Installing Micold AI IDE

This page describes release 0.16.0. Every published version of the site describes the release it was published from, so the downloads below are the ones that release actually ships.

Linux (Debian, Ubuntu and derivatives)

Each release carries a .deb built natively for the two architectures the project publishes:

Install it with apt, which pulls in the packages it depends on — installing with dpkg -i instead leaves them unresolved:

$ sudo apt install ./micold-client_0.16.0-1_amd64.deb

That gives you micold-ai-ide on your path, a desktop entry with the application’s icon, and the session service — micold-daemon, plus the systemd user units it can be started from. The units are shipped but not enabled: the application enables them for you when you ask it to, in Settings → Session service.

Start it from your desktop’s application menu, or run micold-ai-ide. There is nothing else to configure — the application spawns the session service itself the first time it needs one (The Micold session daemon).

To upgrade, install the newer .deb over the top. To remove it:

$ sudo apt remove micold-client

Windows

Each release carries a per-user installer for the two architectures Windows runs on:

Run it; it installs for your account without administrator rights and adds a Start menu entry. The installer is not code-signed, so SmartScreen stops the first run: click More info, then Run anyway. Installing on Windows walks through it, and covers upgrading, removing, and what the package cannot do — including PCs where Smart App Control is on.

macOS

Each release carries one disk image, MicoldAIIDE-<version>-universal.dmg, that runs natively on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs with macOS 15 or later. Installing on macOS covers downloading, installing, and the permissions macOS asks about.

Build from source

On any platform, you can build the application yourself. You need Rust (the version in rust-toolchain.toml, which rustup installs for you) and git. On Windows, also install the Desktop development with C++ workload from the Visual Studio Build Tools — the linker comes from there.

$ git clone --branch micold-ai-ide-v0.16.0 https://github.com/jaroslawherod/micold-ai-ide.git
$ cd micold-ai-ide
$ cargo build --release -p micold-client -p micold-daemon

The two binaries land in target-shared/release/ (the workspace redirects cargo’s output there). Keep them next to each other: the client looks for the session service as its own sibling before it looks on the path, so moving one without the other leaves it unable to start a session.

Run it with cargo run --release -p micold-client, or copy both binaries somewhere on your path and run micold-ai-ide.

What you need beside it

Micold AI IDE runs your AI CLI — it does not bundle one and does not carry your credentials. Install and sign in to whichever you use before starting a session:

• Claude Code — the claude command.
• GitHub Copilot CLI — the copilot command.

Either has to be on the path of the session service, which is your own path unless you have moved the service into a container. Settings explains where that path comes from and how to change it.

Where to go next

• Help & About — the window, and how to find the version you are running.
• Opening a project — the first thing to do with it.