# Installation

Requirements, install methods, and how Kandown keeps itself up to date.

> Kandown documentation — https://kandown.dev/docs/installation

## Requirements

Node.js **18 or newer**. That is the entire list — no database, no runtime service, no global
configuration.

Check what you have:

```bash
node --version
```

## Install

Kandown is published to npm as [`kandown`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/kandown).

```bash
npm install -g kandown
```

Any package manager works:

```bash
pnpm add -g kandown
yarn global add kandown
bun add -g kandown
```

### Without installing

`npx` runs it directly, which is useful for trying it out or for one-off CI commands:

```bash
npx kandown init
npx kandown list --json
```

> **Tip**
> For day-to-day use, install globally. The `npx` path re-resolves the package on every call, which
> adds a noticeable delay to commands you run in a loop.

## Verify

```bash
kandown --version
kandown doctor
```

`kandown doctor` is the one to reach for when something looks wrong. It checks your config file,
the daemon state, port availability and the frontmatter of every task, and tells you what to do
about each problem it finds.

## Updates

Interactive runs check npm for a newer version at most **once every 24 hours**, and install it
silently when one is found. The check is skipped entirely:

- for every task command (`list`, `create`, `move`, …),
- for `kandown daemon`,
- whenever stdout is not a terminal — so it never fires in CI or inside an agent loop.

To turn it off completely:

```bash
export KANDOWN_NO_UPDATE=1
```

You can also update on demand. This refreshes both the CLI and the `kandown.html` bundled in the
current project:

```bash
kandown update
```

If you have several projects open, bring their daemons onto the current version in one go:

```bash
kandown daemon refresh-all
```

## Uninstall

```bash
npm uninstall -g kandown
```

Your `tasks/` folder and `.kandown/` config stay exactly where they are — they are just files, and
removing the tool does not touch them.