This page keeps the detailed install, deployment, troubleshooting, and configuration notes out of the front README.
## Quick Start
> **Branch note:** `dev` is the default branch and contains the latest development changes, but it may be unstable. For the more stable curated branch, use [`main`](https://github.com/pewdiepie-archdaemon/odysseus/tree/main).
Defaults work out of the box: clone, run, then configure models/search/email
inside **Settings**. Only edit `.env` for deployment-level overrides like
`APP_BIND`, `APP_PORT`, `AUTH_ENABLED`, `DATABASE_URL`, or a pre-seeded admin password.
On first setup, Odysseus creates an admin account (`admin` unless
`ODYSSEUS_ADMIN_USER` is set) and prints a temporary password in the terminal.
For Docker installs, the same line is in `docker compose logs odysseus`.
Use that for the first login, then change it in **Settings**.
cp .env.example .env # optional, but recommended for explicit defaults
docker compose up -d --build
```
To include optional extras in the image (PDF viewer, Office extraction; includes AGPL PyMuPDF), build with `docker compose build --build-arg INSTALL_OPTIONAL=true` before `up`.
Open `http://localhost:7000` when the containers are healthy. Docker Compose
binds the web UI to `127.0.0.1` by default. If the port is taken, set
`APP_PORT=7001` in `.env` and recreate the container. Set `APP_BIND=0.0.0.0`
only when you intentionally want LAN/reverse-proxy access.
> **On Apple Silicon (M-series) Macs:** Docker can't reach the Metal GPU, so
> Cookbook serves local models on CPU only. For GPU-accelerated model serving,
> run natively instead — see [Apple Silicon](#apple-silicon) below.
**Requirements:** Python 3.11+. The core app (chat, agent, memory, documents,
email, calendar, deep research) runs fully native. For full **Cookbook** background
model downloads and the agent shell tool, also install
[Git for Windows](https://git-scm.com/download/win) (provides `bash.exe`).
Local GPU *serving* of vLLM/SGLang needs Linux/WSL2; for a local model on Windows,
[Ollama](https://ollama.com/download) is the easiest path — point Odysseus at
`http://localhost:11434/v1` in Settings.
Open `http://localhost:7000`, log in with the generated admin password,
and configure everything else inside **Settings**.
## Troubleshooting & Advanced Setup
### `chromadb-client` conflicts with embedded ChromaDB
If `chromadb-client` (the lightweight HTTP-only package) is installed alongside the full `chromadb` package, Odysseus starts but ChromaDB silently falls back to HTTP-only mode and fails.
**Fix:** uninstall `chromadb-client` and force-reinstall the full package:
```bash
./venv/bin/pip uninstall chromadb-client -y
./venv/bin/pip install --force-reinstall chromadb
```
### HTTPS + LAN/Tailscale exposure
To expose Odysseus on a local network or Tailscale with HTTPS:
1. Change the bind address to `0.0.0.0` in `.env` (`APP_BIND=0.0.0.0` or `ODYSSEUS_HOST=0.0.0.0`).
2. Generate a locally-trusted cert for your LAN/Tailscale IPs using [mkcert](https://github.com/FiloSottile/mkcert):
4. Install the `mkcert` CA on any other device you want to access Odysseus from (e.g., for iOS, email the `rootCA.pem` to yourself, install the profile, and trust it in Certificate Trust Settings).
A grab-bag of small gotchas that otherwise turn into long debugging sessions.
- **`AUTH_ENABLED=false` is ignored / you're still forced to log in (Windows).** If you edited `.env` in Notepad it may have saved a UTF-8 **BOM**, turning the first key into `AUTH_ENABLED` so it is never matched. Odysseus loads `.env` with `encoding="utf-8-sig"` to tolerate a leading BOM, but the safe fix is to re-save `.env` as **UTF-8 without BOM** (VS Code: *Save with Encoding → UTF-8*).
- **macOS: the app isn't at `http://localhost:7000`.** macOS AirPlay Receiver usually holds port `7000`, so the macOS start script serves on **`7860`** instead — open `http://localhost:7860`. To use `7000`, free it (System Settings → General → AirDrop & Handoff → turn off *AirPlay Receiver*) and set `APP_PORT=7000`.
- **Copy buttons do nothing over a plain-HTTP Tailscale/LAN URL.** Browsers only expose the clipboard API (`navigator.clipboard`) on **secure origins** — HTTPS, or `localhost`. Over `http://100.x.y.z:7860` it is blocked. Serve over HTTPS (see *HTTPS + LAN/Tailscale exposure* above); `localhost` is exempt, so copy still works on the host itself.
