Install Chan

Start with the desktop app, or install the headless server on a machine you do remote development.

Desktop recommended

The native app includes the chan and cs command entry points.

macOS Apple Silicon

$brew install --cask fiorix/chan/chan-desktop

Or the disk image (the app keeps itself updated either way):

Disk image DMG

Windows x64

Installer .exe

Linux amd64 + aarch64

AppImage amd64 aarch64

Distribution packages

Install chan-desktop. It includes the desktop app and the chan and cs commands.

Nix

Linux x86_64 + aarch64

$nix profile install github:fiorix/chan#chan-desktop

The default flake output is chan-desktop.

Ubuntu

24.04 LTS + 26.04 LTS, amd64 + aarch64

$sudo add-apt-repository ppa:fiorix/chan
sudo apt install chan-desktop

Fedora

Current releases + rawhide, amd64 + aarch64

$sudo dnf copr enable fiorix/chan
sudo dnf install chan-desktop

Arch + CachyOS

x86_64, built from source

$paru -S chan-desktop

Server

The headless chan package runs devservers without desktop dependencies.

Quick install macOS + Linux + FreeBSD + Windows

macOS and Linux:

$curl -fsSL https://chan.app/install.sh | sh

FreeBSD amd64 + arm64:

$fetch -o - https://chan.app/install.sh | sh

Windows x64, from PowerShell:

PS>irm https://chan.app/install.ps1 | iex

Installs the latest standalone chan binary and its cs command. On Windows it installs under %LOCALAPPDATA%\chan-cli\bin, adds that directory to your user PATH, and refuses to compete with a Chan Desktop install.

Packages

Install chan, not chan-desktop, on a headless machine.

Nix

Linux x86_64 + aarch64

$nix profile install github:fiorix/chan#chan

macOS

Homebrew, Apple Silicon

$brew install fiorix/chan/chan

Ubuntu

24.04 LTS + 26.04 LTS, amd64 + aarch64

$sudo add-apt-repository ppa:fiorix/chan
sudo apt install chan

Fedora

Current releases + rawhide, amd64 + aarch64

$sudo dnf copr enable fiorix/chan
sudo dnf install chan

Arch + CachyOS

x86_64, built from source

$paru -S chan

Docker

Run the headless devserver from the fiorix/chan image:

$docker run -p 127.0.0.1:8787:8787 \
  -e CHAN_HOME=/data/chan \
  -v ~/.chan-docker:/data/chan \
  -v ~/projects:/workspaces \
  fiorix/chan devserver run --bind 0.0.0.0 --port 8787

Chan Gateway self-hosting

You don't need this to use Chan. The gateway is the self-hosted tunnel that fronts remote workspaces; install it only if you run your own.

Browse Chan and gateway images on Docker Hub.

Debian service packages amd64 + arm64

admin amd64 arm64

identity amd64 arm64

profile amd64 arm64

devserver-proxy amd64 arm64

devserver-control amd64 arm64

Raw archives and every release artifact remain available on the GitHub releases page.