LibreChat/docs/install/mac_install.md

Mac Installation Guide

Recommended : Docker Install

---

Manual Installation

Install the prerequisites:

• Install Homebrew (if not already installed) by following the instructions on https://brew.sh/
• Install Node.js and npm by running brew install node
• Install MongoDB (if not using Docker) by running brew tap mongodb/brew and brew install mongodb-community

Instructions:

• Open Terminal and clone the repository by running git clone https://github.com/danny-avila/LibreChat.git
• Change into the cloned directory by running cd LibreChat
• If using MongoDB Atlas, remove &w=majority from the default connection string Follow the instructions for setting up proxies, access tokens, and user system:

Create a MongoDB database (Required)

Get Your API keys and Tokens (Required)

• You must set up at least one of these tokens or APIs to run the app.

User/Auth System (Optional)

• How to set up the user/auth system and Google login.

Setup Instruction

• Create a .env file in the api directory by running cp .env.example .env and edit the file with your preferred text editor, adding the required API keys, access tokens, and MongoDB connection string
• Run npm ci from root directory npm ci
• Build the client by running npm run frontend

Download MeiliSearch for macOS (optional):

• You can download the latest MeiliSearch binary for macOS from their GitHub releases page: https://github.com/meilisearch/MeiliSearch/releases. Look for the file named meilisearch-macos-amd64 (or the equivalent for your system architecture) and download it.

Make the binary executable:

• Open Terminal and navigate to the directory where you downloaded the MeiliSearch binary. Run the following command to make it executable:

chmod +x meilisearch-macos-amd64

Run MeiliSearch:

• Now that the binary is executable, you can start MeiliSearch by running the following command, replacing your_master_key_goes_here with your desired master key:

./meilisearch-macos-amd64 --master-key your_master_key_goes_here

• MeiliSearch will start running on the default port, which is 7700. You can now use MeiliSearch in your LibreChat project.

• Remember to include the MeiliSearch URL and Master Key in your .env file in the api directory. Your .env file should include the following lines:

MEILISEARCH_URL=http://127.0.0.1:7700
MEILISEARCH_KEY=your_master_key_goes_here

• With MeiliSearch running and configured, the LibreChat project should now have the Conversation search feature enabled.

• In the LibreChat directory, start the application by running npm run backend Visit http://localhost:3080 (default port) & enjoy

Optional but recommended:

• Create a script to automate the starting process by creating a new file named start_chatgpt.sh in the LibreChat directory and pasting the following code:

#!/bin/bash
# Replace "your_master_key_goes_here" with your MeiliSearch Master Key
if [ -x "$(command -v ./meilisearch)" ]; then
    ./meilisearch --master-key your_master_key_goes_here &
fi
npm run backend

Make the script executable by running

  chmod +x start_chatgpt.sh

Start LibreChat by running

  ./start_chatgpt.sh

Update

• Run npm run update from the project directory for a clean installation.

---

⚠️ Note: If you're having trouble, before creating a new issue, please search for similar ones on our #issues thread on our discord or our troubleshooting discussion on our Discussions page. If you don't find a relevant issue, feel free to create a new one and provide as much detail as possible.