mcuemcuedocs
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Install

mcue is a single static binary with no runtime dependencies, no daemon, and no configuration file to write before it works. During the alpha, downloads are unlocked with a personal key that comes with your invite. Once installed, mcue needs no account and contacts no server until you ask it to.

If you would rather not install anything, start in the browser with Hub instead: the same invite gives you Hub access, and the CLI can join later.

macOS and Linux

Run the installer with the key from your invite:

curl -fsSL https://mcue.dev/install.sh | MCUE_DOWNLOAD_KEY=<your-key> sh

It installs the latest release for your machine into ~/.local/bin. Set MCUE_INSTALL_DIR to put it somewhere else, and make sure that directory is on your PATH. To upgrade, run the same command again.

Windows and direct downloads

The download page takes your key and offers the prebuilt binaries for macOS, Linux, and Windows directly.

No key yet?

Keys come with alpha invites. Request alpha access, and you get Hub access and a download key together. The key is personal; please do not share it.

Confirm the install

mcue doctor

doctor prints install diagnostics: the resolved binary, the version, where $MCUE_HOME points, and whether the state directory is readable and writable. It makes no network request. Run it first whenever something behaves unexpectedly — it answers "is this even the binary I think it is?" faster than anything else.

Where state lives

By default mcue keeps everything under ~/.mcue. Override it by exporting MCUE_HOME before running any command:

export MCUE_HOME="$HOME/work/.mcue-state"

Point MCUE_HOME somewhere backed up and versioned if you want history beyond what mcue itself keeps. The full layout is documented in Files on disk.

What installation does not do

  • It does not create an account. The download key unlocks the download only.
  • It does not make a network request. mcue stays offline until you explicitly run mcue login, mcue publish, or mcue sync, or configure a BYO-S3 remote.
  • It does not touch your repositories. mcue writes only beneath $MCUE_HOME, plus a small .mcue footprint file in a directory when you run mcue attach.
  • It does not send telemetry. There is none to disable.