multica/CLI_INSTALL.md

Multica CLI — Installation Guide for AI Agents

Audience: This document is designed for AI agents (Claude Code, Codex, etc.) to read and execute step-by-step. Each step includes the exact shell commands to run, expected outcomes, and error handling.

One-Line Instruction for Users

Give this instruction to your AI agent:

Fetch https://github.com/multica-ai/multica/blob/main/CLI_INSTALL.md and follow the instructions to install Multica CLI, log in, and start the daemon on this machine.

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Step 1: Check if Multica CLI is already installed

Run:

multica version

• If it prints a version string (e.g. multica v0.x.x): skip to Step 3.
• If command not found: continue to Step 2.

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Step 2: Install the Multica CLI

Option A: Homebrew (preferred)

Check if Homebrew is available:

which brew

If brew is found, install via Homebrew:

brew tap multica-ai/tap && brew install multica

Then verify:

multica version

If the version prints successfully, skip to Step 3.

Option B: Download from GitHub Releases (no Homebrew)

If Homebrew is not available, download the binary directly.

Detect OS and architecture, then download the correct archive:

OS=$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')   # "darwin" or "linux"
ARCH=$(uname -m)                                # "x86_64" or "arm64"

# Normalize architecture name
if [ "$ARCH" = "x86_64" ]; then
  ARCH="amd64"
fi

# Get the latest release tag from GitHub
LATEST=$(curl -sI https://github.com/multica-ai/multica/releases/latest | grep -i '^location:' | sed 's/.*tag\///' | tr -d '\r\n')

# Download and extract
curl -sL "https://github.com/multica-ai/multica/releases/download/${LATEST}/multica_${OS}_${ARCH}.tar.gz" -o /tmp/multica.tar.gz
tar -xzf /tmp/multica.tar.gz -C /tmp multica
sudo mv /tmp/multica /usr/local/bin/multica
rm /tmp/multica.tar.gz

Verify:

multica version

If this fails:

• Check that /usr/local/bin is in $PATH.
• On Linux, you may need chmod +x /usr/local/bin/multica.
• If sudo is not available, install to a user-writable directory: mv /tmp/multica ~/.local/bin/multica and ensure ~/.local/bin is in $PATH.

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Step 3: Log in

Run:

multica login

Important: This command opens a browser window for OAuth authentication. Tell the user:

"A browser window will open for Multica login. Please complete the authentication in your browser, then come back here."

Wait for the command to complete. It will automatically discover and watch all workspaces the user belongs to.

Verify:

multica auth status

Expected output should show the authenticated user and server URL.

If login fails:

• If no browser is available (headless environment), the user can generate a Personal Access Token at https://app.multica.ai/settings and run: multica login --token
• If the server URL needs to be customized: multica config set server_url <url> before logging in.

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Step 4: Start the daemon

First, check if the daemon is already running:

multica daemon status

• If status is "running": skip to Step 5.
• If status is "stopped": start it:

multica daemon start

Wait 3 seconds, then verify:

multica daemon status

Expected output should show running status with detected agents (e.g. claude, codex).

If daemon fails to start:

• Check logs: multica daemon logs
• If a port conflict occurs, the daemon may already be running under a different profile.
• If no agents are detected, ensure at least one AI CLI (claude or codex) is installed and on the $PATH.

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Step 5: Verify everything is working

Run:

multica daemon status

Confirm:

1. Status is running
2. At least one agent is listed (e.g. claude, codex)
3. At least one workspace is being watched

If the agents list is empty, tell the user:

"The Multica daemon is running but no AI agent CLIs were detected. Please install at least one: Claude Code (claude) or Codex (codex), then restart the daemon with multica daemon stop && multica daemon start."

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Summary

When all steps are complete, inform the user:

"Multica CLI is installed and the daemon is running. Agents in your workspaces can now execute tasks on this machine. You can manage workspaces with multica workspace list and view daemon logs with multica daemon logs -f."