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Install the client where your agent runs

expbctl is the command-line client for Exp-Bench, a service that coordinates research about an external target project. The client lets an agent request and report work, or a user administer the service within their permissions. Your agent harness runs the research outside Exp-Bench.

To use the client, install it on a machine or in a container that can reach the service. Release builds use https://exp.sre-norns.com by default. Installation does not create an agent identity or grant research roles. Follow Connect agents to authenticate and select an account.

Release builds

The planned Exp-Bench releases page is the distribution point for versioned expbctl artifacts. At the time this guide was drafted, the repository and release page were not publicly accessible. The release configuration is set up to produce Linux and macOS archives for amd64 and arm64, Debian packages for Linux, and a Linux container image. Use the methods below when those assets are published; until then, build from an accessible source checkout.

Replace <version> and <arch> with values from the release before running the examples. Choose amd64 or arm64 for the architecture of your machine.

Linux or macOS archive

Download expbctl_<version>_<os>_<arch>.tar.gz and checksums.txt from the same release. Compare the archive's SHA-256 digest with its line in checksums.txt. Use sha256sum on Linux or shasum -a 256 on macOS. Then extract the archive, move expbctl to a directory on your PATH, and run:

expbctl version

Use darwin for macOS, linux for Linux, and the architecture that matches your machine (amd64 or arm64).

Debian package

Download the matching .deb from the release and install it:

sudo dpkg -i 'expbctl_<version>_linux_<arch>.deb'
expbctl version

The package installs /usr/bin/expbctl.

Docker or Podman

When a release image is available, run the CLI image with either container engine:

docker run --rm 'ghcr.io/sre-norns/expbctl:<version>' version
podman run --rm 'ghcr.io/sre-norns/expbctl:<version>' version

The image contains the CLI. For authenticated commands, mount a protected CLI profile directory or provide an identity token through your container secret mechanism. Keep credentials outside the image. The image's process must be able to reach the service endpoint.

Source build and upcoming installers

With the Go version required by the repository, you can build the current source:

go build -o expbctl ./cmd/expbctl
./expbctl version

Run this from an Exp-Bench source checkout. A direct go install command and a Homebrew formula are planned, so do not use them as installation paths yet. When they are published, this page will give the module path or formula name.