DOCS · START

Getting started

Install a Cortex release or build it with Go, make sure opencode is available in the same environment, then start the self-contained binary. By default the workspace root is your home directory; use --root when you want to confine it more tightly.

Install Cortex

With Go installed:

go install github.com/cortex-go/cortex/cmd/cortex@latest

Linux and macOS can install the latest release for the current user:

curl -fsSL https://cortex-go.github.io/install.sh | sh

This installs to ~/.local/bin without sudo. For a deliberate machine-wide installation:

curl -fsSL https://cortex-go.github.io/install.sh | sudo sh -s -- --system

GitHub releases provide Linux, macOS and Windows archives for both amd64 and arm64.

Build from source

Cortex dogfoods Nift. Frontend source lives in content/ and templates/; public/ is generated and embedded into the Go executable.

nift build
go test ./...
go build -o cortex ./cmd/cortex
./cortex --root ~/Repositories

Secure the first load

On the first browser visit, create the instance password before Cortex exposes workspaces, settings or agent APIs. Passwords require at least seven characters. Optional TOTP and Google sign-in are available under Settings → Security.

Run a task

Open Cortex at 127.0.0.1:7331. Choose a workspace inside the configured root, describe the task and press Enter; use Shift+Enter for a newline.

Return later

Cortex writes conversations and run history to cortex.db in its private data directory. Open another session for parallel work, archive sessions you are finished with, and restore them later without relying on one browser's local storage.

Verified downloads and atomic replacement

The installer downloads the platform archive and release checksum manifest over HTTPS, verifies SHA-256 before extraction, then stages the executable in the destination directory and atomically renames it into place. A missing checksum, mismatch or interrupted download leaves an existing installation untouched.

Release targets

Release automation builds Linux, macOS and Windows archives for amd64 and arm64. Every archive contains only the Cortex executable, README and license.