Build from source

Try the real broker and CLI on an isolated synthetic desktop before connecting live software.

For normal installation, use the public native bundles. Contributors can instead use the documented synthetic-desktop path on Ubuntu 24.04 x86_64. It exercises the daemon, CLI, Recipe runner and policy without connecting to your desktop or credentials.

Review a fixed source revision

Use the repository-pinned toolchain and committed lockfile. This reviewed revision pins Rust 1.98.1; that pin is distinct from the minimum supported Rust version.

git clone https://github.com/seradotcom/semwright.git
cd semwright
git switch --detach 8fa191250ae68274182570c65f067f7a60f85625

Read the installation prerequisites, README, VERIFY.md, RELEASE_BLOCKERS.md and the scripts you intend to run. Building may need network access for dependencies. Keep Cargo.lock and use --locked; do not run the bootstrap script on an ordinary checkout.

Build and run the isolated path

These are source-build instructions, not a report that the website compiled the product:

cargo build --locked -p semwright-daemon -p semwright-cli --bins
BIN_DIR=target/debug ./scripts/dev/fake-smoke.sh

The smoke starts an isolated fake daemon, discovers an exact Export control, executes a typed recipe through normal policy, reports the observed result and audit metadata, then stops the runtime and removes its temporary files.

A successful fake response is not a live desktop observation or a security verdict. It is a bounded first-use path for the broker and frontend.

Move to installation deliberately

The source installation guide covers full binary builds, user-local installation, custom prefixes, removal and operating-system dependencies. Installation and setup explains how the matched native bundle differs from a contributor build.

semwright setup creates missing private observe-only configuration and a ready-to-copy MCP snippet. It preserves existing files, grants no desktop authority and starts no service. Start the broker separately using the exact printed command, then run doctor from another terminal.

Before connecting a real application, read compatibility and permissions. Do not run the broker as root or broaden permissions merely to make a startup error disappear.

Source: source-build installation guide and synthetic first-use path, source references checked 7 October 2026.