Runtime distributions

Vis provides two executables:

vis-agent starts the engine, gateway, tools and embedded Python.
vis-tui is the terminal client, installed alongside it and connected over HTTP.

Installing

curl -fsSL https://github.com/Blockether/vis/releases/download/installer/install-vis-agent | bash

The installer puts the stable native engine, bundled Python and matching TUI in ~/.local/bin (--install-dir PATH changes it). It adds that directory to your shell profile if needed. Installation requires curl and tar, not Java or Git. An incomplete or unavailable release fails without installing a JVM fallback.

Source development is an explicit opt-in:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/Blockether/vis/releases/download/installer/install-vis-agent | bash -s -- --jvm
vis-agent --jvm update

Source development needs Git and JDK 25+. The wrapper can install the Clojure CLI; VIS_NO_AUTO_INSTALL=1 disables that automatic installation.

The script is published as a GitHub release asset because raw.githubusercontent.com is blocked on many corporate networks. Running bin/install-vis-agent from a clone works too.

Runtime selection

Vis supports native and JVM runtimes:

Runtime	Runs
`native`	a prebuilt binary from a release bundle or local build
`jvm`	the managed source checkout under `~/.vis/install/src`

The wrapper prefers an installed native binary. Use --jvm or VIS_JVM=1 to select the JVM runtime explicitly. An existing source checkout remains usable.

vis-agent runtime

Runtime:      native
Native:       ~/.local/bin/vis-agent-native
Built:        0.1.40 49ccf1b155ec stable 2026-08-17T09:12:44Z
Track:        stable
Source:       not installed
Pinned at:    unpinned

A development checkout is used when no managed runtime is installed. To run its code independently of installed runtimes, use clojure -M:vis inside it.

Updating

Command	Effect
`vis-agent update`	Newest release bundle (native) or newest commit of `main` (jvm)
`vis-agent update vX.Y.Z`	That release instead of the newest
`vis-agent --jvm update --rebuild`	Update managed source and build a native binary from it
`vis-agent update --track stable\|beta`	Explicitly select a published native distribution, including from a source install
`vis-agent update --keep-gateway`	Leave an idle managed gateway running after the update

Native updates acquire the engine, bundled Python and TUI from the same release before replacing installed files. --jvm cannot be combined with --track. A missing native TUI fails explicitly rather than launching a JVM client.

--rebuild updates the managed source checkout before building. It does not build edits in your working repository. To build those edits, run clojure -T:build native from that repository.

Files

Path	Contents
`~/.local/bin/vis-agent-native`	the installed native engine
`~/.local/bin/vis-agent-python/`	its bundled Python runtime
`~/.local/bin/vis-tui`	the matching native terminal client
`~/.vis/install/vis-agent-native`	release engine when the launcher is a tracked checkout file
`~/.vis/install/src`	the pinned source checkout: one detached commit, no branches
`~/.vis/install/ref`	the commit it is pinned at; `vis-agent runtime` reports `DRIFTED` when `HEAD` differs

VIS_HOME changes the base directory from ~/.vis. vis-agent --measure prints startup timings; --jfr saves a Java Flight Recorder profile there.

Native bundles

A release bundle is per platform:

vis-agent-<os>-<arch>.tar.gz
├── vis-agent             # wrapper
├── vis-agent-native      # native runtime
├── vis-agent-python/     # embedded CPython
└── install-vis-agent

vis-tui-<os>-<arch>.tar.gz
└── vis-tui

Targets are Linux x86-64, Linux ARM64 and macOS ARM64. Building an image needs the GraalVM CE version in .graalvm-version and about 32 GB of RAM; bin/release-native builds and smoke-tests the assets supported by the host. On Apple silicon it builds macOS natively, Linux ARM64 in a container and Linux x86-64 through Rosetta. Enable Rosetta in Docker Desktop or podman; the build rejects qemu. VIS_CONTAINER_CONNECTION and VIS_CONTAINER_CLI select the container machine and engine.

On a platform with no published bundle, use the jvm runtime or vis-agent --jvm update --rebuild.