Install

Garcon supports macOS and Linux on x64 and arm64. Node 18+ runs the npm command; the background service is a standalone binary. Run setup as your normal user.

npm install -g ai-garcon@latest
garcon setup

Setup starts Garcon at login. Open Providers, add accounts, and copy your tool's settings. Restart it, send a request, and check Logs. Your history is preserved.

Try it without a service

npx ai-garcon@latest runs in the foreground. If Linux has no user service manager, run garcon in one terminal and garcon setup --no-service in another.

Update

garcon update
garcon doctor --wait 10s

Finish in-flight requests first: the proxy restarts. The update keeps local data and refreshes the service's private binary. Older versions can use npm install -g ai-garcon@latest, then garcon service restart.

When it doesn't connect

Run garcon doctor and garcon service status. If the command is missing, check your npm bin directory on PATH. type -a garcon finds competing installs. For permission errors, use a Node version manager or a user-owned npm prefix.

macOS logs: ~/Library/Logs/garcon.log. Linux logs: journalctl --user -u garcon.

From source

Use Go 1.27+ and Node 22+, then run scripts/install.sh --service. Later, scripts/install.sh --update pulls and rebuilds a clean checkout.

Production uses 4141. bash scripts/dev.sh builds the dashboard and serves it on 4242, using the installed backend on 4141. It uses real local data. Development builds don't update production.

Remove it

Restore your tools' original provider URLs first. Then run garcon service uninstall and npm uninstall -g ai-garcon. Your usage and settings remain.

Keep the default loopback binding. Garcon has no app login; -allow-remote opens its dashboard and relay to the network.