---
title: Linux computer
description: Install wendy-agent on any Linux machine to turn it into a managed Wendy device
---

<img
  src={`${(process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_PATH || '').replace(/\/$/, '')}/images/boards/ubuntu.png`}
  alt="Ubuntu desktop"
  className="not-prose aspect-video w-full bg-fd-muted object-cover object-center"
/>

## Overview

Install `wendy-agent` on **any existing Linux installation**, including Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS, DGX Spark, NUCs, cloud VMs, or any other ARM64 or x86-64 (Intel or AMD) machine, to turn it into a managed Wendy device. Ubuntu 22.04 or later is recommended. Wendy Agent is also known to work on Fedora, Arch, and other popular Linux distributions. Once installed, your `wendy` CLI and the device discover each other over the local network.

(`wendy-agent` is already built into WendyOS — [Jetson Orin Nano](../../installation/wendyos-nvidia-jetson-orin-nano/), [Jetson AGX Thor](../../installation/wendyos-nvidia-jetson-agx-thor/), [Raspberry Pi](../../installation/wendyos-raspberry-pi-5/). If you flashed WendyOS, skip this guide.)

## Requirements

- A Linux machine. Ubuntu 22.04 or later is recommended; Fedora, Arch, and other popular Linux distributions are also known to work
- `curl` installed
- `sudo` access

## Installation

SSH or log into the target machine and run:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://install.wendy.dev/agent.sh | bash
```

This installs the `wendy-agent` service, which registers the device on your local network via mDNS so that the Wendy CLI on your developer machine can discover it.

### Pre-enrolling into your org (optional)

Running `wendy install` and choosing **Linux Desktop** while logged in prints a
one-liner that carries a short-lived enrollment token:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://install.wendy.dev/agent.sh | \
  WENDY_ENROLLMENT_TOKEN=<token> WENDY_CLOUD_HOST=<cloud-host> bash
```

The agent enrolls into your organization on first startup. No `wendy device
enroll` step needed. The token expires after about an hour, so run the command
promptly. Without these variables the agent installs unenrolled and is
discovered over your local network as described above.

If the device cannot reach Wendy Cloud during its first startup (for example,
because the network is not yet up), enrollment is skipped and the token file is
deleted. In that case, run `wendy device enroll` from the CLI once the device
is reachable over mDNS, or re-run `wendy install` to obtain a fresh token.

### Verify the Installation

Check that the agent is running:

```bash
sudo systemctl status wendy-agent
```

You should see the service active and running.

## Discovering Your Device

Once `wendy-agent` is installed and running, go back to your developer machine (where you installed the Wendy CLI) and run:

```bash
wendy discover
```

<CliShot flow="discover" step="devices" alt="The Wendy CLI listing devices running wendy-agent discovered over the local network" />

This uses mDNS to scan your local area network and list all devices running `wendy-agent`. You should see your newly configured machine appear in the list.

## Deploying to Remote Devices

If your device is not on the same local network (e.g., a remote server, cloud instance, or a machine connected via a VPN like Tailscale or Headscale), mDNS discovery will not find it automatically. Instead, you can target the device directly by hostname:

```bash
wendy run --device {hostname}
```

Replace `{hostname}` with the hostname or IP address of your remote machine. This works with any network topology, including Tailscale, Headscale, WireGuard, or plain SSH tunnels.

## Next steps

Your Linux computer is ready. Continue with [step 3 of the quickstart](../../#3-create-an-app) to create and run your first app.