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CLI Installation

Install Ada CLI (ada / lovelace) on any platform

Recommended: Package Managers

For interactive development, use your platform's package manager. These paths handle upgrades automatically.

macOS (Homebrew)

bash
brew tap lovelace-ai/lovelace https://github.com/ReasonableTech/lovelace
brew install lovelace-cli
ada --version

Windows (Winget)

powershell
winget install ReasonableTech.LovelaceCLI
ada --version

Debian / Ubuntu (APT)

bash
curl -fsSL https://reasonabletech.github.io/apt/lovelace.gpg \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/lovelace.gpg

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/lovelace.gpg] \
  https://reasonabletech.github.io/apt stable main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/lovelace.list > /dev/null

sudo apt update
sudo apt install lovelace-cli
ada --version

Universal Installer (curl / PowerShell)

One command installs the CLI on any supported platform — no package manager needed. This is the fastest path for CI environments and machines where you can't use a package manager.

macOS / Linux / WSL

bash
curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/install | sh
ada --version

Windows (PowerShell)

powershell
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://d.uselovelace.com/install.ps1 `
  -UseBasicParsing | Invoke-Expression
ada --version

Component-Specific Installers

Use a component URL to install only what you need. Each URL sets the appropriate component automatically.

URLInstalls
https://d.uselovelace.com/installCLI tools (default)
https://d.uselovelace.com/cliCLI tools only
https://d.uselovelace.com/desktopDesktop application
https://d.uselovelace.com/localhostLocalhost MCP server
https://d.uselovelace.com/localhost.ps1Localhost MCP server (Windows)
bash
# CLI tools only
curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/cli | sh

# Desktop application
curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/desktop | sh

# Localhost MCP server
curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/localhost | sh

Version Pinning

All component URLs support the @version shorthand:

bash
# Install a specific version
curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/cli | sh -s -- @1.2.3

# Explicit flag form (works with every installer URL)
curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/install | sh -s -- --version 1.2.3

Environment Variables

The installer reads these variables before any flags. Set them in your shell or CI environment.

VariableDefaultDescription
LOVELACE_VERSIONlatestVersion to install: latest, 1.2.3, etc.
LOVELACE_INSTALL_DIR~/.lovelace (interactive) / auto in CIDirectory where binaries are placed
LOVELACE_COMPONENTScliComma-separated component list: cli, desktop, localhost
LOVELACE_REINSTALL0Set to 1 to replace an existing installation
LOVELACE_SILENT0Set to 1 to suppress all non-error output
LOVELACE_DRY_RUN0Set to 1 to print what would happen without installing
LOVELACE_DEBUG0Set to 1 to print every decision the installer makes
LOVELACE_SKIP_VERIFY0Set to 1 to skip SHA-256 checksum verification
LOVELACE_BASE_URLGitHub ReleasesOverride the download base URL (useful for testing)
LOVELACE_INSTALLER_URLhttps://d.uselovelace.com/installURL used by wrapper scripts to fetch the main installer

Common examples

bash
# Install to a custom directory
LOVELACE_INSTALL_DIR=/opt/lovelace \
  curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/install | sh

# Pin version in CI
LOVELACE_VERSION=1.2.3 \
  curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/install | sh

# Silent install (errors still print)
LOVELACE_SILENT=1 \
  curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/install | sh

# Dry run — shows what the installer would do
LOVELACE_DRY_RUN=1 \
  curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/install | sh

GitHub Actions

Use the official action for the best CI experience. It handles version resolution, binary caching, platform detection, and authentication.

yaml
steps:
  - uses: actions/checkout@v4

  - uses: reasonabletech/setup-lovelace@v1
    with:
      version: "latest"
      token: ${{ secrets.LOVELACE_API_KEY }}

  - run: ada agent run review-pr

See the setup-lovelace action README for the full input/output reference, caching behavior, and matrix examples.

Alternatively, install directly with curl:

yaml
- name: Install Ada CLI
  run: curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/install | sh
  env:
    LOVELACE_VERSION: 1.2.3

Verification

After installation, confirm both binaries are on PATH:

bash
ada --version
lovelace --version   # alias for ada

Updating

Homebrew

bash
brew update && brew upgrade lovelace-cli

APT

bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade lovelace-cli

Winget

powershell
winget upgrade ReasonableTech.LovelaceCLI

Universal installer

Re-run the installer with LOVELACE_REINSTALL=1:

bash
LOVELACE_REINSTALL=1 curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/install | sh

Troubleshooting

ada: command not found after installation

The installer adds the binary directory to your shell profile (.bashrc, .zshrc, or .profile), but the current session does not pick up the change automatically.

bash
# Reload your shell profile, then retry
source ~/.bashrc   # or ~/.zshrc
ada --version

If that does not help, add the directory to PATH explicitly and re-open your terminal:

bash
export PATH="$HOME/.lovelace/bin:$PATH"

Download fails or times out

Check connectivity, then try an explicit base URL:

bash
LOVELACE_DEBUG=1 curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/install | sh

To use a local mirror or staging server:

bash
LOVELACE_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080 \
  curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/install | sh

Binary verification fails

SHA-256 verification protects against corrupted downloads. If you are behind a proxy that rewrites TLS traffic, checksums will mismatch:

bash
# Skip verification only if you trust the network path
LOVELACE_SKIP_VERIFY=1 curl -fsSL https://d.uselovelace.com/install | sh

Unsupported platform or architecture

The universal installer supports Linux (x64, arm64), macOS (x64, arm64), and Windows (x64). If your platform is not listed, download a binary directly from GitHub Releases and add it to PATH manually.

Windows: execution policy error

PowerShell's default execution policy may block the installer. Run as Administrator:

powershell
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy Bypass
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://d.uselovelace.com/install.ps1 `
  -UseBasicParsing | Invoke-Expression

Manual Downloads

Download pre-built binaries directly from GitHub Releases:

Place both ada and lovelace binaries somewhere on your PATH.

Next step: Quickstart Guide — authenticate and run your first command.