install

What it is

URI

majordomus://feature/install

Kind

feature

Identity

install

Path

.ai/repo/features/install.md

Provenance

declared

Media type

text/markdown

As a capability

feature.install

Front matter

{
  "schema": "feature/v1",
  "id": "install",
  "kind": "feature",
  "title": "One command to install, one to initialise, nothing else to trust",
  "short_title": "Install",
  "headline": "The installer downloads one archive for your machine, verifies its digest against the release metadata before unpacking anything, and installs atomically; no git, no Rust, no Node, no root.",
  "summary": "One distribution model owns every platform, artifact name and URL; the installer, the release build matrix, the installation guide, the website's install block and the public release metadata are generated from it, and a release publishes an artifact for every supported target or it is not published.",
  "status": "stable",
  "weight": 120,
  "domain": "surfaces",
  "featured": false,
  "areas": [
    "verification",
    "documentation"
  ],
  "modules": [
    "distribution",
    "release"
  ],
  "commands": [
    "init",
    "migrate",
    "version",
    "archive"
  ],
  "kinds": [
    "distribution-model",
    "release-record"
  ],
  "rules": [
    "project.distribution-canonical",
    "project.portable-shell",
    "project.no-network-no-eval",
    "project.a-personal-layer-changes-nothing-shared"
  ],
  "docs": [
    "docs/INSTALL.md",
    "docs/DISTRIBUTION.md",
    "docs/PERSONAL_MODE.md"
  ],
  "adrs": [
    "adr-0019",
    "adr-0145"
  ],
  "claims": [
    "distribution-canonical-model",
    "install-command-is-derived",
    "installer-verifies-before-installing",
    "personal-layer-changes-nothing-shared",
    "release-is-complete-or-absent",
    "legacy-migration",
    "tool-location-independent",
    "no-network",
    "rust-binary-artifact"
  ],
  "use_cases": [
    "install-the-tool-in-one-command",
    "use-the-tool-as-your-own-in-a-shared-repository",
    "migrate-from-the-old-layout",
    "know-which-tool-is-running",
    "hand-the-repository-to-a-reader"
  ],
  "related": [
    "policy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "install",
    "distribution",
    "releases"
  ]
}

Content

---
schema: feature/v1
id: install
kind: feature
title: One command to install, one to initialise, nothing else to trust
short_title: Install
headline: The installer downloads one archive for your machine, verifies its digest against the release metadata before unpacking anything, and installs atomically; no git, no Rust, no Node, no root.
summary: One distribution model owns every platform, artifact name and URL; the installer, the release build matrix, the installation guide, the website's install block and the public release metadata are generated from it, and a release publishes an artifact for every supported target or it is not published.
status: stable
weight: 120
domain: surfaces
featured: false
areas: [verification, documentation]
modules: [distribution, release]
commands: [init, migrate, version, archive]
kinds: [distribution-model, release-record]
rules: [project.distribution-canonical, project.portable-shell, project.no-network-no-eval, project.a-personal-layer-changes-nothing-shared]
docs: [docs/INSTALL.md, docs/DISTRIBUTION.md, docs/PERSONAL_MODE.md]
adrs: [adr-0019, adr-0145]
claims: [distribution-canonical-model, install-command-is-derived, installer-verifies-before-installing, personal-layer-changes-nothing-shared, release-is-complete-or-absent, legacy-migration, tool-location-independent, no-network, rust-binary-artifact]
use_cases: [install-the-tool-in-one-command, use-the-tool-as-your-own-in-a-shared-repository, migrate-from-the-old-layout, know-which-tool-is-running, hand-the-repository-to-a-reader]
related: [policy]
tags: [install, distribution, releases]
---

## What it does

`majordomus init` creates the layer from the tool's skeleton and refuses to overwrite an
existing one; `--extend` adds what is missing and overwrites nothing. A repository set up
before the layer existed is moved by `migrate`, previewed with `--dry-run`, with a verified
backup. The tool itself needs a POSIX shell, git and a checksum program, and it never
reaches the network while it works.

With `--personal`, on `init` or on the installer, the same layer is created as one
person's own in a shared repository: it is covered in the git directory's own exclude file,
nothing is written to `.gitignore`, and the command fails unless `git status` reads the
same after it as before. `update` and `capture install` cover what they write the same
way, `doctor` re-verifies it on every run, and `init --extend --shared` hands the layer to
the team when it has made its case.

## What it does not do

It does not install anything into your project beyond `.ai/` and the files the policy
names, and it does not install git hooks: `doctor` names the two lines you still need to
add. A personal layer does not travel: it is one checkout's, on one machine, until it is shared. A Windows archive is not published while the shell half has no Windows answer, and the
distribution model says so rather than shipping an executable nothing can drive.