Installation & First Run
Edgebric is a private knowledge platform that runs entirely on your Mac. Upload documents, ask questions with AI, and get cited answers — nothing leaves your machine.
System Requirements
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | macOS (Apple Silicon) | macOS (Apple Silicon) |
| RAM | 16 GB | 24 GB |
| Disk | 20 GB free | 50 GB free |
| Hardware | Any Apple Silicon Mac | Mac Mini M4 24 GB ($699) |
| Use case | Personal use | Org / team server |
Install
Option 1: Download the App (recommended)
- Go to edgebric.com
- Download the
.dmgfile - Drag Edgebric to your Applications folder
- Double-click to launch
That's it. No terminal, no configuration.
Option 2: One-Line Install
Open Terminal and run:
curl -fsSL https://edgebric.com/install.sh | bashThis checks prerequisites, clones the repo, builds everything, and launches the desktop app. You can customize the install directory:
curl -fsSL https://edgebric.com/install.sh | bash -s -- --dir ~/my-edgebricOption 3: Build from Source
For developers who want to build Edgebric themselves.
Prerequisites:
- macOS (Apple Silicon recommended, Intel supported)
- Node.js 20+
- pnpm 10+
- Python 3.10+ with
docling(optional, for PDF extraction)
git clone https://github.com/jerv/edgebric.git
cd edgebric
pnpm install
pnpm build
# Launch the desktop app
cd packages/desktop
pnpm devFirst Launch
When you open Edgebric for the first time, a setup wizard walks you through configuration.
Step 1: Choose Your Mode
Edgebric offers three modes:
| Mode | Who it's for | Login required? |
|---|---|---|
| Solo | Just you, on your own Mac | No |
| Admin | You're setting up a server for your team or family | Yes (OIDC/SSO) |
| Connect | You're joining an existing Edgebric server on your network | Yes |
Solo mode is the quickest path — no login setup, no network configuration. You can switch to Admin mode later.
Step 2: Choose a Data Directory
Edgebric stores documents and AI models locally. The default location is ~/Edgebric. You can change this during setup.
Step 3: Download a Model
Edgebric downloads a default AI model (Qwen 3.5 4B, about 2.6 GB) from HuggingFace. A progress bar shows the download status. You can change or add models later — see Choosing Models.
Step 4: Authentication (Admin Mode Only)
If you chose Admin mode, you'll configure an identity provider (Google or Microsoft) so your team members can sign in. See Authentication Setup for detailed instructions.
Step 5: AI Engine & Preferences
The final step lets you download the local AI engine and configure two preferences:
- Launch at Login — Start Edgebric automatically when you log in (recommended).
- Automatic Updates — Check for updates when Edgebric starts. You can always check manually from the tray menu or Settings.
Both default to on. You can change these later in Dashboard > Settings.
Step 6: Ready
Once setup completes:
- The Edgebric icon appears in your menu bar (green = running)
- Your browser opens to the Edgebric web interface
- You're ready to create your first data source
Menu Bar App
Edgebric runs as a macOS menu bar application. The tray icon shows the current status:
- Grey — Edgebric is not running
- Green — Everything is healthy
- Yellow — Starting up or a service needs attention
Click the icon to:
- Open the web interface
- View server status
- Check for updates / restart to update
- Restart services
- Quit Edgebric
Updates
Edgebric checks for updates automatically on startup (if enabled). You can also check manually via the tray menu or Dashboard > Settings > Updates.
When an update is available, Edgebric downloads it in the background and prompts you to restart. You can skip a version if you prefer.
To disable automatic checks, toggle Automatic Updates off in Settings. Manual checks via "Check for Updates" still work when auto-update is off.
CLI / Docker users
The desktop auto-updater only runs in packaged Electron builds. If you run from source or Docker, pull updates via git pull or docker pull. The updater gracefully no-ops in non-packaged environments.