Skip to content

fix(install.sh): Windows-from-bash works end-to-end (#94 Tailscale, #98 DefaultShell, AIRC_CHANNEL) #192

New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Merged
joelteply merged 4 commits into from
Apr 28, 2026
Merged

fix(install.sh): Windows-from-bash works end-to-end (#94 Tailscale, #98 DefaultShell, AIRC_CHANNEL) #192

Show file tree
Hide file tree
Changes from all commits
Commits
Show all changes
4 commits
Select commit Hold shift + click to select a range
3e7314e
fix(install.sh): honor AIRC_CHANNEL on fresh install (vhsm's catch)
joelteply Apr 28, 2026
51bc1e8
fix(install.sh): make Windows-from-bash work end-to-end (no PowerShel…
joelteply Apr 28, 2026
e4e04a7
docs(README): bash install.sh is canonical for everyone (incl. Window…
joelteply Apr 28, 2026
cf8cb76
fix(install.sh): post-install message stops claiming Tailscale isn't …
joelteply Apr 28, 2026
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
18 changes: 6 additions & 12 deletions README.md
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -14,17 +14,15 @@

## Install

**macOS / Linux / WSL** (bash):
**Any platform** (bash — works from macOS / Linux / WSL / Windows Git Bash):

```bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CambrianTech/airc/main/install.sh | bash
```

**Windows** (PowerShell — works from the default Windows PowerShell 5.1; bootstraps pwsh 7 + every other prereq via winget):
This is the install command for everyone running Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, opencode, Windsurf, or openclaw — all of which use bash on every platform including Windows. On Windows, install.sh detects Git Bash, installs prereqs via winget, and self-elevates once for OpenSSH server + DefaultShell setup. You stay in your terminal — no PowerShell switch.

```powershell
iwr https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CambrianTech/airc/main/install.ps1 | iex
```
> **Native-PowerShell users (rare):** if you specifically want `airc.ps1` (the PowerShell port, not the bash one), use `iwr https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CambrianTech/airc/main/install.ps1 | iex` instead. Most users don't need this — Claude Code / Codex / etc. on Windows run in Git Bash, where `install.sh` is the right entry.

One command. Puts `airc` on your `PATH` and installs the Claude Code skills automatically. Other agents (Codex, Cursor, opencode, Windsurf, openclaw) get their integration files at [`integrations/`](integrations/).

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -120,19 +118,15 @@ This isn't a knock on the federation protocols — they solve real enterprise fe

## Install

**macOS / Linux / WSL**:
**Every platform** (macOS / Linux / WSL / Windows Git Bash):

```bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CambrianTech/airc/main/install.sh | bash
```

**Windows** (PowerShell):

```powershell
iwr https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CambrianTech/airc/main/install.ps1 | iex
```
Puts `airc` on your `PATH` and installs Claude Code skills automatically. Auto-installs every prereq (gh, openssl, python3, openssh-client, optional tailscale) via the platform's package manager (brew / apt / dnf / pacman / apk / winget). On Windows it self-elevates once for OpenSSH Server + DefaultShell setup; you stay in your terminal.

Puts `airc` on your `PATH` and installs Claude Code skills automatically. Both installers auto-install every prereq (gh, openssl, python3, openssh-client, optional tailscale) via the platform's package manager (brew / apt / dnf / pacman / apk / winget).
> **Native-PowerShell users:** rare, but if you specifically want the PowerShell port `airc.ps1` instead of the bash binary, use `iwr https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CambrianTech/airc/main/install.ps1 | iex`. The bash install.sh is the right entry for everyone running Claude Code / Codex / Cursor on Windows (which all default to Git Bash).

## 30-Second Setup

Expand Down
86 changes: 79 additions & 7 deletions install.sh
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -231,6 +231,11 @@ _ensure_sshd_running() {
# rule + start + persist. Idempotent — the inner commands check
# state before writing, so re-running install on a healthy box
# doesn't re-prompt or duplicate state.
# DefaultShell = Git for Windows bash (#98). Without this, every
# Windows airc HOST silently fails inbound `airc msg` from peers
# because the OpenSSH default shell is cmd.exe, which lacks `cat`,
# `>>`, and the rest of the POSIX vocabulary airc remote commands
# rely on. Locate bash.exe; idempotent registry write.
local _elevated_payload='
$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop";
try {
Expand All @@ -245,7 +250,18 @@ try {
}
Start-Service sshd;
Set-Service -Name sshd -StartupType Automatic;
Write-Host "airc: sshd ready (capability + HNS + firewall + service auto-start)";
$bashCandidates = @("C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe", "C:\Program Files (x86)\Git\bin\bash.exe", "$env:USERPROFILE\AppData\Local\Programs\Git\bin\bash.exe");
$bashPath = $null;
foreach ($c in $bashCandidates) { if (Test-Path $c) { $bashPath = $c; break } }
if (-not $bashPath) { $cmd = Get-Command bash.exe -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; if ($cmd) { $bashPath = $cmd.Source } }
if ($bashPath) {
$cur = (Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\OpenSSH" -Name DefaultShell -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).DefaultShell;
if ($cur -ne $bashPath) {
if (-not (Test-Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\OpenSSH")) { New-Item -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\OpenSSH" -Force | Out-Null }
New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\OpenSSH" -Name DefaultShell -Value $bashPath -PropertyType String -Force | Out-Null
}
}
Write-Host "airc: sshd ready (capability + HNS + firewall + service auto-start + DefaultShell=bash)";
} catch { Write-Host "airc-elevated-error: $_" }
'
case "$_state" in
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -281,14 +297,19 @@ tailscale_present() {
# `tailscale` on PATH — `command -v tailscale` then lies about a missing
# install and we'd brew-cask over the user's working Tailscale (sudo
# prompt + kernel extension churn). Check the GUI bundle path too.
# Windows Git Bash: winget installs to Program Files; PATH may not
# include it in the current shell yet. Same trap.
command -v tailscale >/dev/null 2>&1 && return 0
[ -d /Applications/Tailscale.app ] && return 0
[ -x /Applications/Tailscale.app/Contents/MacOS/Tailscale ] && return 0
[ -x "/c/Program Files/Tailscale/tailscale.exe" ] && return 0
[ -x "/c/Program Files (x86)/Tailscale/tailscale.exe" ] && return 0
return 1
}

install_tailscale() {
# Optional. macOS: brew cask. Linux: tailscale's official installer.
# Windows Git Bash: winget (case-sensitive id, see #94).
tailscale_present && return 0
case "$(uname -s)" in
Darwin)
Expand All @@ -304,6 +325,17 @@ install_tailscale() {
else
warn "curl missing; install Tailscale manually: https://tailscale.com/download/linux"
fi ;;
MINGW*|MSYS*|CYGWIN*)
# Windows Git Bash: winget. Package id is case-sensitive (#94 —
# 'tailscale.tailscale' lowercase silently fails; 'Tailscale.Tailscale'
# is the actual id). Mirrors install.ps1's Install-IfMissing line.
local wbin; wbin=$(command -v winget.exe 2>/dev/null || command -v winget 2>/dev/null || true)
if [ -n "$wbin" ]; then
"$wbin" install --id Tailscale.Tailscale --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements 2>&1 \
|| warn "Tailscale install via winget failed; install manually: https://tailscale.com/download/windows"
else
warn "winget not present; install Tailscale manually: https://tailscale.com/download/windows"
fi ;;
*)
warn "Don't know how to install Tailscale on $(uname -s); see https://tailscale.com/download" ;;
esac
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -493,8 +525,25 @@ EOF
exit 1
fi
else
info "Installing AIRC"
git clone --quiet "$REPO_URL" "$CLONE_DIR"
# First install. Honor AIRC_CHANNEL if set so users can land on canary
# directly via `AIRC_CHANNEL=canary curl|bash` without a follow-up
# `airc canary && airc update` dance. Default to main (the release
Comment on lines +528 to +530
# branch) when AIRC_CHANNEL is unset. Caught by vhsm-d1f4 2026-04-28
# during the #191 release-gate fresh-install verification: env var was
# silently ignored, install landed on main.
CHANNEL_TARGET="${AIRC_CHANNEL:-main}"
case "$CHANNEL_TARGET" in
main|canary) ;;
*)
warn "AIRC_CHANNEL='$CHANNEL_TARGET' is not a known channel (main, canary). Defaulting to main."
CHANNEL_TARGET="main"
;;
esac
info "Installing AIRC (channel: $CHANNEL_TARGET)"
git clone --quiet --branch "$CHANNEL_TARGET" "$REPO_URL" "$CLONE_DIR"
# Persist the channel choice so future `airc update` follows the same
# branch. Mirrors what `airc canary` / `airc main` write.
echo "$CHANNEL_TARGET" > "$CLONE_DIR/.channel"
fi

# ── airc on PATH ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -559,6 +608,13 @@ ts_post_check() {
ts_bin="tailscale"
elif [ -x /Applications/Tailscale.app/Contents/MacOS/Tailscale ]; then
ts_bin="/Applications/Tailscale.app/Contents/MacOS/Tailscale"
elif [ -x "/c/Program Files/Tailscale/tailscale.exe" ]; then
# Windows Git Bash: winget installs Tailscale to Program Files;
# PATH may not yet include it in the current shell. Mirror
# airc.ps1's resolve_tailscale_bin candidates.
ts_bin="/c/Program Files/Tailscale/tailscale.exe"
elif [ -x "/c/Program Files (x86)/Tailscale/tailscale.exe" ]; then
ts_bin="/c/Program Files (x86)/Tailscale/tailscale.exe"
fi
[ -z "$ts_bin" ] && return 0 # not installed, nothing to nag about

Expand All @@ -576,10 +632,16 @@ ts_post_check() {
else
info "Sign in: tailscale up"
fi ;;
MINGW*|MSYS*|CYGWIN*)
info "Click the Tailscale tray icon to sign in, or run: tailscale up"
info "Do this BEFORE 'airc join', or cross-machine joins will hang." ;;
*)
info "Sign in: tailscale up (follow the printed URL)" ;;
esac
;;
*)
# Logged in / running normally — silent (good UX, nothing to nag).
;;
esac
}

Expand All @@ -590,10 +652,20 @@ ts_post_check
echo ""
ok "Installed."
echo ""
echo " Cross-LAN mesh? Tailscale is optional but recommended:"
echo " https://tailscale.com (then: tailscale up)"
echo " Same-LAN mesh works without it; gist orchestration handles either."
echo ""
# Tailscale post-install message — be honest about installed state. The
# pre-fix text always read "Tailscale is optional but recommended:
# https://tailscale.com" even when winget had just installed it 30s ago,
# which (per Joel 2026-04-28) reads as a fail. ts_post_check above
# already nudges sign-in if installed-but-logged-out, so here we only
# print the "go install it" line when tailscale really isn't present.
if tailscale_present; then
: # ts_post_check handled the messaging if relevant
else
echo " Cross-LAN mesh? Tailscale is optional (not installed):"
echo " https://tailscale.com (then: tailscale up)"
echo " Same-LAN mesh works without it; gist orchestration handles either."
echo ""
fi
echo " Next:"
echo " 1. gh auth login -s gist # one-time, browser flow"
echo " 2. airc join # auto-#general (joins existing or hosts)"
Expand Down
Loading