Installation

Install Strix and set up your security testing environment

System requirements

Before installing Strix, ensure your system meets these requirements:

• Python 3.12 or higher (3.13 and 3.14 supported)
• Docker installed and running
• Operating system: Linux, macOS, or Windows (with WSL2)
• Memory: 4GB minimum (8GB recommended)
• Disk space: 5GB for Docker images and scan results

Installation methods

Install script (recommended)

The fastest way to install Strix is using the official install script:

curl -sSL https://strix.ai/install | bash

This script:

• Detects your operating system
• Installs Python dependencies
• Sets up the strix command globally
• Verifies Docker is available

Verify installation:

strix --version

pip install

Install Strix from PyPI using pip:

pip install strix-agent

This installs the strix-agent package and makes the strix command available.

Package name is strix-agent on PyPI, but the command is strix

Python version

Strix requires Python 3.12+. Check your version:

python --version

If you need to install Python 3.12+, visit python.org

Virtual environment (recommended)

Install in a virtual environment to avoid conflicts:

python -m venv strix-env
source strix-env/bin/activate  # On Windows: strix-env\Scripts\activate
pip install strix-agent

From source

Install Strix from the GitHub repository:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/usestrix/strix.git
cd strix

# Install with Poetry
pip install poetry
poetry install

# Run Strix
poetry run strix --version

Development installation

For development with optional dependencies:

# Install all dev dependencies
poetry install --with dev

# Install with Vertex AI support
poetry install --extras vertex

Docker setup

Strix requires Docker to create isolated security testing environments.

Install Docker

1. Download Docker Desktop

   Download and install Docker Desktop for your platform:

   • macOS: Docker Desktop for Mac
   • Windows: Docker Desktop for Windows (requires WSL2)
   • Linux: Follow the Docker Engine installation for your distribution
2. Start Docker

   Launch Docker Desktop and ensure it’s running:

   docker ps
   

   You should see an empty list of containers (or your existing containers).

3. Pull the sandbox image (optional)

   The Docker image downloads automatically on first run, but you can pull it manually:

   docker pull ghcr.io/usestrix/sandbox:latest
   

   The image is approximately 2GB.

Docker configuration

Strix uses these Docker settings from your environment:

# Optional: customize Docker socket path (default: /var/run/docker.sock)
export DOCKER_HOST="unix:///var/run/docker.sock"

# Optional: customize image (default: ghcr.io/usestrix/sandbox:latest)
export STRIX_IMAGE="ghcr.io/usestrix/sandbox:latest"

LLM provider configuration

Strix requires an LLM provider for the AI agents. Configure your provider with environment variables:

Required configuration

# The LLM model to use (required)
export STRIX_LLM="openai/gpt-5"

# API key for most providers (not needed for Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock)
export LLM_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Provider examples

OpenAI

export STRIX_LLM="openai/gpt-5"
export LLM_API_KEY="sk-..."

Recommended models

For best results, use these models:

• OpenAI GPT-5 — openai/gpt-5
• Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.6 — anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6
• Google Gemini 3 Pro Preview — vertex_ai/gemini-3-pro-preview

See LLM Providers for the complete list of supported models and configuration options.

Optional configuration

# Custom API base URL (for local models, proxies, etc.)
export LLM_API_BASE="http://localhost:11434"

# Perplexity API key for web search capabilities
export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="pplx-..."

# Reasoning effort: none, minimal, low, medium, high, xhigh (default: high)
export STRIX_REASONING_EFFORT="high"

# LLM timeout in seconds (default: 300)
export LLM_TIMEOUT="300"

Configuration persistence

Strix automatically saves your configuration to ~/.strix/cli-config.json after the first successful run. This means you only need to set environment variables once.

View saved configuration

cat ~/.strix/cli-config.json

Override saved configuration

You can override the saved config with:

1. Environment variables - Set before running Strix
2. Custom config file - Use --config flag:

strix --target ./app --config /path/to/custom-config.json

Configuration priority

Strix uses this priority order (highest to lowest):

1. Command-line --config file
2. Environment variables
3. Saved config at ~/.strix/cli-config.json

Verify installation

Confirm everything is set up correctly:

1. Check Strix version

   strix --version
   

   Should output: strix 0.8.2 (or your installed version)

2. Verify Docker

   docker ps
   

   Should show your running containers (or empty list if none)

3. Test LLM connection

   Strix tests your LLM connection on startup. Run a quick scan to verify:

   # Create a test directory
   mkdir test-app && cd test-app
   echo "print('hello')" > app.py
   
   # Run Strix (will validate LLM connection)
   strix --target .
   

   If the LLM connection fails, you’ll see a clear error message.

Troubleshooting

Command not found: strix

If strix command is not found after installation:

Using pip:

# Ensure pip bin directory is in PATH
python -m pip show strix-agent

# Run directly with Python
python -m strix.interface.main --version

Using install script:

# Re-run the install script
curl -sSL https://strix.ai/install | bash
source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc

Python version too old

Strix requires Python 3.12+. Check your version:

python --version

If you have multiple Python versions, specify the version:

python3.12 -m pip install strix-agent

Or use pyenv to manage Python versions.

Docker permission denied

If you see “permission denied” errors with Docker:

Linux:

# Add your user to the docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

macOS/Windows: Ensure Docker Desktop is running with proper permissions.

Missing STRIX_LLM environment variable

If Strix complains about missing configuration:

# Set required variables
export STRIX_LLM="openai/gpt-5"
export LLM_API_KEY="your-key"

# Make permanent (add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc)
echo 'export STRIX_LLM="openai/gpt-5"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export LLM_API_KEY="your-key"' >> ~/.bashrc

Next steps

Quickstart

Run your first security scan in minutes

Basic usage

Learn the core commands and workflows

LLM providers

Configure different LLM providers and models

Environment variables

Complete reference for all configuration options

Make sure Docker is running before executing Strix commands. The CLI will fail with a clear error if Docker is not available.