- **Self-hosted ntfy reminders don't reach your phone.** Two things: (1) the bundled ntfy binds to loopback by default — to reach it from your phone set `NTFY_BIND` to your host/Tailscale IP and `NTFY_BASE_URL` to the same server URL in `.env`, then recreate the ntfy container (see the `NTFY_*` block in `.env.example`); (2) in the ntfy **Android** app, subscribe to the topic with **Instant delivery** enabled — non-`ntfy.sh` servers don't get instant push otherwise.
- **Local mail (Dovecot) login fails: "Plaintext authentication disallowed on non-encrypted connections."** Your IMAP/SMTP server is refusing cleartext auth over an unencrypted link. Prefer enabling TLS on the mail server; on a trusted LAN only, you can allow cleartext (Dovecot: `disable_plaintext_auth = no`).
- **Calendar/contacts (Radicale) won't sync.** Point Odysseus at the **full collection URL** with its trailing slash — e.g. `http://host:5232/<user>/<collection-id>/` — not just the server root. Radicale shows this address for each calendar/address book in its web UI.
`requirements-optional.txt` contains packages that unlock extra features. It is not installed by default.
| Package | Feature unlocked |
|---------|-----------------|
| `faster-whisper` | Local speech-to-text (microphone -> text) via the "local" STT provider. |
| `ddgs` | DuckDuckGo as a search provider option. |
| `PyMuPDF` | PDF page rendering in the side viewer panel and form-filling. (Note: AGPL-3.0) |
| `markitdown` | Office/EPUB document text extraction (converts .docx/.xlsx/.pptx/.xls/.epub to Markdown). |
### Faster, reproducible installs with uv (optional)
[uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) works as a drop-in replacement for the
venv + pip steps in the native install guides, no project changes are needed but this change results in faster installs along with a lockfile for reproducible environments. After [installing `uv`](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/), use:
```bash
uv venv venv --python 3.13
uv pip install -r requirements.txt
# then continue as usual: python setup.py, uvicorn, ...
```
`requirements.txt` is intentionally unpinned, so two installs at different times can produce different package versions. If you want a reproducible environment (e.g. across your own machines, or to roll back after a bad upgrade), snapshot and restore exact versions with:
```bash
uv pip compile requirements.txt -o requirements.lock # snapshot current resolution
uv pip sync requirements.lock # reproduce it exactly later
```
`requirements.lock` is gitignored and platform-specific (compile it on the OS you deploy to). Regenerate it deliberately when you want to take upgrades. The plain `uv pip install -r requirements.txt` keeps following the unpinned requirements like pip does.
### Outlook / Office 365 email
Odysseus email accounts currently use IMAP/SMTP username-password auth. Outlook
and Microsoft 365 generally require OAuth instead, so normal Microsoft mailbox
passwords will fail. See [docs/email-outlook.md](docs/email-outlook.md) for the
current limitation and the planned integration direction.
## Security Notes
Odysseus is a self-hosted workspace with powerful local tools: shell access, file uploads, model downloads, web research, email/calendar integrations, and API tokens. Treat it like an admin console.
- Keep `AUTH_ENABLED=true` for any network-accessible deployment.
- Keep `LOCALHOST_BYPASS=false` outside local development.
- Use `SECURE_COOKIES=true` when Odysseus is served through HTTPS by a trusted reverse proxy or private access gateway.
- Do not expose it directly to the public internet without HTTPS and a trusted reverse proxy or private access layer.
- Keep `.env`, `data/`, `logs/`, databases, uploads, generated media, backups, auth/session files, API keys, and model/provider tokens out of Git and private shares. They are ignored by default.
- Review `data/auth.json` after first boot: disable open signup unless you intentionally want it, make only your own account admin, and keep demo/test accounts non-admin.
- Non-admin users do not get shell/Python/file read/write by default, and admin-only routes/tools such as MCP management, API tokens, webhooks, model/cookbook serving, backup/vault, and app settings are admin-gated. Other features are controlled by per-user privileges, so review each user's privileges before exposing a deployment.
- Rotate any API keys or tokens that were ever pasted into a shared chat, demo, screenshot, or log.
- If you enable API tokens or webhooks, create separate tokens per integration and delete unused ones.
- Prefer binding manual development runs to `127.0.0.1`; bind to `0.0.0.0` only when you intentionally want LAN/reverse-proxy access.
- Keep ChromaDB, SearXNG, ntfy, Ollama, vLLM, llama.cpp, databases, and raw model/provider APIs internal-only. Expose only the authenticated Odysseus web/API entrypoint through your trusted proxy or private access layer.
