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Merka Vault™ Docs

Getting Started

Install

Section titled “Install”

Download the latest merka binary for your platform from cosmic.rocks and place it on your PATH.

Terminal window
# macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -fsSL https://cosmic.rocks/releases/merka/latest/merka-darwin-arm64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv merka /usr/local/bin/


# macOS (Intel)
curl -fsSL https://cosmic.rocks/releases/merka/latest/merka-darwin-amd64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv merka /usr/local/bin/


# Linux (x86_64)
curl -fsSL https://cosmic.rocks/releases/merka/latest/merka-linux-amd64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv merka /usr/local/bin/

Run

Section titled “Run”

Open a terminal and type:

Terminal window
merka

That’s it. No flags, no config files. The first screen you see is the device-scan screen — the same experience as the Desktop and Mobile apps. It searches for Merka devices on your network and offers a prominent option to run one locally.

On a fresh machine, the flow is:

  1. Device scan — “Looking for Merka devices on your network…” with a spinner. You’ll also see [Enter] Run Merka locally on this machine front and center.

  2. Creates your identity (first launch only) — Press Enter and a cryptographic device-signing key is generated and stored securely (macOS Keychain, Linux secret service, or an encrypted file fallback). You’ll see your device fingerprint on screen.

  3. Saves your recovery file (first launch only) — A .merka-recovery file is generated and saved to disk. This file is the only way to recover your identity if you lose this device. The screen shows you where the file is and pauses until you confirm you’ve saved it somewhere safe.

  4. Starts your Merka system — A private, isolated Merka system spins up on your machine. You’ll see a stage checklist with live progress: preparing, starting, forming the system, starting services, and activating. It runs the same software as dedicated Merka hardware — what you see locally is what runs for real.

  5. Lands on the dashboard — Once the system is healthy and activated, you’re on the dashboard. Your system is running.

What you’ll see

Section titled “What you’ll see”
merka
  -> "Looking for Merka devices..."           (device scan screen)
  -> [Enter] "Run Merka locally"              (you press Enter)
  -> "A new identity has been created"        (your fingerprint, first launch only)
  -> "Save Your Recovery File"                (file path, pause for ack, first launch only)
  -> Stage checklist with spinners            (preparing -> launching -> forming -> ready)
  -> Dashboard                                (healthy system)

The only time you need to do anything is press Enter on the device-scan screen, then Enter again after you’ve saved your recovery file (first launch only). Returning users skip straight from the device scan to system creation.

Requirements

Section titled “Requirements”
  • macOS 13+ or Linux (x86_64 or arm64)
  • 8 GB RAM minimum (16 GB recommended for running Merka locally)
  • A small set of free, open-source helper tools — run merka doctor and the built-in preflight check will tell you exactly what’s needed for your platform and how to install it

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”
  • Identity & Recovery — Understand your recovery file and what happens if you lose it.
  • Running Locally — What the local system actually is, disk requirements, and how to manage it.
  • Status & Health — Reading the dashboard and using merka status.