Install On Linux

Install LexiSuite on Linux from the LEXISUITE volume

Status, 11/11/2026: new and lightly tested. The Linux installer passes its tests against temporary folders and is on the LEXISUITE volume of the current image. It has not yet been run on a range of Linux distributions; use Check first and report what it says.

The portable Linux installer runs on x86_64 and aarch64 Linux hosts with systemd. It does not install GPU drivers, erase disks, or require a source checkout. Open the LEXISUITE USB volume and use the binary in linux/ matching the host CPU. From another directory, pass --media /path/to/LEXISUITE or --payload /path/to/suite/linux-<arch>.

/path/to/LEXISUITE/linux/lexisuite-install doctor
/path/to/LEXISUITE/linux/lexisuite-install install --scope user
/path/to/LEXISUITE/linux/lexisuite-install upgrade --scope user
/path/to/LEXISUITE/linux/lexisuite-install rollback --scope user
/path/to/LEXISUITE/linux/lexisuite-install uninstall --scope user

On aarch64, use lexisuite-install-aarch64. The same commands are available as lexipanel-installer linux <action> --media DIR, so the Linux front end does not replace the older source/deployment installer. Running with no action in a terminal asks for a choice; in scripts specify an action and flags. Use --help to see all flags. Only --scope system requests sudo; --scope user never does.

Installation choices

Choice	User	All users (--scope system)
Programs and retained previous version	~/.local/share/lexisuite/current, previous	/opt/lexisuite/current, previous
Data, settings and models	~/.local/share/lexisuite/data	/var/lib/lexisuite
Service units	~/.config/systemd/user/lexisuite-{panel,engine}.service	/etc/systemd/system/lexisuite-{panel,engine}.service
Service identity	Logged-in user	Unprivileged lexisuite system user
Browser shortcut	~/.local/share/applications/LexiSuite.desktop	/usr/share/applications/LexiSuite.desktop

Both components are installed by default. Omit either with --no-panel or --no-engine. Installation refuses to overwrite an existing installation; use upgrade instead. Upgrade stages the new programs before stopping the old service, leaves configuration and models outside the program generation, and retains the previous program generation. rollback swaps the current and previous program generations, without changing data.

The Panel is local only by default: settings in data/config/panel.env bind it to 127.0.0.1:8090. Only choose --reachable if you have configured secure access and authentication. The installer writes the initial settings only when missing, so upgrades preserve any later changes. Systemd reads the settings file as an environment file. The Panel serves the classic UI at http://127.0.0.1:8090 and is launched with serve.

The Engine needs an actual local GGUF model before its server can start. Pass --model /absolute/path/model.gguf during installation to write data/config/engine.env and start the Engine service, or configure that file later. The Engine binary and unit can be installed without a model; the unit remains enabled but will not start until configured. No model is bundled by this installer and it does not install Vulkan, CUDA or ROCm libraries. --no-start writes files and units without starting services.

Run directly from the stick

/path/to/LEXISUITE/linux/lexisuite-install run --data-dir "$HOME/Documents/LexiSuite" --model /path/to/model.gguf
# Or start the Panel alone:
/path/to/LEXISUITE/linux/lexisuite-install run --no-engine --no-browser

Run-from-stick invokes the binaries in suite/linux-<arch> directly and writes logs and runtime state only to the chosen external data directory, not to installed program folders or the LEXISUITE volume. It does not install systemd services or desktop shortcuts. The Panel is opened in a browser when a graphical session is present, unless --no-browser is set. The Engine requires --model; otherwise the command refuses before launching a partial deployment. The volume must permit executable files (a noexec mount cannot run its binaries).

Uninstall and diagnostics

uninstall removes the selected installation's programs, rollback generation, service units and shortcut, but retains the data directory. To remove models, settings, keys and logs too, add --delete-data; it prints the exact data folder and requires confirmation. For unattended scripts, combine it with --yes. External data directories are never deleted.

doctor is read-only. It reports CPU identity and thread count, total RAM, DRM GPUs (including AMD, Intel and NVIDIA device information, driver and VRAM where available), the Vulkan loader and ICD evidence, CUDA/ROCm command evidence, and available disk. Detection does not qualify GPU execution or install drivers. For diagnostics use doctor before installing, and check systemd separately if running in a container or WSL.

The installer treats its portable payload as an offline directory, refuses symlink/special-file payload entries and refuses overlapping source and installation paths. Code signing and full release-image integrity verification are external release/media responsibilities; this command does not attest signatures on individual portable payload files. If the payload is untrusted, do not execute it. Existing legacy install, update, and signed-bundle commands are unchanged.

Limits and recovery

A sudden power loss during the multi-directory swap can leave .incoming or .discarded in the program directory; the installer refuses further changes rather than automatically guessing which generation is correct. Inspect the program generations and systemd status before manually resolving such a failure. A failed ordinary service activation attempts to restore the prior program version and unit files, but it cannot undo a newly created operating-system service account. The system lexisuite account is deliberately retained by uninstall to avoid deleting an identity with data owned by it. Hardware availability is reported but is not a promise of inference performance or compatibility.