Installation

Install via npm, or download a binary from the releases page. Both routes end in the same interactive setup wizard.

npm (recommended)

npx @bitmilldev/warden init

Direct download

Grab the binary for your platform from the latest release, verify it against checksums-sha256.txt, put it on your PATH, and run warden init.

Scoop and Homebrew channels are planned; until their bucket and tap are published, npm and direct download are the supported routes.

What init Does

The init wizard walks you through:

• Creating the ~/.warden/ directory structure
• Installing Warden to your PATH
• Detecting and optionally installing CLI tools (rg, fd, bat, etc.)
• Configuring hooks for your AI assistant
• Writing default configuration
• Starting the background server

Connect to Your Assistant

There is no separate step. warden init detects the host it is running under — Claude Code, Gemini CLI, or Codex CLI — and writes that host’s hook configuration.

That’s it. Start a coding session and Warden activates automatically via hooks. No commands to run, no config to write.

Verify Installation

You can verify everything is working:

warden --debug doctor

This checks that Warden is on PATH, the server is reachable, hooks are registered, and your AI assistant is configured correctly.

The same information is on the dashboard’s Diagnostics panel — open it with warden watch.

Once verified, start a coding session. Warden activates automatically — no commands to run, no config to write. If something isn’t working, see Troubleshooting.

Where Warden Runs