- Before publishing a fork, run `git status --short` and confirm no private files from `.env`, `data/`, `logs/`, uploads, backups, or local databases are staged.
### Private or proxied deployments
Odysseus serves plain HTTP on its app port. Docker Compose binds Odysseus and the bundled services to `127.0.0.1` by default, so a typical production/private setup is:
1. Keep Odysseus on localhost, for example `127.0.0.1:7000`.
2. Terminate HTTPS at a trusted reverse proxy or private access gateway.
3. Put the authenticated Odysseus web/API entrypoint behind that layer.
4. Keep raw service and model ports internal-only.
Cloudflare Access, Tailscale, Caddy, nginx, and Traefik can all fit this pattern; none are required by Odysseus. If your access layer reaches Odysseus on the same host, proxy to `http://127.0.0.1:7000` and keep `AUTH_ENABLED=true`, `LOCALHOST_BYPASS=false`, and `SECURE_COOKIES=true`.
`ALLOWED_ORIGINS` lists exact permitted origins for cross-origin browser/API clients; ordinary same-origin reverse-proxy access usually does not need a special CORS entry.
Common internal-only ports from the default docs/compose setup:
| Port | Service |
|---|---|
| `7000` | Odysseus raw app port |
| `8080` | SearXNG |
| `8091` | ntfy |
| `8100` | ChromaDB host port for manual/compose access |
| `11434` | Ollama |
| `8000-8020` | Common local model/provider APIs |
## Configuration
Most setup is done inside the app with `/setup` or **Settings**. Use `.env`
for deployment-level defaults and secrets you want present before first boot.
Key settings:
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `LLM_HOST` | `localhost` | Your LLM server (e.g. `llm-host.local:8000`) |
| `LLM_HOSTS` | -- | Comma-separated list for model discovery |
| `OPENAI_API_KEY` | -- | Optional OpenAI key. Prefer adding providers in the app unless pre-seeding. |
| `SEARXNG_INSTANCE` | `http://localhost:8080` | SearXNG URL. Docker overrides this to `http://searxng:8080`. |
| `SEARXNG_SECRET` | generated on first Docker boot | Optional SearXNG cookie/CSRF secret. Leave blank unless you need to pin it. |
| `APP_BIND` | `127.0.0.1` | Docker Compose host bind address for the web UI. Use `0.0.0.0` only for intentional LAN/reverse-proxy access. |
| `APP_PORT` | `7000` | Docker Compose host port for the web UI. |
| `APP_DATA_DIR` | `./data` | Docker Compose host directory for application data volumes. |
| `ODYSSEUS_CHAT_UPLOAD_MAX_BYTES` | `10485760` | Chat/agent attachment cap in bytes. Raise for larger local PDFs or text documents. |
| `ODYSSEUS_GALLERY_UPLOAD_MAX_BYTES` | `104857600` | Gallery image upload cap in bytes (100 MB). |
| `ODYSSEUS_GALLERY_TRANSFORM_UPLOAD_MAX_BYTES` | `26214400` | Gallery transform input cap in bytes (25 MB). |
| `ODYSSEUS_MEMORY_IMPORT_MAX_BYTES` | `10485760` | Memory import file cap in bytes (10 MB). |
| `ODYSSEUS_PERSONAL_UPLOAD_MAX_BYTES` | `26214400` | Personal document upload cap in bytes (25 MB). |
| `ODYSSEUS_EMAIL_COMPOSE_UPLOAD_MAX_BYTES` | `26214400` | Email compose attachment cap in bytes (25 MB). |
| `ODYSSEUS_STT_MAX_AUDIO_BYTES` | `26214400` | Speech-to-text audio cap in bytes (25 MB). |
| `ODYSSEUS_ICS_MAX_BYTES` | `10485760` | Calendar `.ics` import cap in bytes (10 MB). |
All upload-limit vars are validated (must be a positive integer) and optional; an invalid value fails fast at startup.
### Built-in MCP servers (optional setup)
Odysseus auto-registers a few built-in MCP servers at startup. The npx-based ones (currently the browser server, `@playwright/mcp`) only start when their npm package is already in the local npx cache. If a package isn't cached, that server is skipped with a startup log message explaining what to do, so a fresh install does not block on a multi-minute npm download or hang if Playwright system deps are missing.
To enable the browser MCP (page navigation, screenshots, vision), run once:
```bash
npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest --version
```
That installs `@playwright/mcp` plus Playwright (~300MB total). Restart Odysseus and the server will register at startup.