ChatAI Linux Setup Guide

🔧 Installation Steps

1. Install Wine

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt update
wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key
sudo mv winehq.key /usr/share/keyrings/winehq-archive.key
wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/dists/$(lsb_release -cs)/winehq-$(lsb_release -cs).sources
sudo mv winehq-$(lsb_release -cs).sources /etc/apt/sources.list.d/
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y winehq-stable

Fedora/RHEL:

sudo dnf install -y wine

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S wine wine-gecko wine-mono

openSUSE:

sudo zypper install -y wine

2. Install Node.js

Debian/Ubuntu:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Fedora/RHEL:

curl -fsSL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo bash -
sudo dnf install -y nodejs

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S nodejs npm

openSUSE:

sudo zypper install -y nodejs18 npm18

3. Install and Configure Chromium Browser

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install -y chromium-browser

Fedora/RHEL:

sudo dnf install -y chromium

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S chromium

openSUSE:

sudo zypper install -y chromium

Configure Chromium for Web Development

# Create Chromium configuration directory
mkdir -p ~/.config/chromium/Default

# Create a desktop shortcut for easy access (optional)
cat > ~/.local/share/applications/chromium-dev.desktop << 'EOF'
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Chromium (Dev Mode)
Comment=Web Browser with Dev Tools
Exec=chromium --disable-web-security --user-data-dir=/tmp/chromium-dev --allow-running-insecure-content
Icon=chromium
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Network;WebBrowser;
EOF

# Make it executable
chmod +x ~/.local/share/applications/chromium-dev.desktop

Test Chromium Installation

# Test if Chromium runs properly
chromium --version

# Test opening a URL
chromium https://google.com &

Alternative Browsers (if Chromium doesn't work)

Install Google Chrome:

# Debian/Ubuntu
wget -q -O - https://dl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list'
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y google-chrome-stable

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install -y google-chrome-stable

# Arch (from AUR)
yay -S google-chrome

Install Firefox (fallback):

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install -y firefox

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install -y firefox

# Arch
sudo pacman -S firefox

# openSUSE
sudo zypper install -y firefox

4. Configure Wine

# Set Wine environment
export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/.wine"
export WINEARCH="win64"

# Initialize Wine (opens GUI - select Windows 10)
winecfg

5. Install Python in Wine

# Download Python for Windows
cd /tmp
wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.10.11/python-3.10.11-amd64.exe

# Install in Wine
wine python-3.10.11-amd64.exe

# Verify installation
wine python --version

🚀 Using the Script

1. Setup Project

mkdir -p ~/Desktop/chatai
cd ~/Desktop/chatai

# Place your files:
# - app.exe (your ChatAI executable)
# - start.sh (the startup script)
# - native_proxy.js (the proxy server)
# - public/ folder with your web files

chmod +x start.sh

2. Run ChatAI

./start.sh

3. Access Application

• Open browser at: http://localhost:3000
• Or direct backend: http://localhost:5001

4. Stop Services

Press Ctrl+C in the terminal to stop all services.

🌐 Browser Configuration Tips

For CORS and Local Development

If you have issues with CORS or local file access, launch Chromium with development flags:

chromium --disable-web-security --user-data-dir=/tmp/chromium-dev --allow-running-insecure-content http://localhost:3000

Set Default Browser

# Check current default browser
xdg-settings get default-web-browser

# Set Chromium as default
xdg-settings set default-web-browser chromium-browser.desktop

# Or for Google Chrome
xdg-settings set default-web-browser google-chrome.desktop

Browser Detection Order

The script will try browsers in this order:

1. google-chrome (Google Chrome)
2. chromium-browser or chromium (Chromium)
3. firefox (Firefox)
4. xdg-open (System default)

🔧 What the Script Does

1. Auto-installs Ollama if missing
2. Creates directories (models, ollama, public)
3. Moves UI files from html/browser to public if needed
4. Starts services in order:
   • Ollama service
   • ChatAI backend (Wine app)
   • Node.js proxy server
5. Opens browser automatically (tries Chromium first)
6. Handles cleanup when stopped

🐛 Quick Troubleshooting

Wine issues:

winecfg  # Check configuration

Python missing in Wine:

wine python --version  # Should show Python 3.10.x

Browser not opening:

# Check if Chromium is installed
chromium --version

# Manually open the URL
chromium http://localhost:3000

# Or try other browsers
google-chrome http://localhost:3000
firefox http://localhost:3000

Port conflicts:

sudo netstat -tulpn | grep -E ':(3000|5001|11434)'

Check logs:

tail -f server.log

That's it! Install Wine + Node.js + Chromium, configure Wine, install Python in Wine, then run the script. Chromium will automatically open the ChatAI interface.