This page walks you through the complete Binions install on a single Linux host. You will add the signed Binions package repository, authenticate with your licence, install and start a daemon, verify it is healthy, then add more daemons as you need them. The whole platform installs with a familiar apt install, and each daemon is its own self-configuring package. If you just want the short version, the Quick start covers the same path in five steps; this is the thorough reference, including prerequisites, per-daemon requirements, version pinning, and removal.
You install Binions on one Linux machine. The same packages run on a small board or a production server — there are no separate editions to choose between. Make sure you have the following ready.
| Operating system | Linux x86_64 — Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or Debian 12+ |
| Tools | apt and curl (both standard on those systems) |
| Access | Root, or a user with sudo |
| Account | A Binions account with repository access — this is where you copy your repository and token commands from |
| Network | Outbound HTTPS to the Binions package repository |
For the finer detail — supported releases, CPU and memory sizing, and database prerequisites — see System requirements and Database requirements. To get an account and understand the free tier (one set on one host, free for non-commercial use), see Licensing & Purchase.
First, tell apt where the Binions packages live and which signing key to trust. This sets up two things on your host:
/etc/apt/keyrings/, which apt uses to verify packages./etc/apt/sources.list.d/binions.list that points apt at the repository.The exact commands for both are generated for your account and shown on your account page after you sign in. The repository line is tied to your licence, so copy the commands from your account page rather than typing them by hand. They look like this in shape:
# Shape only — copy the exact key and source-list commands from your account page
sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL "<your account's signing-key URL>" \
| sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/binions-archive-keyring.asc > /dev/null
echo 'deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/binions-archive-keyring.asc] <your repository URL> binions main' \
| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/binions.listWhy a signing key. Every Binions package is cryptographically signed. The key lets
aptverify that each package really comes from Binions and has not been tampered with in transit. Keeping it under/etc/apt/keyrings/and referencing it withsigned-by=means only the Binions repository is trusted with that key — not your whole system.
The repository is private to licensed users, so apt needs to identify itself before it can download anything. You do this once by storing an access token in an apt credentials file under /etc/apt/auth.conf.d/.
Your account page generates this token and shows the exact one-line command to store it — again, copy it from your account page. The token ties downloads to your licence, so treat it like a password: keep the file readable only by root.
Keep your token private. Anyone with your token can download packages against your licence. Store it in the credentials file your account page provides (mode
600), and never paste it into a playbook, a script in version control, or a support ticket. For where the file lives and how activation fits in, see Activating a licence.
With the repository and token in place, refresh the package list:
sudo apt updateIf everything is set up correctly you will see an InRelease line for the Binions repository and no errors. Now install your first daemon. We use the logger daemon here — it is the simplest service and a good way to confirm the platform works before you add more. Install the package, then enable it together with its Redis instance:
sudo apt install binions-logger
sudo systemctl enable --now binions-logger redis-binions-loggerYou enable two units together because every Binions daemon ships with its own bundled, private Redis instance — named redis-binions-<service>, here redis-binions-logger — which is the daemon’s internal event bus. You do not install or manage Redis separately.
You also do not need to configure anything by hand for this first daemon. On install, the package provisions itself: it creates its own dedicated service user, lays out its directories with locked-down 0750 permissions, writes a configuration file from a template, generates a private Redis password, and writes the platform-wide config at /etc/binions/master.toml if it is not already there.
Confirm the daemon and its Redis are active, then check the health endpoint:
systemctl is-active binions-logger redis-binions-logger
curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:9100/health/ready && echo OKYou should see active twice from the first command and OK from the second. That confirms the daemon is up and its event bus is reachable. Each daemon exposes its health endpoint on the loopback address 127.0.0.1 on its own port in the 91xx range — the logger answers on :9100. To watch its event log, run:
journalctl -u binions-logger -n 20 --no-pagerAfter your first install, it is worth running through the Post-install checklist to confirm permissions, health, and logging are all as expected before you build on top.
Each capability is its own package, so you install only what you need and add to the set over time. The pattern is always the same — install the package, then enable it alongside its Redis instance:
sudo apt install binions-mailbox
sudo systemctl enable --now binions-mailbox redis-binions-mailboxMost daemons are zero-touch like the logger. A few need an external service or credentials in place before you enable them, because they reach out to something beyond the host:
| Daemon | What it does | Set up first |
|---|---|---|
| binions-database | Runs queries as workflow steps | A supported database server — PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, or Microsoft SQL Server — with a database and user provisioned; or use the bundled SQLite option for lightweight setups. See Database requirements for per-backend details. |
| binions-mailbox | Sends and receives email | Your IMAP and SMTP credentials, placed in the daemon’s config file |
| binions-aiinjector | Calls AI models to extract or generate data | An API key for your AI provider, in the daemon’s secrets file |
| binions-datatransporter | Moves files to and from object storage | Object storage — an S3-compatible MinIO is bundled for this |
| binions-traefiklinker | Publishes services through a reverse proxy | Traefik, which ships as a bundled package |
For the full roster of daemons, what each one does, and its health port, see Daemons. For step-by-step setup of the external dependencies above, see Installation. After installing any daemon, you can check it the same way as the logger:
systemctl is-active binions-mailbox redis-binions-mailbox
journalctl -u binions-mailbox --since "10 minutes ago" --no-pagerFor production hosts you may want to stay on a known-good version rather than upgrade automatically. Install a specific version, then hold it so a routine apt upgrade leaves it untouched:
sudo apt install binions-logger=<version>
sudo apt-mark hold binions-loggerReplace <version> with the exact package version you want (for example from apt list -a binions-logger). To resume normal upgrades later, run sudo apt-mark unhold binions-logger. Your operator configuration in application.toml is preserved across upgrades, so updating a daemon does not overwrite your settings.
To take a daemon off the host, choose how much you want to keep:
sudo apt remove binions-logger # removes the package, keeps your configuration
sudo apt purge binions-logger # removes the package and all of its data and configurationUse remove if you plan to reinstall and want to keep your config; use purge for a clean teardown that also removes the daemon’s directories and Redis state.
Always copy the repository and token commands from your account page. The repository line and the authentication command are generated per account and are the parts that change between licences — the
apt,systemctl, andcurlcommands on this page are the same for everyone. Ifapt updateorapt installfails — for example with an authentication or signing-key error — re-copy those two commands from your account page, then see Install problems.