User GuidePluginsAPI Reference

Installation

Install the taiku CLI and desktop app.

taiku has two installable pieces:

  • the CLI, which creates and manages sessions
  • the desktop app, which adds device presence, remote launch, remote desktop, and a native window

On macOS, the recommended install gets you both at once.

Install

macOS (Homebrew) installs the desktop app and CLI in one step:

brew install --cask taiku-dev/tap/taiku

This places taiku.app in your Applications folder and adds the taiku CLI to your PATH.

CLI only

If you only need the CLI: brew install taiku-dev/tap/taiku

Linux (Homebrew):

brew install taiku-dev/tap/taiku

macOS or Linux (curl):

curl -sSf https://taiku.live/get | sh

This installs the CLI in /usr/local/bin if you can write there, and in ~/.local/bin otherwise, so it never asks for your password. If that folder isn't on your PATH, the installer prints the line to add for bash and zsh. To choose the folder yourself, set TAIKU_INSTALL_DIR. To install the desktop app as well, pipe to sh -s -- --app instead of sh.

To try taiku without installing anything, download the CLI into the current folder instead:

curl -sSf https://taiku.live/get | sh -s download
./taiku --version

Nothing goes on your PATH, so run it as ./taiku, or move it to a folder that is on your PATH, such as ~/.local/bin. On a machine with no display, taiku login gives you a link to open on any other device, where you sign in and approve the request.

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://taiku.live/get.ps1 | iex

This puts taiku.exe in %USERPROFILE%\.taiku\bin, adds that folder to your PATH, and asks whether to install the desktop app too. To skip the question, run iex "& { $(irm https://taiku.live/get.ps1) } -App" or -NoApp. To put taiku.exe somewhere else, set TAIKU_INSTALL_DIR before running it. Terminals that were already open need a restart to find taiku.

taiku edits audio and video with ffmpeg, and installs nothing for it up front. The first time you edit audio or video, it uses the ffmpeg already on your machine if that one does everything taiku needs, such as Homebrew's or winget's. Otherwise it downloads a build of FFmpeg (55 to 90 MB) from that build's publisher, with a line saying so first. Those builds are licensed under the GNU GPL, version 3 or later. taiku tools media status shows which ffmpeg taiku uses, and taiku tools media install fetches it ahead of time.

Before unpacking a download, taiku checks its size and SHA-256 against what your taiku release recorded. On macOS that record is the only check: the build and its checksum both come from ffmpeg.martin-riedl.de, and taiku doesn't check the build's code signature. On Linux and Windows the recorded checksum was also matched against GitHub's own record of the file.

Verify it works

Check that the CLI is available:

taiku --version

If the command is missing, add the install location to your PATH and run it again.

Sign in

Authenticate once so the CLI can create sessions under your account:

taiku login

When no browser can open on that machine, taiku prints a sign-in link instead. Open it on any device, sign in and approve the request.

Supported platforms

CLIDesktop app
macOSApple Silicon and IntelmacOS 12.3 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel
Linuxx86-64 and ARM64, a static binary that runs on any distrox86-64 and ARM64 AppImage, needing glibc 2.35 or newer (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 36 or later)
WindowsWindows 10 version 1809 or later, x64Windows 10 version 1809 or later, x64

There are no 32-bit builds, including 32-bit ARM (ARMv6 and ARMv7); the install script stops on those machines. Windows on ARM has no native build: on Windows 11 on ARM the PowerShell installer puts the x64 build in place, which Windows runs under emulation, and on Windows 10 on ARM it stops, because that version cannot run x64 programs.

Releases are built on macOS 15, Ubuntu 24.04 and Windows Server 2025. When the Rust code changes, the CLI's tests run on Windows Server 2025 (the full suite) and Ubuntu 24.04 (selected suites). On macOS 15, every change to the CLI and the crates it uses is compiled and linted, and the remote desktop, sandbox, terminal client and agent runtime tests run when those parts change. The desktop app's own macOS code and the server are not compiled on macOS for each change. The desktop app is only compile-checked on Linux and Windows then; it is built and packaged for a release and by a monthly release dry run. Windows 10 version 1809 is the oldest the Windows builds can run on, since taiku's terminals need the console API it added, but nothing is tested on Windows 10 or 11 desktops. On Linux, the desktop app is built inside an Ubuntu 22.04 container, so it runs on glibc 2.35 or newer (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 36 or later). On an older system it tells you so when you open it, and doesn't start. The CLI works there.

Sandboxed shells on Linux use Landlock, which needs kernel 5.13 or later with Landlock enabled. Kernels before 6.2 can't stop a shell from truncating files through Landlock, so taiku adds a filter there that refuses truncating by path and io_uring (see the CLI reference). If the filter can't be installed, the shell says so when it starts. On a kernel without Landlock, taiku does not start sandboxed shells.

WSL is not tested. Inside WSL 2 you are on Linux, so install the Linux CLI there. Whether its shells can be sandboxed depends on the WSL kernel having Landlock.

Direct downloads

Use the downloads page if you want to install manually or need a specific architecture. Its links resolve through the live release manifest, so they always point at the currently published release.

Platform coverage

Linux and Windows builds have not been tested as thoroughly as macOS yet. They should still be usable, so feel free to try them and report any issues you hit.

macOS

Choose Apple Silicon or Intel on the downloads page. The desktop app download is a .dmg; open it and drag taiku.app to your Applications folder. The CLI is bundled inside the app at taiku.app/Contents/MacOS/taiku.

Linux

The Linux desktop app is an AppImage. Download the x86-64 or ARM64 build shown on the downloads page, make it executable, and run it:

chmod +x taiku-linux-*.AppImage
./taiku-linux-*.AppImage

It needs glibc 2.35 or newer (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 36 or later). On an older system it tells you so when you open it. The CLI below runs on any distro.

For a CLI-only archive, extract the matching download and put taiku on your PATH:

tar -xzf taiku-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz
mv taiku /usr/local/bin/taiku
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/taiku

Windows

Less tested on Windows

The Windows desktop app is newer and less tested than macOS and Linux, so expect rough edges. The CLI is the most battle-tested option on Windows.

The quickest install is irm https://taiku.live/get.ps1 | iex in PowerShell (see Install). To install by hand, the desktop app download is an NSIS installer; run it to install taiku and the bundled CLI. For the CLI alone, extract the zip from the downloads page and put taiku.exe somewhere on your PATH.

Staying up to date

taiku update

If Homebrew or npm installed the CLI, this prints the command that updates it through that manager (brew upgrade taiku, or npm install --global taiku@latest) instead of replacing the file. The desktop app updates itself. taiku components lists what is installed and how each piece updates; see the CLI reference.

Next

Once the CLI is installed and authenticated, continue to the quickstart guide.

taiku

Collaborative terminal sessions, tunnels, plugins, and agents.

Quick Start

Start your first taiku session and share it.

On this page

InstallVerify it worksSign inSupported platformsDirect downloadsmacOSLinuxWindowsStaying up to dateNext