Installation

Comprehensive installation guide for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Installation

Getting started with Autopilot CLI is simple. It runs on any operating system that supports Node.js.

Prerequisites

Before installing, ensure you have the following requirements:

Node.js: Version 18.0.0 or higher.
Git: Installed and available in your terminal path.

Check your versions:

node --version
git --version

Windows

Method 1: npm (Recommended)

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator and run:

npm install -g @traisetech/autopilot

Method 2: pnpm / yarn

If you use other package managers:

# pnpm
pnpm add -g @traisetech/autopilot

# yarn
yarn global add @traisetech/autopilot

Troubleshooting Windows

"Command not recognized" Error If autopilot isn't found after installation, your npm folder is likely missing from your system PATH.

Search for "Edit the system environment variables" in Start menu.
Click Environment Variables.
Under User variables, select Path and click Edit.
Click New and add: %APPDATA%\npm
Click OK and restart your terminal.

macOS

Installation via npm

We recommend using a Node version manager like nvm to avoid permission issues.

npm install -g @traisetech/autopilot

If you get an EACCES permission error, try using sudo:

sudo npm install -g @traisetech/autopilot

Verify Installation

autopilot --version

Linux

Autopilot works on any distribution (Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, etc.) with a compatible Node.js runtime.

1. Install Node.js (if missing)

We recommend using nvm (Node Version Manager) or your distro's package manager.

Ubuntu/Debian:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

2. Install Autopilot

npm install -g @traisetech/autopilot

3. Permissions Note

If you installed Node.js via the system package manager (apt, pacman, etc.), you might need sudo for global installs:

sudo npm install -g @traisetech/autopilot

No-Install Usage (npx)

You can run Autopilot without installing it globally using npx. This ensures you always use the latest version.

npx @traisetech/autopilot start

Note: For the best experience with the file watcher, a global installation is recommended.

Verify Installation

Check that Autopilot is correctly installed by viewing the help menu:

autopilot --help

You should see:

Usage: autopilot [options] [command]

Intelligent Git automation that commits and pushes your code

Options:
  -V, --version   output the version number
  -h, --help      display help for command

Commands:
  init            Initialize Autopilot in the current directory
  start           Start the file watcher
  status          Check the status of the Autopilot daemon
  stop            Stop the Autopilot daemon
  help [command]  display help for command

Uninstalling

If you need to remove Autopilot CLI from your system:

npm uninstall -g @traisetech/autopilot

This will remove the global binary but will not delete any .autopilotrc.json configuration files you created in your projects. You can safely delete those manually if desired.