DOCUMENTATION / INSTALLATION

A home on
your machine.

For Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 and 26.04 LTS desktop and server on x86-64. You need sudo once for installation, then an ordinary Ubuntu account to use MiniPilot.

1. Run one command

curl -fsSL https://mini-pilot-marketing.pages.dev/downloads/install.sh | bash

The installer detects your Ubuntu release and CPU architecture, downloads the matching package over HTTPS, verifies its pinned SHA-256 checksum, and uses APT to install required dependencies. A fresh installation enables startup after reboot. Upgrades preserve your configuration and intentionally disabled services.

If your minimal Ubuntu installation does not include curl, run this first:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y curl ca-certificates

No Node.js, npm, compiler, MiniPilot account, or custom domain is needed. NVIDIA drivers, Docker, Podman, and Cloudflare are optional integrations; the installer does not change those services.

Prefer inspecting the script first? Download it, read it, then run it:

curl -fL https://mini-pilot-marketing.pages.dev/downloads/install.sh -o minipilot-install.sh
less minipilot-install.sh
bash minipilot-install.sh

For an offline transfer, download the matching .deb and install it locally. Example for Ubuntu 24.04:

sudo apt install ./minipilot_0.2.0-4+ubuntu24.04_amd64.deb

Can I use apt install minipilot?

Yes, once our signed APT repository is published and added to your machine. Cockpit is already in Ubuntu’s official repository; MiniPilot is not. Repository signing and setup tooling are built, but a public repository URL and production signing identity have not been configured for this preview. Use the installer or direct package download instead.

After repository enrollment, installation and updates use:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install minipilot
sudo systemctl enable --now minipilot-auth.socket minipilot.socket

2. Open your workspace

On the Ubuntu desktop, open http://127.0.0.1:8765 in your browser. Sign in with your normal Ubuntu username and password. System accounts and root login are excluded. The service listens on loopback, not on the public network.

minipilot          # interactive terminal UI
minipilot web      # open or print the browser address
minipilot doctor   # check available tools
minipilot status --json

3. Connect from your laptop

Use the server’s LAN IP or SSH hostname, even when both devices are on the same Wi-Fi:

ssh -L 8765:127.0.0.1:8765 ubuntu-user@server-ip

Leave SSH running and open http://127.0.0.1:8765 on your laptop. For your own domain, follow the remote access guide.

Startup and troubleshooting

Installation enables two systemd sockets. The web process starts on the first connection and after reboot through socket activation. An occupied port causes an explicit systemd failure; MiniPilot does not silently pick a new public port.

systemctl status minipilot.socket minipilot.service
sudo journalctl -u minipilot.service -n 50
sudo systemctl start minipilot.socket

Missing NVIDIA drivers, Docker, Podman, tmux, screen, or device permissions are shown as unavailable. MiniPilot does not install drivers or grant your user additional groups.

Upgrade or remove

Install the newer .deb with the same APT command. Configuration is retained. Removal stops the service; purge also removes package configuration. Reports you exported are yours to delete.

sudo apt remove minipilot
# Or remove the package and its configuration:
sudo apt purge minipilot

The locked service account is retained to prevent its numeric identity from being reused for unrelated files. No desktop application is installed.