Requirements

Penates runs on macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux. The install script handles most setup, but a few tools must be present before you run it.

Xcode Command Line Tools (macOS only)

node-pty, which drives the terminal, compiles native extensions. Xcode CLT provides the C compiler that npm needs for this:

xcode-select --install

A system dialog appears. Click Install and wait roughly five minutes. If CLT is already installed, the command prints xcode-select: error: command line tools are already installed and you can move on.

Homebrew

Homebrew is the package manager used to install tmux, cloudflared, and other dependencies:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

After installation, the script prints two lines to add Homebrew to your PATH. Run them exactly as shown, then verify:

brew --version
# Homebrew 4.x.x

On Linux, install.sh uses the system package manager (apt/dnf/pacman) instead of Homebrew.

Node.js ≥ 20

brew install node
node --version
# v20.x.x or newer

Node 18 is end-of-life and not supported.

Claude Code

Claude Code is the only required CLI. Every other coding CLI is optional.

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
claude --version

If claude is not found after installation, the binary likely landed in ~/.local/bin, which is not in the default shell PATH on a fresh Mac. Fix it:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zprofile
source ~/.zprofile

After that, run claude once and follow the prompts to connect your Anthropic account.

Optional CLIs

The hub also spawns Codex (OpenAI), Antigravity (Google agy), and opencode. These are optional. A missing CLI causes only that CLI’s sessions to exit with a “not in PATH” error; it does not affect other sessions.

npm install -g @openai/codex      # Binary: codex
npm install -g opencode-ai        # Binary: opencode

Antigravity (agy) follows Google’s official install instructions. Both binaries must be in your PATH, same as claude. opencode is installed from npm as opencode-ai; the Update Center can later upgrade it with opencode upgrade.