A.1 Install Commands

Three install paths exist. Choose based on whether you intend to run Open Design as a desktop app, develop against the source, or deploy it on a server. As of June 2026, all three paths install v0.9.0. A fourth option --- the one-line CLI installer --- is a shortcut that combines download and agent wiring in a single command, useful when you know which coding-agent CLI you'll use and want to skip the desktop UI entirely. See Chapter 02 for the full first-run walkthrough including troubleshooting for native build failures.

# From-source install
$ git clone https://github.com/nexu-io/open-design.git
$ cd open-design
$ corepack enable
$ pnpm install
$ pnpm tools-dev run web
# Daemon and Next.js frontend start in foreground
# Open http://localhost:7456 in your browser

# Docker Compose install
$ cd deploy
$ cp .env.example .env
$ openssl rand -hex 32
# Paste output into .env at OD_API_TOKEN=
$ docker compose up -d
# Open http://localhost:7456

# One-line installer — example: wire Claude Code
$ curl -fsSL https://open-design.ai/install.sh | sh -s claude-code

A.2 The od Command Surface

The od CLI is the management interface for Open Design. It does not run generation --- the coding agent does that through MCP (Model Context Protocol). od handles setup, inspection, and lifecycle. The most-used subcommand by far is od mcp install, which you run once per coding-agent CLI. The others --- od status and od plugin list --- are diagnostic tools you'll reach for when the daemon or a plugin isn't behaving as expected. As of June 2026, the primary subcommands are listed below. A full flag reference for all od subcommands may be available at /docs/cli-reference.md in the repository; verify against the live repo for the most current surface.

Use the daemon health endpoint directly to verify the daemon is running without the od CLI:

# Daemon health check (from-source or Docker, port 7456)
$ curl -s http://127.0.0.1:7456/api/health
# Expected response:
# { "status": "ok", "uptime": 123.45 }

The optional flags work consistently across all agents. Use them to manage the full lifecycle:

# Inspect what will be written before committing
$ od mcp install cursor --print

# Output as JSON for scripting or CI
$ od mcp install cursor --json

# Remove the MCP config for an agent
$ od mcp install cursor --uninstall

When the daemon is running, od status reports connected agents and daemon uptime. od plugin list shows which plugins are installed and whether they are active. Expected output shapes:

$ od status
# daemon: running (uptime 2h14m)
# agents: claude-code (connected), cursor (connected)
# port: 7456

$ od plugin list
# figma-migration    active
# code-refresh       active
# linear-brand       active
# (261 official plugins available; run od plugin install  to add)

A.3 MCP Install per CLI

As of June 2026, Open Design supports at least 17 confirmed coding-agent CLIs via the od mcp install command (the v0.9.0 README headline cites 21; verify the full current list in the repository's agent registry at github.com/nexu-io/open-design). The 17 named slugs confirmed from the v0.9.0 README are listed below. The command auto-writes the correct MCP server config into each agent's config directory. Run it once per agent; re-run after upgrading Open Design to refresh the server config. See Chapter 10 for the MCP architecture and multi-agent orchestration patterns built on top of this connection. Scan, don't read --- find your CLI slug, run the command, and move on.

The full command block for all named slugs:

# od mcp install — all named CLI slugs (v0.9.0, June 2026)
$ od mcp install claude-code     # Claude Code
$ od mcp install codex           # OpenAI Codex CLI
$ od mcp install cursor          # Cursor
$ od mcp install copilot         # GitHub Copilot CLI
$ od mcp install gemini          # Google Gemini CLI (announced sunset ~2026-06-18 — verify current status)
$ od mcp install opencode        # OpenCode (MIT)
$ od mcp install hermes          # Hermes
$ od mcp install kimi            # Kimi CLI
$ od mcp install openclaw        # OpenClaw
$ od mcp install antigravity     # Google Antigravity
$ od mcp install vibe            # Mistral Vibe
$ od mcp install pi              # Pi
$ od mcp install cline           # Cline
$ od mcp install trae            # Trae
$ od mcp install qwen            # Qwen
$ od mcp install deepseek        # DeepSeek
$ od mcp install ollama          # BYOK / local Ollama

A.4 File Layout and Config

Open Design stores all project state in a .od/ directory at your home directory by default. The layout below reflects v0.9.0 (June 2, 2026). Understanding this layout matters for three practical reasons: knowing what to back up (app.sqlite and artifacts/), knowing what is safe to delete (sessions/), and knowing where to look when diagnosing a broken generation (history.jsonl). The config.json in the root of .od/ is where daemon-level settings live; project-level overrides are stored inside each project directory under artifacts/. The OD_DATA_DIR environment variable relocates the .od/ directory; this behavior is confirmed for Docker and daemon-mode deployments. Whether it applies to the desktop app is not documented in available sources --- verify against the repository if you need to relocate the data directory in the desktop app.

.od/
├── config.json              # Daemon config: design system, skills, mode
├── app.sqlite               # SQLite project database (back this up)
├── artifacts/               # Saved renders and one-off exports
│   └── 2026-06-11T12-34-56-landing/
│       ├── artifact.json    # Metadata: skill, prompt, parent artifact
│       ├── index.html       # Primary output
│       └── assets/          # Generated images and fonts
├── history.jsonl            # Append-only action log
├── sessions/                # Ephemeral UI state (safe to delete)
│   └── <session-id>.json
└── media-config.json        # Auto-created; auto-gitignored

Two files matter most for backup: app.sqlite (all project metadata and generation history) and the artifacts/ directory (all rendered outputs). The sessions/ directory is ephemeral --- deleting it does not lose work and can resolve stale UI state.

BYOK Proxy Routes

Open Design includes a built-in BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) proxy that routes inference to any configured provider. The daemon exposes proxy routes at the following paths on port 7456:

Docker Environment Config

For Docker Compose deployments, the deploy/.env.example file documents the required environment variables. Copy it to .env before running docker compose up.

# deploy/.env.example (relevant fields, v0.9.0)
OD_API_TOKEN=           # Required: generate with: openssl rand -hex 32
# Optional: override default port
# OD_PORT=7456
# Optional: relocate data directory
# OD_DATA_DIR=/data/od

To configure BYOK providers in a Docker deployment, set the relevant provider env vars in the same .env file:

# Add to deploy/.env for BYOK provider access
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
GOOGLE_API_KEY=...
# For local Ollama (fully local inference):
OPENAI_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434/v1

config.json Snippet

The daemon-level .od/config.json controls the active design system, default skill, and run mode. A minimal config that sets a custom brand system and enables daemon-only mode:

{
  "designSystem": "acme",
  "defaultSkill": "web-prototype",
  "mode": "daemon"
}

Version Pin Reference