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Install

About 15 minutes, most of it downloading. You need a server that meets the requirements, with your domain's DNS pointing at it.

Prefer an AI agent?

Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI or OpenAI Codex can do step 1 for you with one command: Install with an AI agent.

1. Run the installer​

Log in to the server (as a user that can run Docker), go to the folder you want NuRoute in, for example your home folder, and run this with your domain:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NuRoute-ai/nuroute-selfhosted/main/get.sh | bash -s -- --domain nuroute.acme.com

This downloads the latest NuRoute install kit into a new folder nuroute and runs its installer. The installer:

  1. checks Docker, the tools it needs and the server's size;
  2. creates the settings file .env and generates its secrets (database password, encryption keys);
  3. downloads NuRoute's images (several GB the first time) and starts everything;
  4. waits until NuRoute answers.

You should see:

Downloading the NuRoute 1.0.0 install kit into ./nuroute …
NuRoute installer

✓ Docker and Docker Compose
✓ Server size: 8 CPUs, 31 GB memory, 212 GB free disk
✓ Created .env
✓ Generated 4 secret(s) in .env (back this file up; it is needed to restore)
✓ Domain: nuroute.acme.com

Downloading NuRoute 1.0.0 (several GB the first time)…
Starting…
Waiting for NuRoute to be ready........ ready.

NuRoute is running.

Next: open https://nuroute.acme.com/app/setup
  - activate it with the licence key from your contract, or start a 14-day trial
  - then create the first admin account

Something else, or an Error: line? Find the message in Troubleshooting.

Prefer to do it by hand?

The same thing, step by step:

git clone https://github.com/NuRoute-ai/nuroute-selfhosted.git nuroute
cd nuroute
./install.sh --domain nuroute.acme.com
Back up .env now

nuroute/.env holds the keys that encrypt your provider API keys in the database. Without it, no backup can be restored. Copy it somewhere safe outside the server, such as your password manager or secrets vault.

2. Activate NuRoute​

Open https://nuroute.acme.com/app/setup in your browser (your domain). The setup screen offers two ways:

With a licence key (from your NuRoute contract email; it starts with nrl_): choose I have a licence key, paste it, and select Activate. A key works on one install.

With a trial: choose No key yet? Start a 14-day trial, enter your work email and your company, and select Email me a code. Enter the 6-digit code from the email (valid for 30 minutes) and select Start trial. No email? Check the spam folder, or use Send a new code.

When it worked, the screen says This install is ready with your licence or trial and its end date. If it shows an error instead, see Setup screen errors.

3. Create the first admin​

Select Create the admin account and sign up with your name, work email and a password (at least 8 characters, with an uppercase letter, a number and a special character).

This account owns the install's organization. After it exists, nobody else can sign up on their own: everyone else joins by invitation (step 5). You are signed in to the dashboard at https://nuroute.acme.com/app.

4. Connect a provider and send your first request​

  1. In the dashboard, open Model Catalog and connect at least one AI provider with your own API key (for example OpenAI). NuRoute encrypts the key before it is stored and never shows it again.
  2. Open API Keys and create a key. Copy it now: it is shown once.
  3. Send a request from any computer that can reach your install:
curl https://nuroute.acme.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUROUTE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "auto", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Say hello in five words."}]}'

You should get a JSON answer with "choices". "model": "auto" lets NuRoute pick the model; name a model instead (for example "gpt-4o-mini") to choose it yourself. Any OpenAI SDK works by setting its base URL to https://nuroute.acme.com/v1; see the Quickstart and the SDK guides.

The first minutes after activation

Right after activation, NuRoute downloads its routing model and model catalog with the licence check-in. Until then (normally under a minute), automatic routing uses a simple rule based on the length of the request.

5. Invite your team​

Open Members and, under Invite a member, enter a colleague's email address and their role (Admin, Member or Viewer). NuRoute shows an invitation link: send it to them yourself (by chat or email). To have NuRoute email invitations and password resets itself, connect your mail server under Settings → Email (SMTP); see Email.

What next​