Installation

Self-hosting Mu gives you complete control over your data and platform.

Requirements

• Go 1.21+ - golang.org/dl
• Linux/macOS - Windows via WSL2
• A server with a public IP (for messaging)

Quick Start

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/micro/mu.git
cd mu

# Build and run
go build -o mu .
./mu

Mu runs on port 8080 by default. Visit http://localhost:8080 to access your instance.

Configuration

Mu uses environment variables for configuration. Create a .env file or export them directly:

# Required for chat/AI features
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-key"  # Get from console.anthropic.com

# Required for video features
export YOUTUBE_API_KEY="your-key"  # Get from Google Cloud Console

# Optional for Places (falls back to OpenStreetMap without it)
export GOOGLE_API_KEY="your-key"   # Enable Places API (New) in Google Cloud Console

# Optional for card payments
# export STRIPE_SECRET_KEY="sk_live_..."
# export STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY="pk_live_..."
# export STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET="whsec_..."

See Environment Variables for the complete list.

Production Deployment

Using systemd

Create /etc/systemd/system/mu.service:

[Unit]
Description=Mu Personal AI Platform
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=mu
WorkingDirectory=/home/mu
ExecStart=/home/mu/mu
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
EnvironmentFile=/home/mu/.env

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable mu
sudo systemctl start mu

Using Docker

FROM golang:1.21-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY . .
RUN go build -o mu .

FROM alpine:latest
RUN apk --no-cache add ca-certificates
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/mu .
EXPOSE 8080
CMD ["./mu"]

Build and run:

docker build -t mu .
docker run -p 8080:8080 --env-file .env mu

Reverse Proxy (nginx)

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Use Let’s Encrypt for free SSL certificates with Certbot.

Messaging Setup

To receive and send messages (using SMTP protocol):

1. DNS Records - Add MX record pointing to your server
2. Port 25 - Open inbound port 25 (or set MAIL_PORT=2525 for testing)
3. DKIM - Generate keys for signed messages:

./scripts/generate-dkim-keys.sh

See Messaging for complete setup.

Tor Hidden Service (Optional)

Mu can be accessed as a Tor hidden service (.onion) for anonymous access.

1. Install Tor

sudo apt install tor

2. Configure the hidden service

Add to /etc/tor/torrc:

HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/mu/
HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:8080

Restart Tor and get your .onion address:

sudo systemctl restart tor
sudo cat /var/lib/tor/mu/hostname

3. Configure passkeys for .onion access

If you use passkeys, add the .onion origin so WebAuthn works on both domains:

export PASSKEY_EXTRA_ORIGINS="http://your-onion-address.onion"

Note: Passkeys registered on mu.xyz won’t work on the .onion address (WebAuthn spec limitation). Users can register separate passkeys for each origin, or use password login over Tor.

4. Nginx for .onion (optional)

If using nginx, add a server block for the .onion address:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-onion-address.onion;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }
}

No TLS needed — Tor provides end-to-end encryption for .onion addresses.

Data Storage

All data is stored in ~/.mu/:

~/.mu/
├── data.db          # SQLite database
├── keys/
│   └── dkim.key     # DKIM private key
└── uploads/         # User uploads

Back up this directory to preserve all user data.

Updating

cd mu
git pull origin main
go build -o mu .
sudo systemctl restart mu

Troubleshooting

Port already in use:

# Find what's using port 8080
lsof -i :8080

Check logs:

journalctl -u mu -f

Test without building:

go run main.go