Installation

Get the Vers CLI installed in under a minute.

Prerequisites

Operating System: Linux or macOS
SSH Client: Required for connecting to VMs (usually pre-installed)
Terminal Access: Command-line interface

Install the CLI

Quick Install (Recommended)

Install the latest version of Vers CLI with a single command:

curl -sSL https://vers.sh/api/install | bash

This script automatically detects your platform and downloads the appropriate binary to /usr/local/bin/vers. You may need administrative privileges for the installation.

Build from Source

If you prefer to build from source:

git clone https://github.com/hdresearch/vers-cli.git
cd vers-cli
make build-and-install

This installs the binary to /usr/local/bin/vers.

Manual Download

Download the latest release binary from GitHub Releases, make it executable, and move it to somewhere on your PATH:

chmod +x vers-*
sudo mv vers-* /usr/local/bin/vers

Verify Installation

Check that Vers is properly installed:

vers --version

You should see version information like v0.5.1.

Authentication

Get Your API Key

Go to vers.sh and log in
Subscribe to a plan for your organization (if you haven’t already)
Navigate to API Keys in your organization settings
- Use the org switcher in the top left to select your organization
Create a new API key and copy it

Log In

vers login

Paste your API key when prompted. The key is stored locally at ~/.versrc.

You only need to log in once per machine. To see your current API key: cat ~/.versrc

Legacy Installation Cleanup

If you previously had a development version of Vers installed and want to switch to the production version:

Check Your Current Version

vers --version

If it shows dev instead of a version number like v0.5.1, follow these steps:

Remove the Dev Version

# Check where vers is installed
which vers

# If it shows /Users/<username>/go/bin/vers, remove it
rm -rf /Users/<username>/go/bin/vers

Verify the Switch

# Should now show a version number
vers --version

# Should now point to /usr/local/bin/vers
which vers

Re-authenticate

vers login
# Enter your API key from vers.sh

Add these docs to your AI editor

Vers hosts a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for this documentation at https://docs.vers.sh/mcp. Tools like Cursor, VS Code, and Claude Code can search and read these pages directly — no scraping, no out-of-date copies.

One-click install

Add to Cursor

Opens Cursor and installs vers-docs as a remote MCP server.

Add to VS Code

Opens VS Code and installs vers-docs into your workspace config.

Other clients

Claude Code
Cursor (manual)
VS Code (manual)
Claude Desktop

claude mcp add --transport http vers-docs https://docs.vers.sh/mcp

Add to your Cursor mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vers-docs": {
      "url": "https://docs.vers.sh/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "vers-docs": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://docs.vers.sh/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vers-docs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://docs.vers.sh/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

This is separate from vers mcp serve, which exposes the Vers platform as MCP tools (list VMs, exec, branch, etc.). The docs MCP exposes only the docs.

Next Steps

With Vers installed and authenticated, you’re ready to:

Learn the core concepts
Follow the quickstart guide
Explore VM access and SSH

Troubleshooting

Command not found

Make sure /usr/local/bin is in your $PATH:

echo $PATH

If it’s not included, add it to your shell configuration (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.):

export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"

Authentication issues

Verify your API key is correct
Check that you have an active subscription at vers.sh
Try logging out and back in: vers logout && vers login

Installation script fails

Try one of these alternatives:

# Run with sudo
curl -sSL https://vers.sh/api/install | sudo bash

# Or build from source
git clone https://github.com/hdresearch/vers-cli.git
cd vers-cli && make build-and-install

What’s next

Quickstart

Boot your first VM and take your first branch in ~10 minutes.

Core concepts

The mental model: projects, VMs, HEAD, branches, commits.

Configuration

Memory, vCPUs, disk, kernel — every vers.toml field.

VM access

SSH, exec, and file-transfer patterns.

Introduction

Get Running

Installation

Prerequisites

Install the CLI

Quick Install (Recommended)

Build from Source

Manual Download

Verify Installation

Authentication

Get Your API Key

Log In

Legacy Installation Cleanup

Check Your Current Version

Remove the Dev Version

Verify the Switch

Re-authenticate

Add these docs to your AI editor

One-click install

Add to Cursor

Add to VS Code

Other clients

Next Steps

Troubleshooting

Command not found

Authentication issues

Installation script fails

What’s next

Quickstart

Core concepts

Configuration

VM access

​Prerequisites

​Install the CLI

​Quick Install (Recommended)

​Build from Source

​Manual Download

​Verify Installation

​Authentication

​Get Your API Key

​Log In

​Legacy Installation Cleanup

​Check Your Current Version

​Remove the Dev Version

​Verify the Switch

​Re-authenticate

​Add these docs to your AI editor

​One-click install

Add to Cursor

Add to VS Code

​Other clients

​Next Steps

​Troubleshooting

​Command not found

​Authentication issues

​Installation script fails

​What’s next

Quickstart

Core concepts

Configuration

VM access

Prerequisites

Install the CLI

Quick Install (Recommended)

Build from Source

Manual Download

Verify Installation

Authentication

Get Your API Key

Log In

Legacy Installation Cleanup

Check Your Current Version

Remove the Dev Version

Verify the Switch

Re-authenticate

Add these docs to your AI editor

One-click install

Other clients

Next Steps

Troubleshooting

Command not found

Authentication issues

Installation script fails

What’s next