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tiko

Install

tiko runs in Docker on your own machine or server. The installer does everything for you; the manual steps below are for when you want to see each step or the installer cannot help.

One command

Section titled “One command”

On Linux or macOS, open a terminal and run:

Terminal window
curl -fsSL https://tiko.run/install.sh | sh

The installer:

  1. Checks the machine: 64-bit Linux or macOS, at least 1 GB of memory (2 GB is better), 2 GB of free disk, a free port.
  2. Installs Docker if it is missing, after asking: Docker Engine from get.docker.com on Linux, Colima with Homebrew on macOS.
  3. Creates the folder ~/tiko (/opt/tiko when run as root on Linux) with a generated password and secret key in .env.
  4. Starts the latest release and prints the address, the username admin and the password.

Options go after sh -s --, for example curl -fsSL https://tiko.run/install.sh | sh -s -- --yes --port 8080:

Option Environment variable What it does
--yes TIKO_YES=1 Agree to everything, ask nothing
--dir DIR TIKO_DIR Install into another folder
--port PORT TIKO_PORT Serve on another port instead of 3000
--version 2026.10.12 TIKO_VERSION Install a specific release

Run the same command again to upgrade: it keeps your boards, accounts and .env.

Windows gets its own one-line installer soon. Until then, follow the Windows steps below.

Step by step

Section titled “Step by step”

1. Install Docker

Section titled “1. Install Docker”

Docker runs tiko in containers, so nothing else gets installed on your system.

Windows 10 or 11

  1. Check that virtualization is on: open Task Manager → Performance → CPU and look for “Virtualization: Enabled”. If it says Disabled, turn on Intel VT-x or AMD-V in your computer’s BIOS or UEFI settings.
  2. Download Docker Desktop for Windows and run the installer. Keep “Use WSL 2 instead of Hyper-V” checked.
  3. Restart the computer when the installer asks.
  4. Open Docker Desktop from the Start menu, accept the terms and wait until the bottom left corner says “Engine running”.

macOS

Pick one:

  • Docker Desktop for Mac: download the version for your chip (Apple menu → About This Mac shows “Apple” or “Intel”), drag it to Applications, open it and wait until it says “Engine running”.

  • Colima, free and without a window, if you have Homebrew:

    Terminal window
    brew install colima docker docker-compose
    mkdir -p ~/.docker/cli-plugins
    ln -sfn "$(brew --prefix)/opt/docker-compose/bin/docker-compose" ~/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
    colima start

Docker Desktop is free for personal use, education and companies under 250 people and $10 million in revenue; larger companies need a paid plan. Colima has no such limit.

Ubuntu or Debian

Terminal window
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sudo sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Sign out and back in, so you can run docker without sudo. Other distributions: Docker Engine install guide.

Check it

In a terminal (PowerShell on Windows):

Terminal window
docker run hello-world
docker compose version

The first command prints “Hello from Docker!”, the second a version like v2.x.

2. Start tiko

Section titled “2. Start tiko”

Linux and macOS:

Terminal window
mkdir ~/tiko && cd ~/tiko
curl -fsSL https://github.com/tiko-run/tiko/releases/latest/download/compose.release.yml -o compose.yaml
docker compose up -d

Windows, in PowerShell:

Terminal window
mkdir $HOME\tiko; cd $HOME\tiko
Invoke-WebRequest https://github.com/tiko-run/tiko/releases/latest/download/compose.release.yml -OutFile compose.yaml
docker compose up -d

The first start downloads about 130 MB.

3. Sign in

Section titled “3. Sign in”

Open http://localhost:3000 and sign in as admin. The password is generated on the first start; find it with:

Terminal window
docker compose logs api | grep 'tiko password'

On Windows: docker compose logs api | Select-String 'tiko password'. Change it in Settings → Security. To pick your own from the start, put TIKO_PASSWORD=... into a file named .env next to compose.yaml before the first start; see Configuration.

Everyday commands

Section titled “Everyday commands”

Run these in the tiko folder:

Task Command
Stop docker compose down
Start again docker compose up -d
See logs docker compose logs -f
Upgrade the one-line installer again, or docker compose pull && docker compose up -d
Uninstall docker compose down, then delete the folder

The folder’s data/ holds your boards, so back it up before deleting anything. More in Data and upgrades.

When something goes wrong

Section titled “When something goes wrong”
  • “permission denied” on /var/run/docker.sock (Linux). Your user is not in the docker group yet: run sudo usermod -aG docker $USER, sign out and back in, or prefix commands with sudo.
  • “port is already allocated” or the installer says the port is taken. Another program uses port 3000. Use --port 8080 with the installer, or set TIKO_PORT=8080 in .env, then open http://localhost:8080.
  • “Cannot connect to the Docker daemon”. Docker is not running: open Docker Desktop, run colima start on macOS, or sudo systemctl start docker on Linux.
  • WSL errors on Windows. Run wsl --update in PowerShell as administrator and restart. Docker’s troubleshooting page covers the rest.
  • The installer says tiko already runs from another folder. One machine runs one tiko: stop the other with docker compose down in its folder, or upgrade it with --dir pointing there.
  • Behind a corporate proxy. The installer follows HTTPS_PROXY; Docker needs its own proxy settings.

Still stuck? Open an issue with the installer’s output.