Getting Started

MaiPai Home runs on one machine in your home, the server. You set it up once, and then everyone in the household logs in from their own device. If someone has already set up your server, skip ahead to First Login.

Install the Server

What you need to get started:

One computer that stays home: Windows, macOS, or Linux, ideally with a reasonably modern graphics card
Your home Wi-Fi
About 15 minutes (plus download time for the AI models)

Run one command on the server machine.

On a Mac or Linux machine, open Terminal and paste:
Terminal window
```
curl -fsSL https://getmaipai.github.io/home/install.sh | sh
```
On Windows, open PowerShell and paste:
Terminal window
```
irm https://getmaipai.github.io/home/install.ps1 | iex
```
The installer downloads MaiPai Home, sets up everything it needs, and opens the app in your browser. You’ll know it worked when the setup wizard greets you.
Create your admin account. On first launch the setup wizard walks you through a name, a PIN, and your locale. This first account is the admin: it controls the whole server.

Choose what to install. The wizard downloads and starts Ollama along with the core AI models, and lets you opt into extras:

Capability	What it adds
Books & References	Wikipedia, iFixit & Khan Academy with no internet (on by default)
Voice	Read replies aloud and speak to your AI
Wake Word	Hands-free “Hey MaiPai” activation
Maps	Offline maps, place search, and turn-by-turn directions
Home Inventory OCR	Reads device-label text accurately when scanning stickers

Wait for the download. Progress streams inline. When it finishes, you land on the Today page as the admin.
Add optional offline content, if you want it. A short follow-up tour offers heavier downloads that aren’t required to get started: Books and Reference archives (Wikipedia, medical, how-to, and more, by topic) and offline maps for your area. These download in the background, so you can skip this and add them anytime later from the Admin Panel.

From the Admin Panel you can now create accounts for the rest of the family and decide which features each person can use.

Problems during setup? Head to Fix a problem.

For everyone else in the household, once the admin has created your account:

Open the app at the address your admin gave you: the server’s name or IP on your home network (something like http://maipai-home.local:3000).
Log in with the username and PIN your admin set up for you.
Explore the Today page: your home base. It shows recent activity, pinned apps, offline library cards, and any alerts (like upcoming warranty expirations).
Start a chat: tap the chat icon or say your wakeword (if voice is set up). The AI will greet you and remember previous conversations.
Try image generation: open the Imaging page, type a description, and tap Generate.

Any browser on your home network works — phones, tablets, and laptops with nothing to install. On a Mac or Windows machine you can also install MaiPai Desktop, the desktop app that pins your companion to the top of your screen with the wake word armed.

Finding Your Way Around

Home is a full-page launcher: your favorite apps up top, a Today strip with headlines and history, and every app below in tidy groups. Open an app and it fills the screen with its own sidebar, just like the apps you already know. The app’s icon in the top-left corner is always the way back: point at it and it becomes a back arrow. Your profile picture stays in the top-right corner everywhere.

The launcher on a phone

Main Areas

Area	What it’s for
Home	The launcher: your apps, favorites, app search, and a Today strip
Chat	Conversations with the AI, with companions available app-wide
Companions	Browse and customize your AI companion’s name, voice, and look
Imaging	Image and video generation, plus image recognition
Shows / Movies	Discover what to watch, with streaming info and a Plex badge
Videos	YouTube, TikTok, Vimeo, Reddit, and your own clips in one private app
Podcasts	AI-generated audio shows from articles, videos, and more
Music	Offline music and stinger generation
News	Your own RSS reader, in categories you control
Library	Offline Wikipedia and references
Maps	Offline maps and routing
Bookmarks	Save, organize, and read pages and articles offline
Shopping	Track prices, get drop alerts, and browse deals
Home Inventory	Appliance and device tracker
App Store	Install or remove apps for the household (admin)

The exact set of areas you see depends on which apps your admin has installed and granted to you.

Keyboard Shortcuts

A handful of shortcuts work from anywhere in the app. On Windows and Linux, use Ctrl in place of ⌘.

Shortcut	What it does
⌘K	Open global search: jump to any app, setting, or piece of your library
⌘/	Open the companion chat and focus the message box
⌘⇧P	Toggle Privacy mode to hide or reveal protected content
⌘\	Show or hide the sidebar

Your Profile

Tap your avatar (top right) to access your profile settings, preferences, voice settings, and companion selection.

Admin Panel

If you have admin access, tap the settings icon to open the Admin panel. See Admin Panel for details.