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Grove Quickstart

Get your own Grove cell running in 5 minutes.

Option A: Join via Invite (Recommended)

Someone with Grove sends you an invite link like:


https://grove.nook.li/invite/abc123...

In a Browser

1. Open the link (freshly — the page hands you a current installer; a stale one is rejected)

2. Enter your name

3. Click 🌲 Join the Grove

4. Download and run the install script

5. Dashboard opens at http://localhost:5678

From Terminal


curl -s https://grove.nook.li/invite/abc123... | bash

The script will:

Check for Python 3
Install hash-pinned dependencies
Generate your encryption keys
Set your dashboard password (see below)
Register a background service and start your dashboard
Request to join the inviter's cell

> 🔑 Choose your password. Whenever there's a terminal — including an interactive curl … | bash over SSH — the installer prompts you to choose a password, typed twice so a typo can't lock you out. Only a genuinely non-interactive run with no terminal at all (automation/cloud-init) auto-generates a random password and prints it once at the end — Password: … Save this!, your only copy. Change it later in ⚙️ Settings.

> Joining is approval-gated. Running the script sends a join request — you land in an "awaiting owner approval" state and are not connected yet. The inviter must Approve you before peering completes. (The installer also signs a key-proof; an out-of-date installer is refused, so always re-open a fresh invite link.)

Option B: Manual Install

The supported path is install.sh — it pins every dependency by hash

(pip … --require-hashes), sets up the service, and handles the password flow

above. Run it directly if you have the repo:


bash install.sh

If you must wire it up by hand instead:


# 1. Create Grove directory and get the code (from a peer or release)
mkdir -p ~/.grove/assets
cp grove.py web.py acme.py acme_jws.py watchdog.py ~/.grove/
cp -r assets/. ~/.grove/assets/         # copy the WHOLE dir — the guitar-tab
                                        # renderer needs Bravura.woff2, not just html/css/js

# 2. Install deps (install.sh normally does this hash-pinned; unpinned here)
pip3 install flask flask-socketio cryptography requests websockets pynacl gevent gevent-websocket markdown zeroconf

# 3. Start
cd ~/.grove && python3 web.py

A manually-started cell with no password set opens at http://localhost:5678 on

the /setup page — set your password there. (An install.sh cell skips

/setup and boots straight to /login, since the password was set at install.)

What the installer does for you

Pinned supply chain (#184): deps installed with --require-hashes against

version+sha256-pinned constraints; if you opt into GroveAI, llama.cpp is built

from a pinned tag and the starter model is sha256-verified (deleted on mismatch).

GroveAI opt-in: an interactive Set up GroveAI? [y/N] builds the local LLM

stack but leaves it stopped — you Start it from the AI tab when you want it.

Supervised service: a systemd unit (Linux) or launchd plist (macOS) so Grove

auto-starts on boot; the installer prints the start/stop/logs commands.

First Steps

1. Password

Already set during install (prompted, or auto-generated + printed under curl | bash).

Only a manual Option-B cell shows a /setup page on first visit. Otherwise you

go straight to /login.

2. Name your cell

Go to ⚙️ Settings → set your cell name (how peers see you).

3. Add peers

Joined via invite? You're in the inviter's approval queue — you connect once they Approve.
Know a peer's IP? Home tab → Add Peer → enter their IP
Same network? Discovery may find them automatically

4. Upload files

📁 Files tab → drag files onto the upload zone → done. Files encrypt and sync automatically.

5. Share with friends

First: promote a peer to friend (👥 button)
Then: click ⋯ on a file → 🔗 Share → select friend(s)
Shared files appear in your friend's 📡 Feed tab (media folders render as libraries there)

6. Back up your keys!

⚙️ Settings → Backup Keys → save the ZIP somewhere safe.

If you lose your keys, your encrypted files are gone forever.

What Happens Next

Background sync: a light pass (peer presence, update checks, tombstones, chat) runs every cycle; heavy chunk replication runs inside a sync window you set in Settings (so a busy cell isn't grinding all day)
Activity tab shows what's happening
Peer status dots show who's online (🟢) and offline (🔴)
📡 Feed tab shows files friends share with you; audio/video stream in place
Recycle Bin gives you a 24-hour window to recover deleted files before they're gone permanently
GroveAI (AI tab) runs local LLM inference — routes to peer cells with better models when yours is at capacity

System Requirements

Python 3.9+
100MB RAM minimum (512MB recommended)
Storage: depends on your files + peer contributions
Network: any (LAN, Tailscale, Yggdrasil, public internet)
OS: macOS, Linux, Windows (experimental)