Skip to content

Install Bernstein

What this page does: Gets Bernstein installed on your machine, then verifies it runs. Time: ~2 minutes (the install) + ~30 seconds (the check).

When you're done, bernstein --version will print a version number and you'll be ready to follow the first-run walkthrough.

Requirements

  • Python 3.12 or later. python3 --version to check.
  • Git (any recent version). Bernstein uses git worktrees to isolate agents.
  • macOS, Linux, or Windows.

That's it. You do not need a CLI coding agent installed yet — that comes in the first-run page.

uv installs Bernstein into an isolated tool environment. Single command, no venv to manage.

uv tool install bernstein

If you don't have uv:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh   # macOS / Linux
irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex        # Windows PowerShell

Other install methods

pipx install bernstein

pip install bernstein

brew tap chernistry/tap
brew install bernstein

Bernstein is not in homebrew-core. The tap step is required. The tap lives at github.com/chernistry/homebrew-tap; brew tap chernistry/tap is the Homebrew short form.

sudo dnf copr enable alexchernysh/bernstein
sudo dnf install bernstein

See the Linux package guide for the GPG key and signed-repo setup.

npx bernstein-orchestrator

Wraps the Python package; still requires Python 3.12+ on $PATH.

docker run -v "$(pwd)":/workspace -p 8052:8052 \
  ghcr.io/sipyourdrink-ltd/bernstein -g "your goal"

git clone https://github.com/sipyourdrink-ltd/bernstein
cd bernstein
uv venv && uv pip install -e ".[dev]"

One-liner installers

For fresh machines that don't have Python set up yet, the install scripts bootstrap Python (via pyenv or system package), pipx, and Bernstein in one step.

curl -fsSL https://bernstein.run/install.sh | sh           # macOS / Linux
irm https://bernstein.run/install.ps1 | iex                # Windows PowerShell

Script source: install.sh · install.ps1.

Optional extras

The base install stays small. Pull in provider SDKs only when you need them:

Extra Enables
bernstein[openai] OpenAI Agents SDK v2 adapter
bernstein[docker] Docker sandbox backend
bernstein[e2b] E2B microVM sandbox
bernstein[modal] Modal serverless containers
bernstein[s3] S3 artifact sink
bernstein[gcs] Google Cloud Storage artifact sink
bernstein[azure] Azure Blob artifact sink
bernstein[r2] Cloudflare R2 artifact sink

Combine extras with brackets: pip install 'bernstein[openai,docker,s3]'.

Verify it worked

bernstein --version

You should see a version number close to 1.9.3. Then run the pre-flight check:

bernstein doctor

doctor checks Python version, port availability, your $PATH, and any installed CLI agents. A clean run prints all green. If something fails, it tells you exactly which step to fix.

command not found: bernstein Your tool bin directory is not on $PATH. Add it:

  • uv / pipx: export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" (and add to ~/.zshrc / ~/.bashrc)
  • Windows: re-open PowerShell after install — pipx adds the path on first run.
  • macOS Homebrew: run brew doctor and follow the PATH advice.

Next

Now that bernstein --version works, head to First run to take it from "installed" to "your first orchestrated task complete" in about 5 minutes.

For platform-specific notes, see also: