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Installation

This guide covers the installation and initial setup of the Lium CLI.

Prerequisites​

  • Operating system: Linux or macOS (amd64 or arm64). Windows users should run the binary install inside WSL, or use the Python package.
  • Network: Internet connection for API access and binary download.
  • SSH client: Required for pod access (ssh, scp, rsync).
  • Python: Only required if you install via pip — version 3.10 or higher, below 3.15.

Installation methods​

The fastest way to get a working lium command — no Python required. The installer downloads a precompiled binary for your platform, verifies its checksum, and adds it to your PATH:

curl -fsSL https://lium.io/install.sh | bash

Supported platforms: darwin-amd64, darwin-arm64, linux-amd64, linux-arm64.

The installer:

  1. Downloads the latest release of lium from GitHub releases into ~/.lium/versions/<version>/lium.
  2. Verifies the SHA-256 checksum against the published checksums.txt.
  3. Creates a managed symlink at ~/.lium/bin/lium pointing to the versioned binary.
  4. Adds ~/.lium/bin to PATH in your ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.config/fish/config.fish.

After the install finishes, restart your shell (or source your rc file) so the updated PATH takes effect:

exec $SHELL -l   # or: source ~/.bashrc / ~/.zshrc
lium --version

Customizing the binary install​

The installer respects a few environment variables for non-default setups:

VariablePurpose
LIUM_INSTALL_DIROverride the symlink directory (default ~/.lium/bin).
LIUM_VERSIONPin a specific release (e.g. LIUM_VERSION=0.0.7).

Example — pin a specific version:

curl -fsSL https://lium.io/install.sh | LIUM_VERSION=0.0.7 bash

Upgrading​

Re-run the same command to upgrade to the latest release. The installer will download the newer versioned binary and re-point the ~/.lium/bin/lium symlink at it; older versions remain under ~/.lium/versions/ until you remove them.

curl -fsSL https://lium.io/install.sh | bash

Uninstalling​

rm -rf ~/.lium/bin ~/.lium/versions
# Optional: remove the PATH line the installer added to your shell rc

Python package​

Install the published package from PyPI when you also want the Python SDK alongside the CLI, or when you can't run a precompiled binary:

pip install lium.io

To upgrade:

pip install --upgrade lium.io

It's recommended to install into a virtual environment to avoid conflicts:

python -m venv lium-env
# Linux/macOS:
source lium-env/bin/activate
# Windows:
lium-env\Scripts\activate

pip install lium.io

Provider commands need an extra​

Since 0.0.30 bittensor is an optional provider extra of the pip package. Without it lium fund exits 2, and a lium provider command that loads your wallet keypair exits 6 — a config error in the provider exit-code map. Both print the install line, and the binary install above still bundles it:

pip install "lium.io[provider]"

From source​

For development or to track unreleased changes:

git clone https://github.com/Datura-ai/lium.git
cd lium
pip install -e .

Initial configuration​

No account yet​

Create one from the terminal — see lium signup:

lium signup --email you@example.com

It creates the account, saves the API key and sets up a local SSH key, so nothing below is needed afterwards. Renting needs a balance above 15 minutes of the node's hourly price, not a confirmed email — the confirmation link only enables password resets and account mail.

Running the setup wizard​

If you already have an account, run:

lium init

This interactive wizard helps you configure:

  1. API key — your Lium platform API key.
  2. SSH keys — generate a new pair or point at an existing one.
  3. Default settings — preferences such as theme.

Manual configuration​

You can also edit ~/.lium/config.ini directly:

[api]
api_key = your-api-key-here

[ssh]
key_path = /path/to/your/ssh/key

Environment variables​

Any config key can be supplied through the environment — LIUM_ plus the dotted key in upper case, with dots as underscores. Useful for CI:

export LIUM_API_KEY=your-api-key-here      # api.api_key
export LIUM_SSH_KEY_PATH=/path/to/ssh/key  # ssh.key_path

Note that the SSH connection itself does not read ssh.key_path: the client picks the first of ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, ~/.ssh/id_rsa, ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa that exists. Keep the key you want used at one of those paths.

Verification​

lium --version    # confirm install
lium config show  # confirm config
lium ls           # list available nodes

Getting your API key​

  1. Register at lium.io.
  2. Open your account settings and find the API section.
  3. Generate an API key.
  4. Paste it when lium init prompts for it (or export LIUM_API_KEY).

SSH key setup​

Generating new SSH keys​

If you don't have SSH keys, the CLI can generate them — choose Generate new SSH key pair in lium init.

Using existing keys​

  1. Locate your key pair (typically ~/.ssh/).
  2. During lium init, provide the path to your private key.
  3. The CLI uploads the matching public key to Lium.

Key permissions​

chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Next steps​