Getting started

By the end of this guide, you will have Kanesh running locally, an owner account and a collection available through the API. The Docker image includes Studio and uses SQLite by default.

Easiest: interactive setup

You need Docker with the Compose plugin. Pick one way:

One command. It asks for the database (SQLite, PostgreSQL or MySQL), the port and MCP, then starts Kanesh:

curl -fsSL https://YOUR_KANESH_SITE/install.sh | sh

Skip the questions with flags, for example sh -s -- --db postgres --port 8080 --mcp. Run the same command again later to upgrade.

One compose file. Prefer to see every line? Download docker-compose.yml and .env and start it yourself; see Docker Compose.

Open http://127.0.0.1:8080 when the script says Kanesh is ready.

Note: Both use the published image, which arrives with the first release. Until then, build the image with the steps below and set KANESH_IMAGE=kanesh in .env.

Before you start

Have Git and Docker available to clone the source and build the image.
Use a browser to complete setup in Studio.
Keep the kanesh-data volume for persistent storage.

Note: Use TLS and COOKIE_SECURE=true before exposing Kanesh outside your machine.

1. Build the image

There is no published image during the preview, so build it from source:

git clone https://github.com/kaneshdev/kanesh.git
cd kanesh
docker build --tag kanesh .

2. Run it

docker run --name kanesh -p 127.0.0.1:8080:8080 -v kanesh-data:/data kanesh

Data lives in the kanesh-data volume and survives restarts.

3. Claim the installation

On first start Kanesh writes a single-use token to /data/claim-token:

docker cp kanesh:/data/claim-token ./claim-token

Open http://127.0.0.1:8080, paste the token and create the owner account. Keep the token private.

Note: You can skip the token by setting ADMIN_EMAIL and ADMIN_PASSWORD (or ADMIN_PASSWORD_FILE) before the first start. These settings do not reset an existing owner’s password on restart.

4. Create a collection

In Studio, open Settings → Data model → Create collection. Every collection is immediately available over REST and GraphQL. The API reference page shows ready-to-copy requests and an OpenAPI export.

Troubleshooting

No image to pull: no published image is available yet. Build the local kanesh image in step 1 before running it.
Setup is still required: copy the single-use token from the running container and complete the setup screen. Readiness succeeds after the installation is claimed.
Changing the bootstrap password has no effect: the admin variables only create an owner on a new installation; restarting does not reset the existing password.