Install Lampson
One line. It brings everything it needs. Pick how you'd like to install — the tab for your system is already selected.
Install
If you have Node.js (18 or newer), this is the easiest way. It works on Windows, macOS and Linux.
npm i -g lampsonUpdating later is the same command with @latest. Your settings and sessions are kept.
Open a project
cd path/to/your/projectlampsonor lampson --web for the browser version
Pick a model
The first time, Lampson asks which provider you use and for your API key. That's it — start typing.
Install
Open PowerShell and paste this line. It installs what's missing (Git for Windows if you don't have it — it'll ask), puts Lampson in your user folder and adds it to your PATH.
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kitecosmic/lampson/main/install.ps1 | iexPrefer npm? npm i -g lampson works too if you have Node.js.
Open a project
Open a new terminal window, go to a project and start it.
cd C:\path\to\your\projectlampsonor lampson --web for the browser version
Pick a model
The first time, Lampson asks which provider you use and for your API key. That's it — start typing.
Install
Open Terminal and paste this line. It installs what's missing, puts Lampson in ~/lampson and links the command into your PATH.
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kitecosmic/lampson/main/install.sh)"Prefer npm? npm i -g lampson works too if you have Node.js.
Open a project
Open a new terminal window, go to a project and start it.
cd ~/path/to/your/projectlampsonor lampson --web for the browser version
Pick a model
The first time, Lampson asks which provider you use and for your API key. That's it — start typing.
Install
Paste this line in your shell. It installs what's missing, puts Lampson in ~/lampson and links the command into ~/.local/bin.
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kitecosmic/lampson/main/install.sh)"Needs a recent distribution (Ubuntu 24.04+, Debian 13+, Fedora 40+). Prefer npm? npm i -g lampson works too.
Open a project
Open a new terminal, go to a project and start it.
cd ~/path/to/your/projectlampsonor lampson --web for the browser version
Pick a model
The first time, Lampson asks which provider you use and for your API key. That's it — start typing.
Which model should I use?
Any of these. If you don't have a favourite, DeepSeek is inexpensive and works very well; Ollama runs a model on your own machine with no key at all.
| Provider | Where to get a key |
|---|---|
| DeepSeek | platform.deepseek.com |
| Anthropic | console.anthropic.com |
| OpenAI | platform.openai.com |
| GLM (Z.ai) | z.ai/model-api |
| Kimi (Moonshot) | platform.moonshot.ai |
| Groq | console.groq.com |
| OpenRouter | openrouter.ai — one key, many models |
| Ollama | no key — install Ollama and pull a model |
You can change provider or model any time: type /model in the terminal, or click the model name in the web header.
Updating
Lampson tells you when a newer version exists. Then:
npm i -g lampson@latestinstalled with the one-line installer? run lampson --update instead
Other ways
Docker
The whole agent — including the commands it runs — stays inside a container. Mount your project as the workspace:
docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 -v "$PWD:/lampson/workspace" \
-e LAMPSON_PROVIDER=deepseek -e LAMPSON_API_KEY=sk-... ghcr.io/kitecosmic/lampson
Then open http://127.0.0.1:8080.
From source
Lampson is a set of Synsema programs — no build step. Clone the repository, install Synsema, and run ./lampson.sh (or lampson.ps1 on Windows) from a project folder.
git clone https://github.com/kitecosmic/lampson.git ~/lampsonAll releases
Every version, with its changes, is on GitHub Releases, and on npm.
Something didn't work?
- “lampson: command not found” right after installing — open a new terminal window; the PATH change applies to new windows only.
- Windows: it asks for Git — Lampson uses Git's bash to run commands. Say yes to the installer, or get it from gitforwindows.org.
- The web UI says 401 — the web version only answers your own computer (localhost). That's on purpose.
- Anything else: open an issue — a short description and your OS is enough.