guide

Set up a workstation

Turn a fresh Ubuntu 26.04 machine into a hi5 workstation with hi install, choosing tools from a menu, including Strix Halo GPU support and its verification report.

hi install opens a menu of the hi5 workstation software on Ubuntu 26.04. Check what the machine should have: missing tools get installed, and installed tools you uncheck get removed. Strix Halo machines also get AMD ROCm.

Before you start

  • Ubuntu 26.04. Strix Halo support also needs amd64.
  • A user with sudo. Run hi as that user, not as root.
  • About 20 minutes and a network connection.

Install

On a new machine, install hi and run the setup in one command:

curl -fsSL https://hi5.sh/install.sh | sh -s -- install

If hi is already installed:

hi install

┃ What should this machine have?
┃ Space toggles, enter continues. Unchecking an installed tool removes it.
┃ > [x] Terminal tools      tmux, the btop monitor, and timg for images
┃   [x] uv                  Python versions, projects, and tools
┃   [x] GitHub CLI          gh, for repositories, pull requests, and sign-in
┃   [ ] Node.js             node and npm from Ubuntu
┃   [ ] Bun                 installs, runs, and tests JavaScript; the web template uses it
┃   [ ] Docker              Docker Engine, Buildx, and Compose
┃   [ ] Podman              rootless containers that run as you, for hi box
┃   [x] Claude Code         Anthropic's coding agent (claude)                    installed
┃   ...
┃   [x] Strix Halo support  AMD ROCm, GPU groups, and amd-debug-tools
┃   [ ] Update everything   upgrade Ubuntu packages and reinstall checked tools

Installed tools start checked, as do the terminal tools, uv, and the GitHub CLI. Strix Halo support starts checked when the machine has a Strix Halo GPU. The Colab CLI needs uv, and the menu says so if you check one without the other.

If anything is being installed, it offers to change the machine’s hostname; press Enter to keep it. It then shows what will be installed and removed, asks for your sudo password once, and runs without further questions.

Without the menu

Scripts and machines without a terminal name the tools instead:

hi install --list              # tool names, and which are installed
hi install claude codex gh     # install or reinstall just these
hi install --all               # every tool except Strix Halo support
hi install --all strix         # every tool, including Strix Halo support
hi uninstall docker            # remove a tool

Removing tools

Unchecking an installed tool in the menu, or hi uninstall <tool>, removes the program but keeps your settings and sign-ins, such as ~/.claude, ~/.codex, and Docker’s images in /var/lib/docker. The confirmation lists what stays. System packages are removed with apt; if other packages depend on one, apt lists them and asks before removing anything else. Removing NetBird disconnects the machine from your team’s network, including SSH sessions over it. Removing Strix Halo support keeps you in the render and video groups.

What gets installed

Menu item Name Installs
Terminal tools terminal tmux, btop, timg
uv uv uv
GitHub CLI gh gh
Node.js node Node.js, npm
Bun bun bun and bunx, the latest release, checked against its sums
Docker docker Docker Engine, Buildx, Docker Compose
Podman podman Rootless Podman with crun, uidmap, and passt; a subordinate ID range if the user has none
Claude Code claude claude
Codex CLI codex codex
omp omp omp
herdr herdr herdr
Hermes Agent hermes hermes, from Nous Research’s installer (setup later with hermes setup)
NetBird netbird NetBird client and service
Colab CLI colab colab (needs uv)
Hugging Face CLI hf hf
Strix Halo support strix AMD ROCm 10 for gfx1151, amd-debug-tools, render and video group membership
Update everything upgrade All available Ubuntu upgrades; reinstalls checked tools

Any install also sets up curl, wget, gnupg, pipx, and wtmpdb, which are never removed.

The AI coding tools and compute CLIs are installed for your user in ~/.local/bin; the rest are system packages. Open a new shell afterwards so the new PATH applies.

Strix Halo: reboot and verify

Installing Strix Halo support ends with a local report. Checks that need a new login session are marked PENDING:

==> Strix installation report
[PASS] Ubuntu 26.04 amd64
[PASS] ROCm gfx1151 package installed
[PASS] User configured for render and video groups
...
[PENDING] Current session needs a logout or reboot for GPU group access
...
Action: reboot, then run `hi verify strix` for the final hardware check.

Reboot, then:

hi verify strix

The final report confirms that ROCm sees the gfx1151 GPU through both amd-smi and rocminfo. The report runs locally and uploads nothing.

Next