Download Nimbus
The unified MCP gateway for production AI agents. One command installs the CLI, the gateway, and every bundled MCP server — SHA256-verified, no sign-up, runs locally.
Prerequisite: Nimbus needs Docker Desktop (or OrbStack on Mac) installed and running before you install. Installation is free and takes a couple of minutes.
Quick check — run this first:
If you see a CONTAINER ID table (or a "no containers" row), Docker is up and you're good to go. If you see Cannot connect to the Docker daemon, start Docker Desktop (macOS / Windows) or sudo systemctl start docker (Linux) and try again.
The video follows the macOS install end-to-end: Docker check, the install command, the dashboard prompt, the OpenRouter API key, and importing a starter workflow from the dashboard. Linux and Windows follow the same flow with their respective installers below.
Install for your platform
Apple Silicon & Intel. Requires macOS 12 Monterey or later.
Install (latest):
The installer auto-detects Apple Silicon vs Intel and verifies against the published SHA256SUMS.
Direct downloads:
System requirements:
- OS: macOS 12 Monterey or later (Apple Silicon or Intel)
- Docker: Docker Desktop 4.x+ or OrbStack — daemon must be running
- Python: 3.12+ (auto-installed via
uvif missing) - Disk: ~30 MB for the CLI, ~2 GB once Docker images are pulled
- RAM: 4 GB minimum, 8 GB recommended
Pin a specific version:
Set NIMBUS_VERSION on the right-hand side of the pipe (so curl doesn't see it and the variable reaches the installed script):
x86_64 & aarch64. Tested on Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+, Fedora 39+, and Arch.
Install (latest):
Direct downloads:
System requirements:
- OS: glibc 2.31+ (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 39, Arch)
- Docker: Docker Desktop 4.x+, OrbStack, or a headless Docker Engine — daemon must be running
- Python: 3.12+ (auto-installed via
uvif missing) - Disk: ~30 MB for the CLI, ~2 GB once Docker images are pulled
- RAM: 4 GB minimum, 8 GB recommended
Pin a specific version:
Set NIMBUS_VERSION on the right-hand side of the pipe (so curl doesn't see it and the variable reaches the installed script):
PowerShell & WSL2. Administrator is not required. The installer handles PATH setup and registers Nimbus in your user profile.
Install (latest):
Direct downloads:
System requirements:
- OS: Windows 10 build 19041+ or Windows 11 with WSL2 enabled
- Docker: Docker Desktop 4.x+ (with WSL2 backend) — daemon must be running
- Python: 3.12+ (auto-installed via
uvif missing) - Disk: ~30 MB for the CLI, ~2 GB once Docker images are pulled
- RAM: 4 GB minimum, 8 GB recommended (Qdrant + Docker)
Pin a specific version:
Set NIMBUS_VERSION in your shell before running the installer (so the variable reaches the installed script):
Browse all published versions on the releases page.
Verify Before You Install
Every release ships with a SHA256SUMS file. The installer checksums automatically. To inspect the checksums yourself, grab the file from the releases page and run:
Every release is SLSA-attested by GitHub Actions. You can view the attestation on the releases page.
Upgrade
There are two upgrade paths, for different things:
nimbus upgrade # refresh container images (gateway + dashboard)
nimbus update # self-update the CLI binary itself
nimbus update --gateway # self-update the CLI + pull/restart the gateway container
Your mcp.json, .env, OAuth tokens, and the Qdrant index are preserved across either.
To pin a version during install, set NIMBUS_VERSION on the right-hand side of the pipe:
Uninstall
Removes the CLI, the gateway, the local Docker stack, and the install directory in one step:
If you want to keep your config (mcp.json, .env, tokens) for a future reinstall, pass --keep-config:
What Gets Installed
The installer writes everything under ~/.nimbus/ (or $NIMBUS_HOME if you set it):
~/.nimbus/
├── nimbus # CLI shim
├── nimbus-gateway-* # Compiled gateway binary
├── mcp.json # Server registry
├── servers/ # Bundled MCP servers
├── .env # Local config (OPENROUTER_API_KEY, QDRANT_URL, …)
└── logs/ # Runtime logs
It also adds export NIMBUS_HOME and PATH to your shell config (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, or $PROFILE on Windows) so nimbus is on your PATH in new shells.
FAQ
The installer says "arm64 not found" on my Apple Silicon Mac.
That message is from an outdated installer. Run nimbus upgrade to pull the latest, or fetch a fresh copy of the script directly:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Yoodule/nimbus/main/install.sh -o /tmp/install.sh && bash /tmp/install.sh
The current installer follows GitHub's CDN redirect, detects your architecture, and fails fast with an actionable error if the asset is genuinely missing.
Can I install on a machine without Docker?
No. Nimbus requires a running Docker daemon — the gateway, Qdrant, Postgres, Redis, and the bundled MCP servers all run containerized. On macOS / Windows use Docker Desktop or OrbStack; on Linux use Docker Engine. nimbus doctor will tell you if Docker isn't reachable.
How big is the download?
The CLI tarball is ~30 MB compressed. The Docker images it pulls on first start add another ~2 GB (gateway, Qdrant, Postgres, Redis, Playwright/Chromium).
Where do my OAuth tokens live?
In-memory by default — re-approve on restart. The gateway's OAuth client manages the dance; tokens are not persisted to disk in the default install.
Does this work on Apple Silicon under Rosetta?
Yes — set NIMBUS_HOST_ARCH=amd64 before the install command to pull the Intel build. We don't ship a universal binary because the gatekeeper tooling adds 60+ MB for a small subset of users; Rosetta handles it transparently.
How do I run multiple Nimbus instances on the same host?
Nimbus binds to fixed host ports (3000 for the dashboard, 8088 for the gateway, 6080 for noVNC, 5433 for Postgres, 6379 for Redis, 6333/6334 for Qdrant), so the default install is single-instance. To run a second, clone the repo, remap ports in compose.yaml, set a unique NIMBUS_HOME, and set COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME so the two stacks don't collide. Full details in the Multiple Instances section below.
The install hangs or curl fails — what now?
Most common cause: a corporate proxy intercepting TLS. Set HTTPS_PROXY and try again. If the issue is the CDN specifically, the install script accepts NIMBUS_VERSION to pin a known-good release, and you can also download the tarball directly from the releases page and untar it into ~/.nimbus/ by hand — the binary is self-contained.
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