Installation

Install the Tars CLI and verify its runtime prerequisites.

Requirements

Node.js 22.19 or newer
npm 10.9 or newer
A supported model API key or an OpenAI-compatible endpoint
A Discord bot token when using the Discord channel

Install from npm

npm install -g @saccolabs/tars
tars --version

The package includes the CLI, supervisor, built-in extensions, and optional dashboard assets. Tars does not require Docker for its application runtime.

Configure and start

tars setup
tars extensions audit
tars start
tars status

The setup wizard creates ~/.tars/, stores non-secret settings in config.json, and stores credentials in .env with restricted permissions. The supervisor is registered with PM2 as tars-supervisor.

For terminal-only troubleshooting after setup:

tars chat --no-discord

This foreground mode does not connect Discord or start the dashboard, heartbeat, or cron service.

Upgrade

Use tars update to stage, preflight, and install an available package update. Do not stop Tars first; active processes are restarted after a successful update. If preflight pauses for a custom extension policy, run tars extensions migrate and retry. No package or configuration is changed by a paused preflight.

Use tars refresh only to rebuild the dashboard and built-in extensions from the package already installed.