Installation

Install RouteKit first, then continue to the quickstart to connect a subscription or API provider. Review the routes and billing disclosure before choosing a provider or subscription route.

Requirements

• macOS or Linux;
• curl or wget, tar, and a SHA-256 utility (sha256sum or shasum);
• a shell where ~/.local/bin can be added to PATH if needed.

Recommended installer

curl -fsSL https://github.com/velum-labs/routekit/releases/download/routekit-latest/install.sh | sh
routekit version

The installer does not require sudo. It uses a writable existing Node.js 22+ installation when possible. Otherwise it downloads a digest-verified private runtime under ~/.local/share/routekit/node and installs RouteKit under ~/.local.

Install with npm

If Node.js 22+ is already available:

npm install -g @velum-labs/routekit
routekit version

You can also install globally with pnpm, Yarn Classic, Bun, or Volta. RouteKit records the installation owner so routekit self-update can use the same verified mechanism later.

Start setup

Once routekit version succeeds, use the guided quickstart:

routekit setup

Continue with the full quickstart to verify the gateway, launch Codex or Claude Code, and choose a route from the native model picker.

Use routekit setup --no-browser on a headless host. The setup wizard is interactive and does not accept --json or --no-input.

Set up without the wizard

Use these deterministic paths for automation or specialized environments. API-provider credentials must already be available in the environment; RouteKit does not prompt for or store API keys.

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY='your-key'
routekit config init --provider anthropic
routekit providers status anthropic
routekit models list --provider anthropic

Update RouteKit

routekit self-update
routekit version

System package managers such as Homebrew, apt/dpkg, rpm/dnf, pacman, Snap, and Nix remain in control of their files. RouteKit detects them and prints the appropriate external upgrade guidance instead of overwriting them.

Next steps

Before a shared or production setup, review data, credentials, and privacy and the router configuration reference.