This guide walks you through installing, upgrading, and managing the ToolHive desktop application.
PrerequisitesBefore installing ToolHive, make sure your system meets these requirements:
ToolHive requires minimal CPU, memory, and disk space. The exact requirements depend on how many MCP servers you run and the resources they use.
Select your operating system to see the installation instructions.
Download the latest ToolHive installer for Apple silicon or Intel-based Macs and open the DMG file.
Copy the ToolHive app to your Applications folder. You can then open it from your Applications folder, Launchpad, or using Spotlight search.
Download the latest ToolHive installer and run the setup executable.
After installation, you can find ToolHive in your Start menu or on your desktop.
important
The first time you run ToolHive, you may be prompted to allow firewall access. If you don't allow this, ToolHive won't be able to run MCP servers.
Download the appropriate RPM or DEB package for your distribution from the ToolHive UI releases page
Use your package manager to install the downloaded package:
For RPM-based distributions (like Fedora or Red Hat Enterprise Linux):
sudo rpm -i ToolHive-<VERSION>-1.x86_64.rpm
For DEB-based distributions (like Ubuntu or Debian):
sudo dpkg -i toolhive_<VERSION>_amd64.deb
For other Linux distributions, download the binary tarball and extract it, then run the ToolHive
binary directly.
When you close the ToolHive application window, it continues running in the background so your MCP servers remain available. ToolHive installs a system tray icon for quick access. You can use it to:
Open the ToolHive settings screen from the gear icon (⚙️) in the application window. The settings screen allows you to configure various options:
From the settings screen, you can also view version information and download the application log file for troubleshooting.
ToolHive automatically checks for updates. When a new version is available, you'll see a notification in the application. During the upgrade, ToolHive stops all running MCP servers, updates the application, and then restarts itself and the MCP servers.
You can also manually install updates by downloading the latest installer for your operating system from the ToolHive UI releases page and running it. The installer will upgrade your existing ToolHive installation to the latest version. See the Install ToolHive section for direct download links.
File locationsToolHive stores its configuration and data files in several locations depending on your operating system:
~/Library/Application Support/ToolHive
directory contains:
logs/
and runconfigs/
directories)secrets_encrypted
file)config.yaml
)~/Library/Logs/ToolHive/main.log
Since macOS is not case sensitive, the ~/Library/Application Support/ToolHive
directory is shared by the UI and CLI if you have both installed.
%LOCALAPPDATA%\ToolHive
directory contains:
logs/
and runconfigs/
directories)secrets_encrypted
file)config.yaml
)%APPDATA%\ToolHive
directory contains:
%APPDATA%\ToolHive\logs\main.log
Since Windows is not case sensitive, the %LOCALAPPDATA%\ToolHive
directory is shared by the UI and CLI if you have both installed.
~/.config/ToolHive
directory contains:
~/.config/toolhive
directory contains (note the case sensitivity):
logs/
and runconfigs/
directories)secrets_encrypted
file)config.yaml
)~/.config/ToolHive/logs/main.log
Since Linux is case sensitive, the ~/.config/ToolHive
and ~/.config/toolhive
directories are separate. However, the ToolHive UI and CLI share the same configuration file and secrets store to support coexistence.
You can also download the application log file from the Settings screen (⚙️) in the ToolHive UI.
Telemetry and error reportingToolHive uses Sentry for error tracking and performance monitoring to help us identify and fix issues, improve stability, and enhance the user experience. This telemetry is enabled by default. You can disable this by turning off the Error reporting option in the settings screen (⚙️) if you prefer not to share this data.
ToolHive collects the following information:
This data is anonymized and does not include any personally identifiable information. It helps us understand how ToolHive is used and identify areas for improvement. Review the Stacklok privacy policy and Terms of Service for more details.
Next stepsNow that you have ToolHive installed, you can start using it to run and manage MCP servers. See Run MCP servers to get started.
Troubleshooting Connection Refused error on startupIf you see a "Connection Refused" error when starting ToolHive, your container runtime (Docker or Podman) is likely not installed, not running, or not configured correctly.
Follow the instructions in the error message to install or start your container runtime. For example, if you're using Docker Desktop, make sure it's running and that the Docker daemon is active.
If the retry button doesn't work, restart ToolHive.
No system tray icon on LinuxRecent versions of Fedora Linux and other distributions have removed the AppIndicator extension from their default installations. ToolHive requires this extension for the system tray icon to work properly.
On Fedora, install the gnome-shell-extension-appindicator
package:
sudo dnf install gnome-shell-extension-appindicator
You'll need to log out and log back in to activate the extension.
Alternatively, install the Extension Manager app. It's available as a native package in many distributions, or you can install it from Flathub. Then, use Extension Manager to install the AppIndicator extension (listed as "AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support").
The ToolHive icon should now appear in your system tray.
Other issuesFor other installation issues, check the GitHub issues page or join the Discord community.
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