Cortex Linux

An AI-powered package manager for Debian/Ubuntu that understands natural language.

$ cortex install nginx --dry-run

🧠 Understanding request: nginx
📦 Mode: DRY RUN

╭───────────────────────────── Installation Plan ──────────────────────────────╮
│ Packages to install:                                                         │
│   - nginx (1.24.0)                                                           │
│   - nginx-common                                                             │
│   - libnginx-mod-http-geoip                                                  │
│                                                                              │
│ Commands that will be executed:                                              │
│   sudo apt update                                                            │
│   sudo apt install -y nginx                                                  │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Run with --execute to install, or edit the plan above.

Requirements

• OS: Ubuntu 22.04+ / Debian 12+
• Python: 3.10 or higher
• API Key: Anthropic API key (get one at console.anthropic.com)

Check your Python version:

python3 --version  # Must be 3.10+

Quick Start

1. Clone and enter the repository

git clone https://github.com/cortexlinux/cortex.git
cd cortex

2. Create and activate virtual environment

python3 -m venv venv

# Linux/macOS (bash/zsh):
source venv/bin/activate

# Linux/macOS (sh/dash):
. venv/bin/activate

# Windows:
venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install Cortex

pip install -e .

4. Configure your API key

echo 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key-here' > .env

Replace your-key-here with your actual Anthropic API key.

5. Verify installation

cortex --version
# Output: cortex, version 0.1.0

cortex install nginx --dry-run
# Should show installation plan

Usage

Preview installations (safe, default)

cortex install nginx --dry-run
cortex install "something to edit PDFs" --dry-run

Actually install

cortex install nginx --execute

View history and rollback

cortex history
cortex rollback <id>

Check preferences

cortex check-pref

Troubleshooting

"ANTHROPIC_API_KEY not set"

# Make sure .env file exists and contains your key
cat .env
# Should show: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

# If missing, create it:
echo 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-actual-key' > .env

"command not found: cortex"

# Make sure virtual environment is activated
source venv/bin/activate  # or: . venv/bin/activate

# Reinstall if needed
pip install -e .

"Python version too old"

# Check version
python3 --version

# Ubuntu/Debian - install newer Python:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3.11 python3.11-venv

# Use specific version:
python3.11 -m venv venv

pip install fails

# Update pip first
pip install --upgrade pip

# Try again
pip install -e .

# If still failing, install build tools:
sudo apt install python3-dev build-essential

Safety Features

Feature	Description
Dry-run default	Shows planned commands without executing
Firejail sandbox	Commands run in isolated environment
Rollback support	Undo any installation with cortex rollback
Audit logging	All actions logged to ~/.cortex/history.db
No root by default	Only uses sudo when explicitly needed

Project Status

Completed

• ✅ CLI with dry-run and execute modes
• ✅ Claude and OpenAI integration
• ✅ Installation history and rollback
• ✅ User preferences (YAML-backed)
• ✅ Hardware detection
• ✅ Firejail sandboxing

In Progress

• 🔄 Conflict resolution UI
• 🔄 Multi-step orchestration
• 🔄 Ollama local model support
• 🔄 MCP server integration

Contributing

We need:

• Python developers (package manager features)
• Linux kernel developers (kernel optimizations)
• Technical writers (documentation)
• Beta testers (bug reports)

Bounties available for merged PRs. See issues labeled bounty.

Community

• Discord: discord.gg/uCqHvxjU83
• Email: mike@cortexlinux.com

License

Apache 2.0