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Installation

Straw can be installed on Linux, macOS, and Windows using multiple methods.

System Requirements

  • Operating System: Linux, macOS, or Windows 10 1803+
  • Go Version: 1.25 or later (only for building from source)

Linux/macOS

One-liner to download and install the latest release:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/raythurman2386/straw/main/install.sh | sh

Or with wget:

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/raythurman2386/straw/main/install.sh | sh

This installs both straw and strawd to /usr/local/bin.

Windows

Quick Install (PowerShell):

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/raythurman2386/straw/main/install.ps1 | iex

Or download the .zip archive from the releases page and add it to your PATH.

Manual Installation

Download Pre-built Binaries

Download the latest release for your platform from the releases page.

VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/raythurman2386/straw/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name":' | cut -d'"' -f4)
VERSION_NUM="${VERSION#v}"
curl -LO "https://github.com/raythurman2386/straw/releases/download/${VERSION}/straw_${VERSION_NUM}_linux_amd64.tar.gz"
tar -xzf straw_${VERSION_NUM}_linux_amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv straw strawd /usr/local/bin/

VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/raythurman2386/straw/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name":' | cut -d'"' -f4)
VERSION_NUM="${VERSION#v}"
curl -LO "https://github.com/raythurman2386/straw/releases/download/${VERSION}/straw_${VERSION_NUM}_darwin_arm64.tar.gz"
tar -xzf straw_${VERSION_NUM}_darwin_arm64.tar.gz
sudo mv straw strawd /usr/local/bin/

Download the .zip file from the releases page and extract it to a directory in your PATH.

Build from Source

Clone the repository and build manually:

git clone https://github.com/raythurman2386/straw.git
cd straw
make build
# Binaries are now in bin/

Or use the full development install script (builds, installs, and sets up the systemd service):

./scripts/install-from-source.sh

To uninstall the service only, run:

./scripts/uninstall_service.sh

Post-Installation

Linux (systemd)

The install scripts will set up a systemd user service. You can manage it with:

# Check status
systemctl --user status strawd

# Start the service
systemctl --user start strawd

# Enable auto-start on login
systemctl --user enable strawd

# Restart the service
systemctl --user restart strawd

# View logs
journalctl --user -u strawd -f

macOS

Use launchd to run the daemon:

# Create a plist file
mkdir -p ~/Library/LaunchAgents
cat > ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.straw.strawd.plist << 'EOF'
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.straw.strawd</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/usr/local/bin/strawd</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/strawd.out</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/strawd.err</string>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF

# Load the service
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.straw.strawd.plist

# Start the service
launchctl start com.straw.strawd

Windows

Use Task Scheduler or run the daemon directly:

# Run directly
strawd

# Or create a scheduled task
$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "strawd"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtLogOn
$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet -AllowStartIfOnBatteries -DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Straw Daemon" -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -Settings $settings -Force

Verify Installation

Check that both binaries are installed correctly:

straw --version
strawd --version

Uninstallation

# Remove binaries
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/straw /usr/local/bin/strawd

# Remove config (optional)
rm -rf ~/.config/straw

# Remove systemd service (Linux only)
systemctl --user stop strawd
systemctl --user disable strawd
rm ~/.config/systemd/user/strawd.service
systemctl --user daemon-reload

# Remove binaries from PATH
# Remove config (optional)
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:AppData\straw"

Troubleshooting

Permission Denied

If you get a "permission denied" error when running the install script, try:

# Download the script first
curl -fsSL -o install.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/raythurman2386/straw/main/install.sh

# Run with bash
bash install.sh

Binary Not Found

Make sure /usr/local/bin is in your PATH:

# Check PATH
echo $PATH

# Add to PATH if needed (add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc)
export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"

Service Not Starting (Linux)

Check the systemd logs for errors:

journalctl --user -u strawd -n 50 --no-pager

Socket Connection Failed

If the TUI can't connect to the daemon:

  1. Make sure the daemon is running: systemctl --user status strawd (Linux) or ps aux | grep strawd
  2. Check the socket path in your config matches where the daemon creates it
  3. Check file permissions on the socket directory