

• Published npm support targets native Windows x64 (win32-x64).
• Run Coven and harness CLIs from the same environment. A harness installed only inside WSL2 is not visible to native PowerShell.
• Keep COVEN_HOME on a local path owned by your Windows user.
• If native Windows daemon/socket behavior is not enough for your integration, use the WSL2 path.

npx @opencoven/cli doctor
coven daemon start
coven run codex "inspect this project"

WSL2

WSL2 is the safest Windows path when you want Unix-socket behavior to match macOS/Linux.

• Install Node.js 18+, Git, and any harness CLIs inside the same WSL2 distro.
• Keep the project and COVEN_HOME on the WSL filesystem, not a mounted Windows path, when possible.
• Run coven doctor, coven daemon start, and harness commands inside WSL2.

npx @opencoven/cli doctor
coven daemon start
coven run claude "review the current diff"

Harness Prerequisites

Coven launches provider-owned CLIs. It does not store provider credentials.

After installing or authenticating a harness, open a new terminal if your package manager changed PATH, then run:

coven doctor

Smoke Test

From a project directory:

coven doctor
coven daemon start
coven run codex "summarize the project structure" --title "Install smoke"
coven sessions

For scripts:

coven sessions --json

If the daemon is stale or the socket cannot be reached:

coven daemon restart
coven daemon status

Update And Uninstall

Update npm installs:

npm install -g @opencoven/cli@latest
coven doctor

Remove a global npm install:

npm uninstall -g @opencoven/cli

Remove local Coven state only when you intentionally want to delete local session history:

rm -rf ~/.coven

Do not delete ~/.coven as a routine update step.