Linux Installation Guide

Update the system: sudo apt update
Clone LibreChat: git clone https://github.com/danny-avila/LibreChat.git
Install Docker: sudo apt install docker.io && apt install docker-compose -y
Enter the folder: cd LibreChat
Create the .env file: cp .env.example .env
Build the Docker image: docker compose build
Start LibreChat: docker compose up -d

Notes

As of Docker Compose v2, docker-compose is now docker compose
- Your linux distribution may not have the latest version of Docker Compose, so you may need to use docker-compose instead of docker compose
- You can also see our guide on installing the latest versions of Docker & Docker Compose here: Docker Ubuntu Deployment Guide
- The guide is specific to Ubuntu but may be applicable to other Linux distributions as well
If you run the command on the same computer and want to access it, navigate to localhost:3080 . You should see a login page where you can create or sign in to your account. Then you can choose an AI model and start chatting.
Manage Your MongoDB Database (optional) Safely access and manage your MongoDB database using Mongo Express

Have fun!

Note: See the Docker Compose Install Guide for more details - 👆 Docker Compose installation is recommended for most use cases. It's the easiest, simplest, and most reliable method to get started.

Manual Installation:

Prerequisites

Before installing LibreChat, make sure your machine has the following prerequisites installed:

Git: To clone the repository.
Node.js: To run the application.
MongoDB: To store the chat history.

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/danny-avila/LibreChat.git

Extract the content in your desired location:

cd LibreChat
unzip LibreChat.zip -d /usr/local/

Note: The above command extracts the files to "/usr/local/LibreChat". If you want to install the files to a different location, modify the instructions accordingly.

Enable the Conversation search feature: (optional)

Download MeiliSearch latest release from: github.com/meilisearch
Copy it to /usr/local/LibreChat/
Rename the file to meilisearch
Open a terminal and navigate to /usr/local/LibreChat/
Generate a Master Key or use the one already provided in th .env file (less secure)
Update the Master Key in the .env file (it must be the same everywhere) MEILI_MASTER_KEY=
Run the following command:

./meilisearch --master-key=YOUR_MASTER_KEY

Note: Replace YOUR_MASTER_KEY with the generated master key, which you saved earlier in the .env file.

Install Node.js:

Open a terminal and run the following commands:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Create a MongoDB database (Required)

Setup your AI Endpoints (Required)

At least one AI endpoint should be setup for use.

User/Auth System (Optional)

How to set up the user/auth system and Google login.

Run the project

Using the command line (in the root directory)

Setup the app:

Run npm ci
Run npm run frontend

Start the app:

Run npm run backend
Run meilisearch --master-key put_your_meilesearch_Master_Key_here (Only if SEARCH=TRUE)
Visit http://localhost:3080 (default port) & enjoy

Using a shell script

Create a shell script to automate the starting process
Open a text editor
Paste the following code in a new document
Put your MeiliSearch master key instead of "your_master_key_goes_here"
Save the file as "/home/user/LibreChat/LibreChat.sh"
You can make a shortcut of this shell script and put it anywhere

LibreChat.sh

#!/bin/bash
# the meilisearch executable needs to be at the root of the LibreChat directory

gnome-terminal --tab --title="MeiliSearch" --command="bash -c 'meilisearch --master-key your_master_key_goes_here'"
# ↑↑↑ meilisearch is the name of the meilisearch executable, put your own master key there

gnome-terminal --tab --title="LibreChat" --working-directory=/home/user/LibreChat/ --command="bash -c 'npm run backend'"
# this shell script goes at the root of the LibreChat directory (/home/user/LibreChat/)

Update the app version

Run npm run update from the project directory for a clean installation.

If you're having issues running this command, you can try running what the script does manually:

Prefix commands with sudo according to your environment permissions.

# Bash Terminal

# Step 1: Get the latest changes

# Fetch the latest changes from Github
git fetch origin
# Switch to the repo's main branch
git checkout main
# Pull the latest changes to the main branch from Github
git pull origin main

# Step 2: Delete all node_modules directories
# Define the list of directories we will delete
directories=(
    "."
    "./packages/data-provider"
    "./client"
    "./api"
)

# Loop over each directory and delete the node_modules folder if it exists
for dir in "${directories[@]}"; do
    nodeModulesPath="$dir/node_modules"
    if [ -d "$nodeModulesPath" ]; then
        echo "Deleting node_modules in $dir"
        rm -rf "$nodeModulesPath"
    fi
done

# Step 3: Clean the npm cache
npm cache clean --force

# Step 4: Install dependencies
npm ci

# Step 5: Build client-side (frontend) code
npm run frontend

# Start LibreChat
npm run backend

The above assumes that you're using the default terminal application on Linux and are executing the commands from the project directory. The commands are written in Bash, which is a common default shell for many Linux distributions. While some systems might use other shells like zsh or fish , these commands should be compatible with most of them.

⚠️ Note: If you're having trouble, before creating a new issue, please search for similar ones on our #issues thread on our discord or our troubleshooting discussion on our Discussions page. If you don't find a relevant issue, feel free to create a new one and provide as much detail as possible.