// RUNNING KAPTAIN

Run Kaptain on Linux

Linux needs one command before it will run a freshly downloaded binary: marking it executable.

Allow it to run

  1. Go to your downloads: cd ~/Downloads
  2. Make it executable: chmod +x kaptain-linux-x64 (or kaptain-linux-arm64 on ARM).
  3. Move it onto your PATH: sudo mv kaptain-linux-x64 /usr/local/bin/kaptain
  4. Start it: kaptain start

No sudo is needed to run Kaptain — only to copy it into /usr/local/bin. To avoid sudo entirely, move it to ~/.local/bin instead, as long as that is on your PATH.

Which file do I need? Run uname -m. x86_64 means the x86-64 build; aarch64 means the ARM64 build.

Keeping it running

kaptain start runs it in the background and prints the URL, the bind address, and the log file. kaptain status shows whether it is up, and kaptain stop shuts it down.

Simplest option: curl -sL https://chynj.ca/install.sh | sh does the download, chmod and PATH placement for you. Then run kaptain start.

What happens on first run

  1. Kaptain opens at localhost:8810 in your browser.
  2. The setup wizard appears. Create your CHYNJ account or sign in — your free 3-day trial starts here, and no card is needed.
  3. Verify your email address. We send the link as soon as you sign up; the trial needs a verified address.
  4. Pick a model runtime. Kaptain detects Ollama, llama.cpp, and the Claude and Codex CLIs, and tells you how to install whichever you are missing.
  5. Choose your project folder and network settings, and you are done.

The trial is tied to this device, so reinstalling does not start a new one. Subscribing later keeps everything you set up here.

Stuck? [email protected].

The full picture: the Kaptain Setup Guide covers which build to pick for your machine, what each model runtime needs, and the whole first-run wizard.

// OTHER PLATFORMS

macOSWindowsTerminal install