Install

Brigade runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows with Python 3.10 or newer. The Brigade commands are the same on every platform. Only the one-time pipx setup differs.

Linux

Ubuntu 23.04+ and Debian 12+ use an externally managed system Python. Install the distribution package:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install pipx
pipx ensurepath

Fedora:

sudo dnf install pipx
pipx ensurepath

Other distributions should use their pipx package when one is available. A direct python3 -m pip install --user pipx can fail with externally-managed-environment on systems that implement PEP 668.

macOS

brew install pipx
pipx ensurepath

Windows PowerShell

With Scoop:

scoop install pipx
pipx ensurepath

Without Scoop:

py -m pip install --user pipx

Python may report that pipx.exe is not on PATH. Go to the directory printed by pip and run .\pipx.exe ensurepath, then open a new PowerShell window. If Python came from the Microsoft Store, use python3 instead of py.

Install Brigade

After opening a new terminal:

pipx install brigade-cli
brigade --version

Or track main:

pipx install git+https://github.com/escoffier-labs/brigade

Install the built-in engines. brigade setup downloads the Code Intelligence and Evidence binaries from the release manifest, digest-verified, with no Rust or Go toolchain required:

brigade setup

Set up a repo, then verify the wiring:

brigade operator quickstart --target ./my-repo --harnesses codex
brigade operator doctor --target ./my-repo --profile local-operator

PowerShell accepts the same commands. You can also use Windows-style paths:

brigade operator quickstart --target .\my-repo --harnesses codex
brigade operator doctor --target .\my-repo --profile local-operator

WSL is optional. Brigade runs natively on Windows. Worker CLIs must resolve to native executables; if an npm worker resolves only to a .cmd or .bat shim, Brigade reports it and asks for a native launcher. Shell completions currently cover bash, zsh, and fish. brigade stations verify is POSIX-only and returns unsupported-platform on Windows.

For an OpenClaw or Hermes workspace instead of a code repo:

brigade operator quickstart --target ~/agent-workspace --depth workspace --harnesses openclaw,hermes --owner openclaw

Use --dry-run first to preview the planned steps without writing anything; brigade init --target ./my-repo --harnesses codex --dry-run shows the full file-by-file list. Quickstart only wires the harnesses you select and leaves the rest alone.

Prefer the lower-level pieces? brigade init lays down the files, brigade doctor checks the wiring, and brigade status reports over the station registry. brigade profiles list shows the built-in station profiles and brigade stations list shows the stations each profile selects, which is the station registry brigade status reports over.

The platform-specific pipx commands above follow the official pipx installation guide.