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Installation

For ordinary use, install Row-Bot from the latest release package for your operating system. Running from source is useful for contributors, testers, and people who want to inspect or modify the app.

Install From A Release​

  1. Download the latest Row-Bot release for Windows, macOS, or Linux.
  2. Run the installer or unpack the archive.
  3. Launch Row-Bot from the Start Menu, Applications, app launcher, or the provided command.
  4. Let the first-run wizard open and choose a model path.

The installed app starts a local Row-Bot process and opens the UI in a desktop window or browser, depending on your platform and launch preference. If the usual port is busy, Row-Bot chooses another local port.

Run From Source​

Use the source path if you are developing Row-Bot or testing changes:

  1. Clone the repository.
  2. Create a Python environment.
  3. Install uv and sync the locked Python dependencies with uv sync --locked --all-extras --group test.
  4. Install the docs-site dependencies only if you are working on documentation.
  5. Run the app entry point from the repository.

requirements.txt is a generated pip export from uv.lock for installer compatibility. It is available as a fallback for environments that cannot use uv, but source dependency changes should be made in pyproject.toml.

Source runs use the same local data concepts as the packaged app. Keep test data separate from personal data when experimenting.

Local Data Directory​

Row-Bot stores local app data under the active Row-Bot data directory. This includes conversations, memories, model/provider metadata, workflows, Designer projects, Developer workspace records, documents, logs, skills, plugins, Buddy assets, channel settings, and MCP settings.

Advanced users can set ROW_BOT_DATA_DIR before launch to use a separate data directory for testing or portable runs. Do this before starting the app, and remember that Row-Bot will treat that folder as the active local data store for the whole process.

After Installing​

Continue to First Launch. You can finish optional setup later from the Setup Center and Settings.