Download · Nsys Cortex

Prerequisites

Node.js 24+ (Krypton LTS) and npm
Linux with KVM (for Firecracker mode only)
Docker (for Docker mode, and for building the neuron image / rootfs)
macOS/Windows can use Docker mode (Docker Desktop — over a loopback TCP channel with a per-neuron token, selected automatically; unverified on Desktop itself as of 2026-10-30, see Security Posture) or dev mode (no isolation)

Channels

Nsys Cortex is delivered on the public channels below and nowhere else. A channel that carries no release yet is named with its status — never with a dead link. Statuses checked on 2026-11-02.

Channel	What it carries	Status
`@nsys-cortex/cli` on npmjs	The command-line surface — clean versions, published on a release tag behind a manual gate	Not yet published — arrives with the first release
`docker.io/nsys/nsys-cortex-neuron:<version>`	The Neuron image, mirrored to the public namespace on release; the command-line surface fetches the one matching its own version	Not yet published — arrives with the first release
Homebrew tap `github.com/nsys-code/homebrew-nsys-cortex`, Scoop bucket `github.com/nsys-code/scoop-nsys-cortex`	Rendered by the product's release pipeline, never hand-maintained; they always name the released version	Not yet created — arrive with the first release
Install scripts `install.sh` / `install.ps1` with `SHA256SUMS`	Release assets for POSIX shells and PowerShell, published with checksums	No release yet; the public location of the release assets is pending. A public mirror of the repository exists under `github.com/nsys-code` (last updated 2026-05-18) and carries no release.

Installing from a release

The implementation's README states the rule for the install scripts, which this page repeats and will not soften:

The install scripts are release assets, published next to a SHA256SUMS file. Download the one for your OS, read it, verify its checksum, then run it — never pipe a script from the network into a shell.

They install @nsys-cortex/cli at the pinned version with your own Node 24 (npm install -g), verify nsys-cortex --version, tell you when Docker is absent (the default auto then runs dev mode, which is not a security boundary and must be acknowledged), and refuse to run as root or elevated. They never install Node or Docker — they print the route.

Quoted from the README's Install section at the pinned ref; one parenthetical about the project's own command policy is left out here.

Modes

Firecracker — Linux only: Hardware-level isolation via KVM; in code, not yet validated on a Linux + KVM host — until the validation checklist passes, run only trusted workloads.
Docker — any platform with Docker: A hardened container (non-root, all capabilities dropped, read-only image, resource caps) — a real, kernel-sharing boundary; the default wherever Docker is available.
Dev mode: A plain process on the host. It is NOT a security boundary — the agent runs as your user — so it must be acknowledged.