Install Manticore Search with one command

[githubmanticore]

Originally published on the Manticore Search website on July 23, 2026

Install Manticore Search with one command

Install Manticore Search with one command that sets up package sources, installs the package, and starts the service.

There is now a one-line installer for Manticore Search:

curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh

It is still a normal package-manager install. The script checks whether the machine uses APT, YUM/DNF, or Homebrew, configures the Manticore repository when needed, installs the manticore package, and starts the service unless you tell it not to.

Use it when you want to bring up Manticore Search quickly and do not need to walk through the package-manager steps by hand. If you prefer to control the repository setup, package install, service start, or deployment method yourself, the manual installation pages are still the right place to go.

After it runs

A successful run leaves Manticore installed through the system package manager. Upgrades, service management, uninstall, and host inspection use the usual system tools.

By default, the installer:

• installs from the stable Manticore package repository
• installs the manticore package
• starts the manticore service
• keeps the default listeners on 9306, 9308, and 9312
• writes an install log for troubleshooting

Check the service

Once the service is started, a quick SQL-over-HTTP check is enough:

curl -sS "https://mnt.cr/go/frmc3x" -d "SELECT VERSION()"

Or use the MySQL client:

mysql -P9306 -h0 -e "SELECT VERSION()"

If that returns a version, the package is installed and the service is answering.

Why add another install path?

The manual instructions are not going away. They are still better when you need Docker, Kubernetes, Windows, a pinned package-manager flow, or a deployment policy that does not allow remote shell scripts.

The one-line installer covers the shorter path. Instead of asking the reader to pick between APT, YUM/DNF, and Homebrew first, it detects the package manager and runs the same standard setup:

• Debian or Ubuntu: add the APT repo, update metadata, install the package, start the service.
• RHEL-compatible distribution: install the repository RPM, install the package, start the service.
• macOS: use Homebrew, then start the service through brew services.
• Other environments: stop and point to the manual options.

Small difference, but useful when you just want a running local or test instance.

What the script does

The installer is a shell script. If you want to read it first, the source is installer/bootstrap-standalone.sh in the Manticore Search GitHub repository.

On a system it supports, it:

• detects APT, YUM/DNF, or Homebrew
• checks that the CPU architecture is x86-64 or ARM64
• installs the Manticore repository package when needed
• installs the manticore package
• starts the manticore service by default
• checks the default listener ports before startup when ss or netstat is available
• writes an install log to /var/log/manticore_install.log when possible, otherwise to /tmp/manticore_installer.log

The default listener ports are 9306, 9308, and 9312. If one of them is already occupied, Manticore is not already running, and the system has ss or netstat, the installer fails instead of editing the configuration for you. If neither utility is available, the pre-check cannot run; service startup may still fail if a port is already taken.

Port changes are left to you because changing them can affect clients, service files, and monitoring.

Where it applies

The installer currently supports:

• Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Debian-like systems using APT
• RHEL, CentOS, Fedora, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, Amazon Linux, and RHEL/Fedora-like systems using YUM or DNF
• macOS when Homebrew is installed
• x86-64 and ARM64 CPUs

The command shown above uses curl. You can also fetch the script with wget:

wget -O- https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh

Bash must be installed. The downloaded script starts under /bin/sh, checks for Bash, and then runs the main installer payload with Bash. You also need the usual permissions to install packages and start services, either as root or through sudo.

If the operating system, package manager, or CPU architecture is not supported, the installer stops and prints a message pointing to the manual installation guide.

Default behavior

With no extra options, the installer uses the stable release channel, installs the package, starts the service, and keeps the standard listener ports:

• stable packages are used unless you pass dev
• the service starts unless you pass no-start
• listener ports stay at 9306, 9308, and 9312
• existing data is not removed

Other checks apply only in specific cases. Before an upgrade, the installer backs up configuration. It copies data directories only if you pass backup-data. During uninstall and purge, it keeps data in place. If it finds an existing searchd binary outside the package-managed install, it prints a warning.

The destructive option is still separate: purge-all removes packages, repository state, configuration, and data. Without non-interactive mode, it asks you to type DELETE before removing /etc/manticoresearch and /var/lib/manticore.

Common commands

Most installer behavior is controlled by passing options after sh -s:

# Install the latest stable package and start the service
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh

# Install but do not start the service
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s no-start

# Upgrade an existing package-managed installation
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s upgrade

# Upgrade and include the data directory in the backup
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s upgrade backup-data

# Choose where upgrade backups are written
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s upgrade backup-data backup-dir /path/to/backups

# List available stable versions
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s list-versions

# List versions from the development repository
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s dev list-versions

# Install or switch to a specific version without starting the service
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s version 25.0.0 no-start

# Show installer help
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s help

Specific version selection is for Linux package-manager installs. Homebrew installs and upgrades follow the Homebrew formula and do not support version through this installer.

The dev option switches to the development repository. The default is the release channel.

CI and non-interactive use

For automation, use silent or yes only when you want the installer to run without prompts and accept the script's defaults:

curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s silent no-start

silent and yes are aliases for the same non-interactive mode. They do not mean "no output": the installer still writes progress and errors, but without interactive prompts and color. They also do not request an upgrade by themselves. If an existing installation should be upgraded, pass upgrade explicitly:

curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s upgrade silent

Be careful with cleanup commands in non-interactive mode. In the current installer, silent also skips the "DELETE" prompt for purge-all, so it can delete configuration and data without asking again.

Cleanup options

Uninstalling is split into levels:

# Remove packages, keep configuration, data, and repository state
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s uninstall

# Remove packages and the repository bootstrap package
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s purge

# Remove packages, repository state, configuration, and data
curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s purge-all

purge-all is the destructive option. Do not combine it with silent or yes unless you intentionally want to remove /etc/manticoresearch and /var/lib/manticore without a confirmation prompt:

curl https://mnt.cr/go/BmpsJZ | sh -s purge-all silent

Removing software and deleting data are not the same operation, so the installer keeps those paths separate.

If your policy forbids pipe-to-shell

Some environments do not allow curl | sh. That is fine. Use the manual package-manager instructions, or review the script source first and run it only after inspection.

For manual package-manager commands, Docker, Kubernetes, Windows, and separate packages, see the Manticore Search installation guide.