Your first hour with Companion Hub

Check for Docker

docker --version

If that prints a version, skip to Install Ollama.

Install

Docker Desktop works on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Licensing-free alternatives exist (Colima, Docker Engine in WSL2, Docker Engine on Linux) — Hub’s setup wizard can install those for you later if you prefer to skip manual install.

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Verify

docker run --rm hello-world
docker compose version

docker compose version must report 2.33 or newer. Hub refuses to start on an older Compose, and it recommends Docker Engine 28 or newer.

Docker Desktop must stay running — if you quit it, Hub stops too. Enable start-at-login in Docker settings.

Install

curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh

Pull a chat model and an embedding model

ollama pull llama3.2
ollama pull nomic-embed-text

Let containers reach Ollama (Linux)

On macOS and Windows with Docker Desktop, containers usually reach Ollama at host.docker.internal:11434 without extra config.

On Linux, bind Ollama to all interfaces:

sudo systemctl edit ollama

[Service]
Environment="OLLAMA_HOST=0.0.0.0:11434"

sudo systemctl restart ollama

Verify from a container

docker run --rm --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway curlimages/curl -s http://host.docker.internal:11434/api/tags

The --add-host flag makes host.docker.internal resolve on Docker Engine for Linux, which doesn’t define it by default. Hub adds the same mapping to its own containers.

JSON listing your models means Hub apps can reach Ollama. See Install Ollama if this fails.

Install

sudo apt install ./Companion*Hub_*_amd64.deb

VERSION=$(curl -fsSL https://dl.ci.computer/latest.json | grep -o '"version":"[^"]*"' | cut -d'"' -f4)
curl -fL -o companion-hub.deb "https://dl.ci.computer/${VERSION}/linux/deb/x64/Companion%20Hub_${VERSION#v}_amd64.deb"
sudo apt install ./companion-hub.deb

companion-hub --detached

Launch and confirm

Open Companion Hub (or browse to http://localhost:5002). First launch pulls Hub stack images.

The desktop app adds the cihub CLI to your PATH — open a new terminal before using it.

cihub status

Get a pairing code

On any device with a browser, sign in or register at hub.ci.computer . Select Add Device, name your Hub, and copy the 6-character pairing code.

No browser on the machine that runs Hub? On the registration screen, select Scan QR next to Sign in to CI Account to open hub.ci.computer on your phone.

Enter the code

Open http://localhost:5002 (or http://<server-ip>:5002). Enter the code in Enter Pairing Code and select Register.

Hub then provisions your domain and secure tunnel. This usually takes a few minutes, and DNS propagation can add another minute or two. Keep the window open. Hub works locally even if the public address needs more time.

Sign in

When registration finishes, Hub sends you to its sign-in screen, titled Login to your local admin account. The first person to sign in becomes the Hub’s admin. Sign in with the CI Account you just paired with: select Sign in using your CI Account (the button reads Sign in as followed by your email address when this browser is already signed in at hub.ci.computer), or enter that account’s email address and password.

If Hub shows Create local admin user for this device instead, which it does when you open the Hub’s address again before anyone has signed in, see First login and setup. That form needs a password of at least 8 characters with an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number, and a symbol.

To reset a forgotten password, select Forgot password? on the sign-in screen. Hub asks your CI Account to email reset instructions.

Run the setup wizard

After you sign in, the Set Up Companion Hub wizard shows a System Overview (OS, CPU, RAM, GPU, VRAM, storage) and your install choices on one page.

Reasonable defaults for a first run, in the order the wizard shows them:

Watch the footer download tally against free disk before clicking Install & Finish. Hub then queues everything and shows per-item progress. You can select Continue, whose label names what is still running in the background, and use the dashboard while installs finish.

App Store → Install → Open

Open the App Store from the top bar (see App Store) → pick an app → Install → Open.

Examples:

• Immich  — photos (immich.app )
• Vaultwarden  — passwords (project wiki )
• Nextcloud  — files (nextcloud.com )
• Jellyfin  — media (jellyfin.org )

Each app’s card lists the addresses that work for it. On your own network, the direct port works for most apps, for example http://<server-ip>:<port>. Agent apps such as OpenClaw and Hermes, and apps with no login of their own, publish their port on the Hub machine only: reach them through Private VPN or Public web. Public and Tailscale addresses appear once you expose the app — Finding your app’s URL.