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Installation

Debian / Ubuntu (apt)​

xcon-db publishes a signed APT repository. Add it once, then install and upgrade like any system package:

# trust the repository signing key
curl -fsSL https://apt.xcon-db.com/KEY.asc \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/xcon-db.gpg

# add the repository
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/xcon-db.gpg] https://apt.xcon-db.com stable main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/xcon-db.list

sudo apt update
sudo apt install xcon-db

The package installs the xcon-db-server binary, a xcondb system user, and a systemd service that starts immediately. On a fresh install there is no config yet, so the node comes up in setup mode and waits — nothing is stored until you finish the wizard.

systemctl status xcon-db        # active, in first-run setup

First-run setup wizard​

The node started with no config serves a one-time setup wizard on 127.0.0.1:8086 instead of the console. It binds to loopback on purpose: the wizard has no authentication of its own, so it must not be reachable from the network. Open it through an SSH tunnel from your machine:

ssh -L 8086:127.0.0.1:8086 you@your-server
# then open http://127.0.0.1:8086 in your browser

The wizard has four steps, each with what it needs and nothing more:

  1. Data — the directory where the node keeps its databases, WAL and logs (default /var/lib/xcon-db-server). A Test writable button confirms it before you continue.
  2. Network — the pg-wire listen address (the database port every PostgreSQL driver speaks, default :5432) and the console address (this web UI — it stays on the port you are already looking at).
  3. Admin — the admin user and password. The node guarantees this user exists at every start (the postgres/sa pattern); every database and database user is created later over SQL as this admin.
  4. Finish — the wizard writes the config to /etc/xcon-db/xcon-db.toml and the node restarts into normal operation. The console returns on the same address, now a login.

After this, the config file is the single source of truth, exactly as if you had written it by hand — the wizard is just the first thing that writes it. To reconfigure later, edit the TOML and restart the service.

Other platforms​

xcon-db is a single static binary with no runtime dependencies. Where apt is not available, run it directly:

# fetch the binary for your platform, then:
xcon-db-server -sample-config > xcon-db.toml
# edit xcon-db.toml: set root, the listen addresses and the [admin] password
xcon-db-server -config xcon-db.toml

Started with a -config path that does not exist, the binary offers the same setup wizard (on 127.0.0.1:8086 by default, or wherever -setup-listen points); with a config present it boots straight into the node. See Configuration for every key.

Upgrading​

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade xcon-db

The config file and data directory are left untouched; what you installed keeps running across upgrades.