Install Tower

Tower supports Node.js 22 and 24. Check the current version first:

node --version

macOS / Linux

Paste this command to install the current GitHub Release:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -fsSL https://github.com/tower-org/tower/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

The installer selects the platform asset for the current OS and CPU, verifies SHA256SUMS, and installs under the current user. It does not use sudo or start Tower automatically.

"$HOME/.local/bin/tower" --version
"$HOME/.local/bin/tower"

Windows

Paste one line into PowerShell:

$i="$env:TEMP\tower-install.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest https://github.com/tower-org/tower/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 -OutFile $i; powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File $i

Then run:

& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Tower\bin\tower.ps1" --version
& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Tower\bin\tower.ps1"

Open http://127.0.0.1:3000. Tower accepts loopback addresses only; it rejects 0.0.0.0 and LAN bind addresses.

npm installation

Use the standard package when npm is available:

npm install -g @tower-org/cli
tower

Do not use sudo npm install, NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=0, or strict-ssl=false to bypass permissions or TLS failures. Use the portable installer above when npm is unavailable.

What the installer does

Portable assets contain production dependencies, Prisma Engines, node-pty, and ripgrep. Installation and first startup therefore do not contact npm or binaries.prisma.sh. Node.js is not bundled or installed for you.

The release pipeline verifies Node 22 and 24 on these assets:

OS	CPU	Release asset
macOS	arm64	tower-portable-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
macOS	x64	tower-portable-darwin-x64.tar.gz
Linux	arm64	tower-portable-linux-arm64.tar.gz
Linux	x64	tower-portable-linux-x64.tar.gz
Windows	x64	tower-portable-windows-x64.tar.gz

Review before execution

Download and inspect the script when your policy does not permit direct remote execution:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -fsSLo install.sh https://github.com/tower-org/tower/releases/latest/download/install.sh
less install.sh
sh install.sh --no-start

On Windows, download and inspect the PowerShell installer:

Invoke-WebRequest https://github.com/tower-org/tower/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 -OutFile install.ps1
Get-Content .\install.ps1
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1 -ConfirmNonInteractive -NoStart

Offline, mirror, and recovery options

Every installer option is non-interactive:

sh install.sh --help
VERSION=X.Y.Z
sh install.sh --version "$VERSION" --no-start
sh install.sh --download-base "https://mirror.example/tower/v$VERSION" --version "$VERSION"
sh install.sh --asset-dir /mnt/tower-release --version "$VERSION"
sh install.sh --verify
sh install.sh --rollback
sh install.sh --uninstall

• --download-base names the HTTPS directory containing assets and SHA256SUMS.
• --asset-dir installs from an existing local asset directory for offline use.
• --verify extracts and verifies without installing.
• --rollback switches to the previous installed version.
• --uninstall removes the application and launchers while preserving tasks, settings, and the database under ~/.tower.

PowerShell provides -DownloadBase, -AssetDir, -Verify, -Rollback, -Uninstall, and -NoStart equivalents.

Optional background service

Manual startup remains the default. On macOS or Windows, opt into a per-user service only when you want Tower to start after login:

tower service install
tower service status
tower service remove

Linux does not currently provide the built-in tower service command.

Common errors

• TOWER_ERROR=NODE_NOT_FOUND: install Node.js 22 or 24.
• TOWER_ERROR=UNSUPPORTED_NODE: upgrade a Node version below 22.
• TOWER_WARNING=UNTESTED_NODE: the minimum is met, but the version is outside the Node 22/24 release matrix.
• SHA-256 mismatch: stop and redownload from a trusted Release or mirror.
• A corporate CA blocks npm or the Prisma CDN: use a portable asset; do not disable TLS validation.

Develop from source

git clone https://github.com/tower-org/tower.git
cd tower
pnpm install
pnpm dev

The development server runs at http://127.0.0.1:9022.