Copy-paste three commands on your computer or server. No tech skills needed — just follow along.
Sovnex runs on Docker. Set up what your system needs below and keep them running. Already have them? Skip this.
1. Docker Desktop — download, install and open it (the whale icon in the menu bar means it's ready).
docker.com/products/docker-desktop ↗2. Ollama — the local AI engine. Download the app, install and open it (it sits in the menu bar); Sovnex connects to it automatically. Install it yourself on Mac — don't count on the script to.
ollama.com/download ↗Paste this to auto-install Docker (needs sudo):
$ curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh $ sudo systemctl enable --now docker
Ollama needs nothing here — it's set up automatically inside Docker (uses your NVIDIA GPU if present, otherwise the CPU).
Linux shortcut: you can skip Docker here and go to step 2 — ./install.sh will offer to install Docker for you (also needs sudo).
Open your Terminal, paste and run this — it downloads and unpacks automatically.
$ curl -fsSL https://download.sovnexai.com/sovnex-install.tar.gz | tar xz $ cd sovnex-install
Linux users only — run this one line first (else the search engine won't start). Mac users skip it:
$ sudo sysctl -w vm.max_map_count=262144
One command does the rest — it configures, downloads and starts everything, including a few-GB local AI model. Grab a coffee for 10–20 min; it tells you how to open it when done.
$ ./install.sh ==> checking… generating secrets… pulling… starting… ✅ Sovnex is up.
If your vendor uses private images, run docker login once before this. Everything else is automatic — no config to edit.
Open the Admin console in your browser, sign in as owner → go to License → Activate → paste the activation code from your vendor. Done!
# Admin console (replace localhost with server IP) http://localhost/admin → License → Activate
<host> = localhost on this machine; use the server's IP or domain for remote access.
./install.sh down./install.sh up./install.sh status./install.sh logsdocker login./install.sh logs