Installation - Vellum Docs

Getting Started

Installation

What you need

Web

The fastest way to meet your assistant. No install, no setup wizard, no config files. Your assistant runs in Vellum Cloud and you reach it from your browser.

  1. Go to vellum.ai/signup and create your account.
  2. Set your privacy preferences and accept the Terms of Service.
  3. Watch your assistant hatch in the browser. About 30 seconds.
  4. Say hi.

Your assistant lives in Vellum Cloud, encrypted and isolated to your account, reachable from any browser. You can also connect the desktop app, mobile app, voice, and chat channels (Telegram, Slack, phone) to the same assistant.

iOS app

Install Vellum Assistant on your iPhone or iPad to use the same assistant, conversations, memories, tools, and workspace you have on the web and Mac.

  1. Install Vellum Assistant from the App Store.
  2. Open the app and sign in with your Vellum account.
  3. Your cloud assistant appears automatically. Say hi.

Approval requests can arrive as mobile notifications, so you can review sensitive actions from your phone.

Android app

Install Vellum Assistant on your Android phone or tablet to use the same assistant, conversations, memories, tools, and workspace you have on the web and Mac.

  1. Install Vellum Assistant from Google Play.
  2. Open the app and sign in with your Vellum account.
  3. Your cloud assistant appears automatically. Say hi.

The Android app is a client for your cloud assistant. It does not run a local assistant on the phone. See Downloads.

Desktop app (macOS and Windows)

The desktop app is available on macOS and Windows, with a menu bar or system tray presence, voice input, and computer control. It connects to a cloud assistant by default (so your conversations and memory show up in both the web and desktop apps), but it can also run a local assistant entirely on your machine. See Hosting options for the local-only setup.

The Windows download is currently a dev build. It connects to Vellum's development environment, so your production cloud assistant and its history will not appear there. The main download is x64; select Other downloads for ARM64.

  1. Sign up for Vellum if you haven't already.
  2. Download the macOS .dmg or Windows .exe from vellum.ai/downloads.
  3. On macOS, open the .dmg, drag Vellum to Applications, and launch it. On Windows, run the .exe installer and open Vellum from Start.
  4. Sign in with your Vellum account. Production builds connect to your existing cloud assistant; the Windows dev build connects to the development environment.

The installers include everything needed to run the app. macOS downloads are signed and notarized; Windows downloads are Authenticode-signed. No terminal setup is needed. On Windows, the app also installs the vellum CLI for your user account. Open a new terminal after the first launch to use it. The same page also offers the Chrome extension for browser automation.

Linux

There is no shipped Linux desktop client. A Linux desktop shell is in development and is not distributed.

On a Linux computer you can:

Do not wait for a Linux desktop installer, and do not treat a self-hosted Linux runtime as a replacement for the Mac or Windows desktop app's computer-use features.

Self-hosting

Want to run Vellum entirely on your own machine or your own infrastructure? You can. The runtime is open source and supports local-only mode (workspace at~/.vellum/workspace/) as well as remote deployment to your own GCP project or any Linux host.

Head to Hosting options for the full guide on local hosting and advanced deployment.

Two ways to connect

What gets installed

If you run the desktop app or self-host, Vellum creates one directory on your machine. (Vellum Cloud users don't need to think about this. Your workspace lives in your encrypted cloud account and is available through the web app.)

~/.vellum/
├── workspace/
│   ├── IDENTITY.md        # Name, personality, emoji
│   ├── SOUL.md            # Principles and behavior rules
│   ├── USER.md            # What the assistant knows about you
│   ├── NOW.md             # Current focus, goals, and context
│   ├── config.json        # Runtime configuration
│   ├── skills/            # Installed and custom skills
│   └── data/
│       └── db/
│           └── assistant.db   # Conversations, memory, schedules (SQLite)
├── lockfile.json          # Running assistant instances and ports

Everything is plain text (aside from the SQLite database). You can open these files in any editor, read them, change them, even put them in version control. Your assistant's brain is not a black box. It's a folder on your computer.

Session logs are stored in~/Library/Application Support/vellum-assistant/logs/. The daemon binary lives inside the .app bundle, not in ~/.vellum/.

Permissions

Vellum doesn't ask for all its permissions upfront. Instead, permissions are requested only when they're actually needed:

Permission Purpose When requested
Screen Recording See your screen for computer-use tasks First time your assistant needs to see your screen
Microphone Voice input (hold Fn to talk) First time you use voice input
Speech Recognition Convert voice to text First time you use voice input
Accessibility Control your Mac (click, type, navigate) First time your assistant needs to interact with your apps
Notifications Status updates and reminders Optional, on first notification

On Windows, open Settings > Permissions & Privacy in Vellum to check microphone, screen capture, speech, and notification access. Use the settings link beside a permission to open the corresponding Windows settings page. Accessibility, Input Monitoring, and Automation permissions are macOS-only and do not appear on Windows. Computer control cannot interact with elevated or protected windows.

Updates

Vellum checks for updates automatically in the background. When an update is available, you'll see a green update button in the top right corner of the app. You can install immediately or defer until later. Updates are signed and verified before installation.

Definitions

Key terms and concepts used throughout the Vellum Assistant ecosystem.