What npx aluvia-cli setup does

This page as markdown: https://aluvia.io/setup.md

Everything setup does to the machine, and the command that reverses each part.

The command

npx aluvia-cli setup

Runs once per machine. Needs Node.js 18 or later. When Chrome is not already aimed, pass --url with the address-bar HTTPS page. Every Aluvia command after it prints JSON on stdout with a next field.

What it starts

Both listen on loopback. Nothing is opened on another interface, so nothing outside the machine can reach either one.

• A proxy on 127.0.0.1:18787 — the one the browser is aimed at.
• A control server on 127.0.0.1:18788 — the one the aluvia commands talk to.

What it writes

• Its home directory: /workspace/.aluvia when /workspace exists, otherwise ~/.aluvia. The configuration and the install id live there.
• The aluvia agent skill, into the skill folder of the agent runtimes already on the machine, so the agent knows when to reach for it.

What it touches that was already running

Setup restarts the Chrome that is already open, once, to aim it at the local proxy. It does not launch a second browser.

After that nothing restarts again: aluvia proxy-on and aluvia proxy-off change the exit IP with the same browser, the same tabs and the same cookies in place. After setup, aluvia proxy-on --geo US changes the IP location.

What it sends

The first setup starts a free trial from a sticky install id on the machine. No account, no API key, no human in the loop — the id is what the trial is counted against.

While egress is on, browser traffic leaves through Aluvia's network. While it is off, traffic goes straight out of the machine exactly as it did before setup ran.

How to undo it

• aluvia proxy-off — back to the machine's own IP. The daemon stays up and the browser is untouched.
• aluvia proxy-provider PROXY_URL — keep the setup, send traffic through a proxy you already have instead.
• aluvia stop — stop the local proxy.
• Delete the home directory above to remove the configuration and the install id.
• Relaunch the browser without setup's proxy setting to aim it back at the network directly.

Check the machine rather than this page

aluvia status prints what is actually running, and explains every field it prints. It is the answer to give a human who asks what changed.

This page lists what Aluvia publishes about setup. It is not a decompilation of the binary: if a detail matters to your threat model and is not here, ask for it before running the command.

aluvia status