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Install MindrianOS

Never opened a terminal? Good, this is built for you. Pick your computer once and follow the stack from 00 to 4. Every command sits in a window with a Copy button and a plain-English caption. The detail and troubleshooting are below if you hit a snag.

The job this does

When you first get MindrianOS, you want to it running on your machine without fighting your terminal, so you can you can start working in minutes, not hours.

In plain terms

Installing is just stacking blocks in order: a runtime (Node), the app (Claude Code), the plugin (MindrianOS), and proof it worked (the command list). The Brain, the map Larry teaches from, rides along inside the plugin block and connects on its own. Each block sits on the one before it. Almost every failure is a missing block or a computer that cannot find one it already has.

Windows: UNCHECK the Node installer checkbox that costs an hour.

When the Node.js installer offers "Automatically install the necessary tools" (Tools for Native Modules), uncheck it. MindrianOS ships no native modules and needs none of it. Leaving it checked launches a separate blue PowerShell window that downloads Python and Visual Studio Build Tools for 20 to 90 minutes. That one checkbox was the single biggest time sink in our field install sessions. If the blue window already opened, you can safely close it - your Node install is done.

Before you start: your Claude plan must be yours to upgrade.

MindrianOS runs inside Claude Code, which needs a Claude Pro or Max subscription. If your Claude account is company managed (SSO or Okta sign in), the in terminal upgrade is usually blocked by your IT policy. The working path our field testers used: create a personal Claude account with a personal email, subscribe there, and expense it. Check this before the install call, not during it.

Really do not want a terminal?

You can run Larry inside Claude Desktop, Cowork, or ChatGPT through MCP, no command line. It gives you Larry and the Brain, but not the full suite (the Data Room and all the commands live in the terminal app). Set up the MCP path instead. Otherwise, the steps below take a few minutes, even your first time.

Pick your computer

The one prerequisite

Get Node.js.

Node.js is a small free program the installer runs on. Most computers do not have it yet, so this is the step people miss. Download the macOS installer (LTS) from nodejs.org, open it, and click through.

Download Node.js

Already have it? Open your terminal and check:

terminal

node --version

If it prints a version like v22.3.0, you are ready. Nothing, or an error? Install Node first with the button above, then come back.

Your workspace

Open the terminal, then install Claude Code.

A terminal is just a plain text window where you paste a line and press Enter.

Open it (macOS)

Press Cmd + Space, type "Terminal", and press Enter.

Then install Claude Code, the app Larry lives in. Paste this and press Enter:

terminal

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

This installs Claude Code. Sign in when it opens.

You need a paid Claude plan(Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, or Console). Claude's free plan cannot run Claude Code.

Install

Install MindrianOS with one command.

terminal

npx @mindrian_os/cli

Paste this into the terminal and press Enter. About two minutes. It finds Claude Code, installs the plugin, and connects the Brain on a free 30-day trial, no sign-up first.

What is npx?

Think of it as a smart installer. That one line fetches the MindrianOS setup and runs it for you, like a self-extracting download you trigger by pasting text instead of double-clicking. You only need Node.js installed first (step 00).

Start

Open Claude and tell Larry the problem.

terminal

claude

Run this inside a project folder, then describe what you are working on in plain words. Or run /mos:new-project and Larry builds your room from the conversation.

Already connected

Claim your own Brain key.

The install already connected the Brain on an anonymous free 30-day trial, so Larry's method answers are grounded from your first session. To keep the connection as your own (and keep it past the trial), sign in with Google for a free key (no credit card), then:

terminal

/mos:setup brain

Paste your key here. Your own key replaces the anonymous trial identity. Without a key after the trial, Larry says so plainly instead of improvising method answers.

How the Brain works

Confirm

Check it worked.

Inside Claude Code, run:

terminal

/mos:help

If the command list appears, MindrianOS is working. That is it, you are in.

Updating

From a terminal:

terminal

npx @mindrian_os/cli

Or from inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace update
claude plugin update mos@mindrian-marketplace

Two names, do not mix them up.

The package you install from a terminal is @mindrian_os/cli. The plugin name inside Claude Code is mos@mindrian-marketplace.

Windows: the PATH fix

Windows is the one to read carefully.

Most install friction is on Windows, and it is almost always a PATH problem. If you see "claude is not recognized" after installing, Windows just does not know where Claude landed yet.

Right-click to paste in Command Prompt (Ctrl+V does not work there). To fix "claude is not recognized", the installer put Claude in C:\Users\YourName\.local\bin and you need to add it to PATH:

PowerShell

$env:Path += ";C:\Users\YourName\.local\bin"

Command Prompt

set PATH=%PATH%;C:\Users\YourName\.local\bin

To make it permanent: Windows key → "Environment Variables" → edit the user Path variable and add both C:\Users\YourName\.local\bin and C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Roaming\npm, then reopen the terminal. If Git is missing, run winget install --id Git.Git -e --source winget and reopen the terminal.

Troubleshooting

"Marketplace not found"

Use the one-command installer, which handles the connection: npx @mindrian_os/cli. Or add it manually inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add jsagir/mindrian-marketplace
/plugin install mos@mindrian-marketplace

"git is not found" (Windows)

Git is required for the marketplace. Install it, reopen the terminal, and retry: winget install Git.Git.

Do not use sudo with npm.

Installing with sudo causes permission problems that are hard to undo. Never prefix an npm install with sudo.

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