PAI

Install PAI

Flash a USB, or try it instantly in a local VM — no commitment, no reboot.

Try it now in a VMFlash a USB drive

Try PAI in a VM — no USB, no reboot

The fastest way to see PAI. Runs in a local VM on your machine, boots in about 30 seconds, and cleans itself up when you close the window. Requires QEMU (the one-liner installs it if you don't have it).

Linux / macOS

curl -fsSL https://pai.direct/try | bash

Windows

irm https://pai.direct/try.ps1 | iex
What this does
  1. Downloads the latest PAI ISO and verifies its SHA256.
  2. Installs QEMU if missing (prompts first).
  3. Boots PAI with hardware acceleration (KVM / HVF / WHPX) and 8 GB RAM.
  4. Forwards localhost:8080 to Open WebUI inside the VM.
  5. Deletes the cached ISO on exit (pass --keep to preserve).

Liked it? Flash a real USB for full-speed offline use.

Flash PAI from your browser — no tools required

Download and verify the PAI ISO in your browser, then get a one-click command tailored to your OS. Firefox and Safari supported — with an experimental in-browser WebUSB write for Chrome and Edge users.

Start the browser installer →

Pick the platform you're installing PAI on — a USB drive for PCs and Macs, or a Raspberry Pi SD card via Raspberry Pi Imager.

WindowsmacOSLinuxConsoleLinux/macOS using the
command line and ddRaspberry PiPi 5, Pi 4, Pi 400,
Pi Zero 2 WVentoy (any OS)Multi-boot USB,
no wipe needed

Download PAI only (for USB sticks)

Latest version: PAI 0.1.0 from 2026-04-21 · 8.3 GB

System requirements and recommended USB sticks →

Windows

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

irm https://pai.direct/flash.ps1 | iex

The script downloads the latest PAI ISO, verifies its SHA256, lets you pick your USB drive, and writes it raw. Requires PowerShell 5.1 or newer. Reboot and press F12 / F2 / DEL at the BIOS splash to pick the USB drive.

Prefer a graphical tool? Use Rufus (alternative)
  1. Download the ISO using the button above.
  2. Install the Rufus graphical tool (portable, no installer needed).
  3. Open the Rufus graphical tool, select your USB drive under Device.
  4. Click SELECT, choose the PAI ISO, then START. When prompted, choose Write in DD Image mode.
  5. Reboot and press F12 / F2 / DEL at the BIOS splash to pick the USB drive.
Verify the flasher before running (advanced)
$url = 'https://pai.direct/flash.ps1'
irm "$url.sha256" -OutFile flash.ps1.sha256
irm $url -OutFile flash.ps1
Get-FileHash flash.ps1 -Algorithm SHA256
# Compare the printed hash to flash.ps1.sha256, then:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\flash.ps1

The .sha256 sidecar is regenerated on every release offlash.ps1. Fetch the pair together.

Prefer Winget?
winget install PAI.PAI

Ships with Windows 10/11. Gives you the pai command.

Prefer Scoop?
scoop bucket add pai https://github.com/nirholas/scoop-pai
scoop install pai

macOS

  1. Download the ISO using the button above.
  2. Install balenaEtcher.
  3. Open Etcher, click Flash from file and select the ISO.
  4. Click Select target, choose the USB drive, then Flash!
  5. Reboot while holding Option to pick the USB drive (Intel Macs). Apple Silicon Macs are not yet supported.
Prefer Homebrew?
brew install nirholas/tap/pai
pai flash    # interactive flasher
pai try      # launch PAI in a VM
pai --help   # all subcommands

Linux

  1. Download the ISO using the button above.
  2. Install balenaEtcher (GUI) or use dd from the console section below.
  3. Open Etcher → Flash from file → pick the ISO.
  4. Select your USB drive as the target, then click Flash!
  5. Reboot and pick the USB drive from your BIOS/UEFI boot menu.
Prefer Homebrew?
brew install pai/tap/pai
pai flash    # interactive flasher
pai try      # launch PAI in a VM
pai --help   # all subcommands
Arch Linux (AUR)
yay -S pai-cli
# bleeding-edge:
yay -S pai-cli-git

Console (Windows / Linux / macOS)

⚠ Double-check the device path before running dd orflash.ps1 — the wrong path will permanently destroy data on that drive.

Windows (PowerShell as Administrator)

irm https://pai.direct/flash.ps1 | iex

Linux

lsblk
sudo dd if=pai-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync

macOS

diskutil list
sudo dd if=pai-amd64.iso of=/dev/rdiskN bs=4m

Raspberry Pi

Use Raspberry Pi Imager. Open Imager → press Ctrl+Shift+X → enable Use custom repository → paste:

https://pai.direct/imager.json

PAI appears in the OS list. Pick your Pi model, choose your SD card or USB drive, and flash.

Full Raspberry Pi install guide →

Ventoy — drag-and-drop (no wipe)

Ventoylets you boot PAI by dropping the ISO onto a USB drive instead of flashing. Install Ventoy once, then carry PAI alongside other ISOs and upgrade by copying a new release on top.

  1. Install Ventoy on your USB: download from ventoy.net.
  2. Drag pai-amd64.iso onto the Ventoy drive.
  3. Reboot, pick the Ventoy drive from the boot menu, select PAI.

Full Ventoy guide →

Other options