Installing Dex

Installing Dex takes about ten minutes and doesn't require any programming experience. You'll download Dex, run one installer, and start a conversation. This page walks through every step, including the small hiccups that sometimes come up.

What you need first

Dex runs inside an AI coding assistant. You have two good options:

• Cursor — a free desktop app (with a paid tier). The easiest starting point if you've never used a terminal.
• Claude Code — Anthropic's assistant, as a terminal app or desktop app. Requires a Claude Pro or Max subscription; free Claude accounts don't include it. Claude Code gives Dex its most reliable behavior (its automation hooks are guaranteed to run rather than probabilistic), so it's worth considering as you get more comfortable.

You'll also need three standard, free pieces of software. Don't worry if these names mean nothing to you — the checks below tell you if you already have them:

• Git (moves files between your computer and where Dex is published). Macs install it automatically when needed.
• Node.js (runs Dex's background automation). Version 18 or newer.
• Python (runs Dex's task and calendar tools). Version 3.10 or newer.

To check what you have, open a terminal (in Cursor: the Terminal panel) and run:

bashgit --version       # want: git version 2.x
node --version      # want: v18 or higher
python3 --version   # want: Python 3.10 or higher

On a Mac, the first time you run a command like this you may be asked to install "Command Line Developer Tools" — say yes; it takes two or three minutes and is safe.

Step 1 — Get Dex onto your computer

In Cursor: press Cmd+Shift+P (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows), choose Git: Clone, and paste:

https://github.com/davekilleen/dex.git

Pick a folder you'll remember (Documents works well), then open it.

If cloning fails for any reason, there's a no-terminal fallback: download the ZIP from github.com/davekilleen/dex, unzip it (the folder will be named dex-main), and open that folder in Cursor.

Step 2 — Run the installer

In the terminal panel, from inside your Dex folder, run:

bash./install.sh

This takes a minute or two. It sets up Dex's tools inside the folder itself — nothing is installed system-wide, so removing Dex later is as simple as deleting the folder.

When it finishes, Cursor's MCP panel should show green checkmarks next to Dex's tools. (MCP servers are the small programs that give Dex reliable hands — tasks, calendar, meetings.)

Step 3 — Say hello

In the chat panel, type:

/setup

The first load can take about thirty seconds — if nothing happens, press Enter again. Dex will introduce itself and ask a few questions about you and your work. That conversation is onboarding, covered on its own page — it takes about two minutes.

Using Claude Code instead of (or alongside) Cursor

If you'd like to use Claude Code:

bash# Mac
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Then authenticate with claude auth (it opens your browser), go to your Dex folder in the terminal (cd ~/Documents/dex), and run claude. Same vault, same Dex — both apps read the same files, so you can switch freely.

If something goes wrong

The installer's error messages point to fixes, but here are the common ones:

• Windows: "python is not recognized" — reinstall Python from python.org and tick "Add Python to PATH" during install. Restart the terminal and run ./install.sh again.
• Windows: "git is not recognized" — install Git from git-scm.com, restart the terminal, rerun the installer.
• "Could not install Python dependencies" — run these commands, then rerun the installer:

bashpython3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/pip install --upgrade pip
.venv/bin/pip install -r core/mcp/requirements.txt

• Tools show "No server info found" — quit the app fully (Cmd+Q on Mac) and reopen it. If that doesn't fix it, rerun the dependency commands above first.
• Mac: you cancelled the Developer Tools prompt — run xcode-select --install, let it finish, then ./install.sh again.

Once /setup greets you, move on to Your first conversation.

First, fetch and read the page I'm referring to: https://heydex.ai/help/install.md

I just read the Dex Guide's install page. Give my installation a proper
once-over: check that your tools are all connected and healthy, that the
versions of everything you depend on are happy, and that nothing from
setup was left half-finished. Fix anything that's safe to fix yourself,
tell me plainly if something needs my hands, and finish with one thing
about my setup I probably don't know.