Install the Axiom CLI

Install the Axiom CLI (axiom), check your environment, then add only the tools your path needs. Local authoring, building and testing do not need a Cloud account.

Supported platforms

Debian 12 and Ubuntu 24.04 or newer meet the glibc requirement. The walkthroughs in these docs are checked on macOS arm64. See the support matrix for the other tools' platforms.

1. Install the CLI

curl -fsSL https://axiomcore.dev/install | bash

mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin"
curl -fsSL https://axiomcore.dev/install | VERSION=0.149.1 INSTALL_DIR="$HOME/.local/bin" bash

brew install AxiomCore/tap/axiom

mkdir axiom-install
cd axiom-install
curl -fL https://github.com/AxiomCore/AxiomCore/releases/download/cli-v0.149.1/axiom-macos-arm64.tar.gz -o axiom.tar.gz
echo '6747941bb3ff5917baac691b8d26391e34ad31d8c1fbffd688b358eb3463e50d  axiom.tar.gz' | shasum -a 256 -c -
tar -xzf axiom.tar.gz
mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin"
install -m 755 axiom "$HOME/.local/bin/axiom"
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Confirm the installed version:

axiom --version

axiom 0.149.1

2. Check your environment

Run both commands from your application's root directory.

axiom doctor

axiom doctor reports prerequisites without writing files, logging in, pulling contracts or showing credentials.

axiom doctor
axiom doctor --json --strict > axiom-doctor.json

Each check reports PASS, WARN or FAIL, a detail line and, when available, a fix.

--json prints a stable report with schema_version, control_plane, project_root and checks (each with id, status, summary, detail and fix). --strict exits non-zero when any check fails; warnings do not fail. The report never contains tokens, keys or contract contents, but project_root is a local path, so review it before you post the report publicly.

axiom onboard

axiom onboard detects whether the directory holds a backend, a frontend or both, and prints the shortest supported next step. It writes nothing unless you pass --apply, and it pulls a contract only when you pass --contract.

Without --role, axiom.acore, main.py, app.py, pyproject.toml, go.mod or main.go means backend, and package.json, pubspec.yaml or AxiomDeps.toml means frontend; both means fullstack. main.py, app.py (FastAPI) and main.go (Go) are detected as entrypoints. pubspec.yaml selects flutter, a React dependency selects atmx-react, and other package.json projects use atmx-web. --framework also accepts dart.

--apply only creates axiom.acore and never overwrites an existing one. Releasing is always a separate, explicit step:

axiom build
axiom login
axiom build --release --out backend.axiom

3. Add the tools your path needs

Web UI host

axiom ui host install --target web --version 0.6.12 --non-interactive

Verified and installed Axiom UI Host 0.6.12 (browser) for web.

Always pass --target web: axiom ui host commands default to ios. Check the installed host with axiom ui host status --target web. The signed host must match the CLI's capabilities, and an older host can fail even when both are installed. See Versioning and deprecation for compiler, host, SDK and editor compatibility.

Backend extractors

An extractor reads a FastAPI or Go service and produces its contract. FastAPI extraction imports your application module, so keep import-time code free of migrations, worker startup and production connections. Read How extraction works before you use it in CI.

The CLI looks for extractors at ~/.acore/bin/axiom-fastapi-extractor and ~/.acore/bin/axiom-go-extractor, or at the paths in AXIOM_FASTAPI_EXTRACTOR and AXIOM_GO_EXTRACTOR. Published builds are macOS arm64 only. In CLI 0.149.1, axiom install <extractor> --module does not find these builds, so install them directly:

mkdir -p "$HOME/.acore/bin"
curl -fL https://github.com/AxiomCore/AxiomCore/releases/download/extractor-fastapi-v0.1.4/axiom-fastapi-macos-arm64 -o "$HOME/.acore/bin/axiom-fastapi-extractor"
echo "8f0d08c831821c7a9f89ee6b11694fe64f0d68abc7c4169c3f8157929cd3e0f1  $HOME/.acore/bin/axiom-fastapi-extractor" | shasum -a 256 -c -
chmod 755 "$HOME/.acore/bin/axiom-fastapi-extractor"

mkdir -p "$HOME/.acore/bin"
curl -fL https://github.com/AxiomCore/AxiomCore/releases/download/extractor-go-2026.10.14.2/axiom-go-extractor-macos-arm64 -o "$HOME/.acore/bin/axiom-go-extractor"
echo "a38b7c708cba319eefc07256fc8aefef95f4446a0d18b368c932b0f9f16158df  $HOME/.acore/bin/axiom-go-extractor" | shasum -a 256 -c -
chmod 755 "$HOME/.acore/bin/axiom-go-extractor"

A build that needs a missing extractor fails with MISSING_EXTRACTOR: fastapi-extractor or MISSING_EXTRACTOR: go-extractor.

4. Set up your editor

The CLI includes the Acore language server, acore-lsp. It runs offline over stdin and stdout.

axiom lsp --version
axiom install lsp-server

acore-lsp 0.1.4 (axiom-editor/v1)
Installed Acore LSP: <home>/.axiom/bin/acore-lsp
Use this absolute path in your editor's language-server binary setting.
Version metadata: <home>/.axiom/bin/acore-lsp --version-json
Run `axiom install lsp-server` again after updating the CLI to update this server.

axiom install lsp-server copies a self-contained server to ~/.axiom/bin/acore-lsp. It does not change editor settings or PATH. Point an editor that can launch a stdio language server at the printed path, or have it run axiom lsp. Run axiom install lsp-server again after you update the CLI. A standalone acore-lsp 0.1.4 build for macOS arm64 is also published. No Acore editor extension is published in the VS Code Marketplace, Open VSX or the Zed extension registry yet.

5. Connect to Axiom Cloud (optional)

Local commands such as check, build, run, test, inspect, database and ui work without an account. Axiom Cloud is in private alpha. The first command that uses Cloud, such as axiom login, axiom build --release or axiom pull organization/project, asks once for a referral code to register this machine. In CI, set AXIOM_REFERRAL_CODE; without it the command fails instead of prompting.

If you do not have a code, join the waitlist:

axiom join you@yourcompany.com

Troubleshooting

Next steps

• Run your first app
• Build your first API
• Build your first UI
• Create your first database