Installation

AFK uses a local daemon to work with code on your machine and a browser app for visibility, control, and team workflows. This page covers installer variants, daemon tokens, Windows signing, and service setup. After the daemon is connected, use the Quick Start to spawn the first session.

Hosted setup — recommended

1. Sign in at afk.mooglest.com.
2. Open Account → API Keys and copy a daemon token.
3. Run the installer on the machine where your projects live:

macOS and Linux

curl -fsSL https://afk.mooglest.com/install.sh | bash -s -- afk_your_key_here

Windows PowerShell

The published Windows binary is not yet code-signed, so Windows installs require -AllowUnsigned. The installer still verifies the downloaded checksum and rejects tampered files.

& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://afk.mooglest.com/install.ps1))) -AllowUnsigned

To supply the daemon token during installation, add the optional -ApiToken parameter:

& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://afk.mooglest.com/install.ps1))) -ApiToken 'afk_your_key_here' -AllowUnsigned

The installer stores your token, starts the daemon, and connects it to AFK. The daemon uses an outbound connection, so typical setups do not require inbound firewall rules or tunnels.

macOS — manual daemon service

If you are not using the one-line installer, download the AFK macOS binary from the release channel provided to your account, place it on your PATH, write your daemon token to ~/.afk/config, and run the daemon directly or under launchd.

mkdir -p ~/.afk ~/.local/bin
printf 'api_key=%s
' 'afk_your_key_here' >> ~/.afk/config
afk daemon

Linux — manual daemon service

If you are not using the one-line installer, install the AFK binary from the distribution channel provided to your account, then create a user or system service that runs the daemon with your token and project access directory.

# /etc/systemd/system/afk-daemon.service
[Unit]
Description=AFK Daemon
After=network.target

[Service]
User=youruser
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/afk daemon   --api-key afk_your_key_here   --home /home/youruser
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now afk-daemon
journalctl -u afk-daemon -f

Windows — PowerShell installer

Run the native x64 installer from PowerShell. The published Windows binary is not yet code-signed, so installs require -AllowUnsigned; the installer still verifies the SHA-256 checksum and rejects tampered files. Without parameters it installs AFK and preserves any existing configuration; configure a token afterward if none exists. Pass -ApiToken when you want the daemon token configured during a fresh installation.

& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://afk.mooglest.com/install.ps1))) -AllowUnsigned
& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://afk.mooglest.com/install.ps1))) -ApiToken 'afk_your_key_here' -AllowUnsigned

After installation, open a new PowerShell window if afk is not immediately available on your PATH, then verify the daemon appears in the browser. On a dedicated Windows machine where AFK should start at computer boot before anyone logs in, run the installer from an elevated PowerShell window with -StartAtBoot. That mode registers the task as LocalSystem while continuing to use the explicitly installed AFK home and configuration.

Daemon API keys

Daemon keys are created in Account → API Keys. Personal keys connect personal daemons; org shared keys connect daemons that serve an organisation context. New keys reveal the raw token once, so copy the value immediately and store it in the daemon config or service manager. Existing rows may show only a hash when the raw token is no longer available. Revoke keys for retired or compromised machines.

Daemon configuration file

The daemon reads ~/.afk/config at startup. Command-line flags override config file values. Most hosted installs only need an API key; advanced deployments may also set a server URL or custom home directory.

api_key=afk_your_key_here
server=wss://afk-server.mooglest.com
home=/home/you

Open AFK

Open the hosted browser app from a terminal or desktop launcher without starting or configuring a local daemon:

afk open
afk open --project ~/Work/project "Review authentication"

AFK opens New Session with editable project and task hints. It never starts the session until you confirm the browser form.

Local execution remains optional. If you installed and started a daemon, your machine should appear in the connected daemons list within a few seconds.

Verify installation

afk --version
afk --help

Enterprise deployments

The hosted app is the normal setup for Free, Pro, Team, and Business. Enterprise customers can deploy a shared daemon on company infrastructure so repository access and command execution stay inside the corporate network. Engineers access AFK through their browser — the daemon dials out, so no inbound firewall rules are required.

Full setup instructions covering org API keys, systemd service configuration, project root access, corporate CA certificates, proxy setup, resource management, and operational procedures are on the Enterprise deployments page. Dedicated control-plane deployments are discussed directly with afk@mooglest.com.