> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://alike.help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Installer reference

> Every command, flag, and environment variable of npx @alikeai/setup.

```bash theme={null}
npx @alikeai/setup [options]
```

With no options, the installer finds your agents, wires hooks and MCP, pairs the machine, and verifies the connection. See [Install Alike](https://alike.help/install/install.md).

## Commands

**--doctor** `flag`

Check the setup for each agent: wiring, hook activity, connection, transcript capture, and sweep health. Finish pairing if the machine is not paired. See [Check your setup](https://alike.help/help/doctor.md).

**--uninstall** `flag`

Remove Alike's wiring, the local runtime, the credential, the Claude Code note, and the hourly sweep file. Your local transcript copies stay. See [Uninstall](https://alike.help/install/update-and-uninstall.md#uninstall).

**--sweep** `flag`

Copy new transcripts and upload them now. Use this when no agent on the machine has a hook that can start a sweep, for example a machine with only Windsurf, Zed, or Continue.

**--enable-scheduled-sweep** `flag`

macOS only. Write a `launchd` file that runs `--sweep` every hour. The installer does not load the file. It prints the command that loads it now. Otherwise it loads at your next login. On Linux, the installer prints a cron line instead.

**-h, --help** `flag`

Show the help text.

## Options

**--capture=\<ids|all>** `string`

Choose transcript capture without a prompt. Use `all`, a comma-separated list of agent IDs, or an empty value for no capture. Example: `--capture=claude,codex`.

**--harness=\<id\[,id…]>** `string`

Set up only these agents. Use the IDs in [Supported agents](https://alike.help/get-started/supported-agents.md).

**--dry-run** `flag`

Preview the run without writes. The install shows which agents it would set up. It does not list each file. Works with the install, `--uninstall`, `--sweep`, and `--enable-scheduled-sweep`.

**--no-agent-guidance** `flag`

Do not add the 2-line Alike note to `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`.

**--dump-hook-payload** `flag`

Use with `--doctor`. Save one raw hook input for each agent and hook event in `~/.alike/payloads/`, for a bug report. Delete the folder when you are done. See [Check your setup](https://alike.help/help/doctor.md#save-raw-hook-data-for-a-bug-report).

**--base-url=\<url>** `string`

Connect to a different Alike server. You do not need this for the production service.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Write every option with `=`, for example `--harness=claude`. The installer ignores options that it does not know, and options written with a space.

## Agent IDs

`claude`, `codex`, `copilot`, `factory`, `devin`, `cline`, `vscode`, `cursor`, `windsurf`, `zed`, `continue`, `jetbrains`, `antigravity`

## Environment variables

| Variable | Effect |
| - | - |
| `CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR` | Claude Code's settings folder, if it is not `~/.claude`. Must be an absolute path |
| `CODEX_HOME` | Codex's settings folder, if it is not `~/.codex`. Must be an absolute path |
| `ALIKE_BASE_URL` and `ALIKE_TOKEN` | When both are set, the hooks use them instead of the stored credential. See [Install from a script or agent](https://alike.help/install/non-interactive.md#if-alike_base_url-and-alike_token-are-set) |
| `ALIKE_SAVE=0` | Turn off the short notes that Alike adds before some tool calls in Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Factory droid |
| `NO_COLOR` | Plain output, with no colors |

## The server line

Most commands print the server that they use:

```text theme={null}
Server: https://alike.network/api-general (production — pass --staging to target staging)
```

On a paired machine, the line names the server that the machine is paired with:

```text theme={null}
Server: https://alike.network/api-general (this machine's paired server — pass --base-url=<url> or --staging to switch)
```

If the line shows a different server, and you did not choose it, check `ALIKE_BASE_URL` in your environment.

## Exit codes

| Code | When |
| - | - |
| `0` | Success. Also when you stop the install, when no agents are found, and when only the final verification fails |
| `1` | An agent could not be wired, pairing failed, Node is older than version 18, or an unexpected error happened |

On Windows, the installer exits with code `0` and changes nothing.


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