Install the Cardumen CLI on your machine

Before you start

• System: macOS or Linux (Windows: coming soon; WSL2 works today).
• Homebrew: required on macOS/Linux. If minisign is missing, the installer installs it via Homebrew. brew.sh
• Tools: curl, git and openssl (the installer checks for them).
• Access code: CARD-XXXXXX. It arrives by email after plan activation. Cardumen is invitation-only.

1 Get your code

After choosing and activating your plan, your CARD-XXXXXX code and the exact command arrive by email (check spam). You can also find them in your account at any time.

Don't have a code? Pick a plan — your first purchase includes a welcome discount and we'll email the code over.

2 Install in one line

In your terminal, replace CARD-XXXXXX and the email with your own:

curl -fsSL https://get.cardumen.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- CARD-XXXXXX you@email.com

That command, leaving nothing else on your machine:

• Activates your license and stores a signed token (Ed25519) at ~/.cardumen/license.jwt.
• Downloads the right binary for your system through a temporary presigned URL and verifies checksum + signature.
• Installs cardumen into ~/.local/bin/.

On Windows? Support is coming soon — for now install on macOS or Linux (WSL2 works too).

3 Verify

cardumen --help

If you see command not found, add ~/.local/bin to your PATH and open a new terminal:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

4 First steps

• cardumen --help — lists all valid commands.
• cardumen init — sets up Cardumen in a repo (memory, code graph and C.R.E.A. hooks).
• cardumen graph build — builds the repo graph (AI and human views under .cardumen/views/).
• cardumen status — shows what is active (memory and skills).
• cardumen memory list — lists memory notes (do not use cardumen list).
• cardumen verify — verifies repo quality.
• cardumen update — updates the binary without source code, using your local license.
• Fallback if update fails: rerun the install command from step 2 with the same code and email.

5 View the human graph (browser or Obsidian)

Cardumen builds a repo graph for agents (.cardumen/graph.json) and, in parallel, human views you can explore. In your repo:

cardumen init
cardumen graph build

Option A — Browser viewer

Open the local HTML (pan, zoom and drag nodes). On macOS:

open .cardumen/views/browser/index.html

On Linux: xdg-open .cardumen/views/browser/index.html. On Windows: open it from File Explorer.

Option B — Obsidian (native Graph View)

1. Download and install Obsidian (free for personal use).
2. In Obsidian, choose Open folder as vault and pick .cardumen/views/<your-project>-obsidian-vault/.
3. Open the core-* note or the vault Canvas, then choose Open graph view to see the project map.

Those views are human-only: the AI keeps using graph.json, not the vault or HTML. If views/ is missing, rerun cardumen graph build after init.

Troubleshooting

command not found: cardumen

The binary is in ~/.local/bin but not on your PATH. Run the export from step 3 and reopen the terminal.

License rejected or the binary won't start

Make sure you used the CARD-XXXXXX and the activation email. Rerun the command from step 2. If it persists, write to us.

Checksum or signature failed

Usually an interrupted download. Rerun the installer — it is idempotent and leaves nothing half-done.

minisign is missing and Homebrew is not installed

Install Homebrew and rerun the command from step 2. The installer will install minisign for you.

The .cardumen/views/ folder is missing

Run cardumen init and then cardumen graph build inside the repo. The Obsidian vault is under .cardumen/views/<project>-obsidian-vault/ and the HTML under .cardumen/views/browser/.

I don't have my code

It is in your account and in the activation email. If it is not there, contact us.