1. Install Aikito¶
By the end of this step, aikito --version will work in your terminal.
Have a supported coding agent installed to follow the agent-assisted path.
The tutorial uses ~/aikito for your workspace and ~/code/example for an
existing code repository. Substitute your own paths throughout.
Ask your agent¶
Install Aikito for this machine. Inspect what is already installed and verify the CLI version. Stop before creating a workspace or adopting configuration.
If your agent needs setup instructions, point it to the Aikito skill.
Install manually¶
Cross-platform (recommended)¶
With uv:
With pipx:
macOS / Linux with Homebrew¶
The Formula includes the optional encrypted runtime through Homebrew's
cryptography dependency, shared with its Python runtime. Other Python
installations opt in with uv tool install 'aikito[encrypted]' or
pipx install 'aikito[encrypted]'. Ordinary Python installations retain zero
runtime dependencies. Device keys use owner-only files by default; see
optional native storage
for an explicit switch to OS protection.
Windows¶
Enable Developer Mode in Settings so Aikito can create symbolic links without administrator privileges: Settings → System → For developers → Developer Mode.
Then install via uv tool or pipx:
Or run the automated PowerShell installer:
Open a new terminal afterward to load the PATH update. Use native Windows
paths such as D:/code/example in subsequent steps.
See platform constraints for details.
Windows installer details¶
The installer checks for Windows Developer Mode (symlink support) and Python 3.12+,
and installs Aikito using uv tool (if available) or an isolated virtual environment at
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\aikito, adding its command directory to your User PATH.
No administrator privileges are required when Developer Mode is enabled.
To choose a different installation directory when installing to a virtual environment:
& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lsaint/aikito/main/install.ps1))) -InstallDir "D:\aikito"
The CLI installation directory is separate from your personal workspace.
For example, after opening a new terminal, create the workspace with
aikito init workspace $env:USERPROFILE\aikito, then follow
existing-setup adoption.
Shell completion¶
Homebrew installs Zsh, Bash, and Fish completions automatically. For manual installs, follow the shell completion reference, which includes PowerShell profile setup.
Verify¶
You should see a version and the command list. If the shell cannot find
aikito, resolve the installation or PATH issue before continuing.
Troubleshooting¶
If you recently published or upgraded a release and your package manager reports that aikito was not found, regional PyPI mirrors (such as Aliyun, Tsinghua, etc.) or local caches may be experiencing synchronization delays. Install directly from the official PyPI index: