Installation

Install Rebuttr on macOS, Linux, or Windows.

Requirements

Requirement	Version	Notes
Node.js	18.0.0 or higher	Required for running Rebuttr
npm	8.0.0 or higher	Included with Node.js
OpenCode CLI	Latest	Required for AI features

Step 1: Install Node.js

If you don't have Node.js installed, download it from nodejs.org or use a package manager:

macOS

Terminal

# Using Homebrew
$ brew install node

# Or using nvm (recommended)
$ curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
$ nvm install 20
$ nvm use 20
                

Linux

Terminal

# Ubuntu/Debian
$ curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
$ sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

# Or using nvm
$ curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
$ nvm install 20
                

Windows

PowerShell (Admin)

# Using Chocolatey
> choco install nodejs

# Or download from nodejs.org
                

Step 2: Install OpenCode CLI

OpenCode is required for AI-powered features like response generation and expert panels.

Terminal

$ npm i -g opencode-ai

API Key Required

After installing OpenCode, you'll need to configure your API key. Run opencode and follow the prompts to set up authentication.

Step 3: Install Rebuttr

Install Rebuttr globally to use it from anywhere:

Terminal

$ npm i -g github:genomewalker/rebuttr

This will:

Install Rebuttr and its dependencies
Compile native SQLite bindings for your platform
Create the rebuttr command
Install AI expert skills to ~/.config/opencode/skill/
Create data directory at ~/Rebuttr/

Step 4: Verify Installation

Terminal

# Check version
$ rebuttr --help

# Launch Rebuttr
$ rebuttr
                

Success

If you see the Rebuttr banner and the browser opens to http://localhost:3001, you're ready to go!

Platform-Specific Notes

macOS

You may need Xcode Command Line Tools for native module compilation:

Terminal
$ xcode-select --install

Linux

Install build tools if you see compilation errors:

Terminal

# Ubuntu/Debian
$ sudo apt-get install build-essential python3

# Fedora/RHEL
$ sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"
                

Windows

Install Windows Build Tools:

PowerShell (Admin)
> npm install -g windows-build-tools

Updating

To update Rebuttr to the latest version:

Terminal
$ npm i -g github:genomewalker/rebuttr

Uninstalling

Terminal

# Remove the package
$ npm uninstall -g rebuttr

# Optionally remove data (backup first!)
$ rm -rf ~/Rebuttr
                

Warning

Removing ~/Rebuttr will delete all your papers and responses. Export your data first!

Next Steps

Quick start guide - Get started in 5 minutes
Full Tutorial - Detailed walkthrough
Configuration - Customize settings