Intlayer CLI Init Infra Command

Description

The init infra command sets up the Intlayer infrastructure on your machine. It downloads the hosted installer for your platform (https://intlayer.org/install.sh on macOS / Linux, https://intlayer.org/install.ps1 on Windows) and runs it with your terminal attached, so the installer's own menu and progress output reach you unchanged.

The installer asks how you want to run Intlayer:

• Desktop app: downloads the native dashboard for your OS and CPU and opens or installs it. The desktop build talks to the Intlayer Cloud backend.
• All-in-one Docker: dashboard + API + MongoDB + Redis + MinIO in a single container backed by one volume. Writes ./intlayer.env with the secrets generated and pulls the intlayer/cms-all image.
• Docker Compose: one container per service, for scalable self-hosting. Writes docker-compose.yml and .env into ./intlayer/ and pulls the images.

The hosted installer is the single source of truth for the setup flow: the CLI runs it rather than re-implementing the same steps, so npx intlayer init infra and curl -fsSL https://intlayer.org/install.sh | sh do exactly the same thing.

Usage

npx intlayer init infra [options]

The same step is offered from the checklist of npx intlayer init --interactive, under Infrastructure (desktop app / self-hosting).

Options

• -m, --mode <mode> - Optional. Skip the installer's menu and run one mode directly. Accepted values: desktop, docker (all-in-one) or compose. Any other value exits with an error listing the accepted modes.

Examples

Pick the mode interactively

npx intlayer init infra

Install the desktop app

npx intlayer init infra --mode desktop

Self-host with the all-in-one container

npx intlayer init infra --mode docker

Self-host with Docker Compose

npx intlayer init infra --mode compose

Example output

npx intlayer init infra --mode compose
◇  Installer downloaded
▸ Fetching docker-compose.yml into ./intlayer
▸ Writing ./intlayer/.env
▸ Pulling images

  Everything is installed. Two steps left.

  1. Configure a mailer in:

       ./intlayer/.env

     Either RESEND_API_KEY (resend.com) or the MAIL_SMTP_* block — the first
     account cannot be verified without a working mailer.
  2. Start the stack:

       cd ./intlayer && docker compose up -d

  Then open http://localhost:3000 — first boot initialises the
  datastores, so give it a minute. The first account you create becomes the
  super admin.

    Logs      docker compose logs -f
    Stop      docker compose down
    Upgrade   docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

Installer settings

The installer reads a few environment variables, which the CLI passes through untouched. Set them in your shell before running the command:

INTLAYER_COMPOSE_DIR=./cms npx intlayer init infra --mode compose

The port variables only change the host side of the mapping. The published images have http://localhost:3000, http://localhost:3100 and http://localhost:9000 compiled into the dashboard bundle, so keep the defaults unless you build your own images: see the self-hosting guide.

Requirements

• Desktop app needs Node.js: the app embeds the dashboard's server and starts it with the machine's own node binary.
• Docker modes need Docker (Docker Desktop with the WSL 2 backend on Windows). The Compose mode also needs the docker compose plugin.

Notes

• Re-running the command is safe: an existing environment file is never overwritten, so it doubles as the upgrade path (the installer pulls the latest images and keeps your secrets).
• The installer is downloaded to a temporary directory and deleted once it exits, whatever the outcome.
• The command's exit code is the installer's. If the download itself fails, the CLI prints the equivalent curl … | sh (or irm … | iex) command so you can run the installer directly.
• The Docker modes still need a mailer to send sign-in emails. After the installer finishes, configure Resend or SMTP in the generated environment file: see Global mailer.

Related

• Self-hosting guide - Architecture, first-run steps and limitations of each mode
• Initialize Intlayer - The parent init command and its interactive checklist
• Intlayer CMS - What the dashboard you just installed does