---
last_review: "2026-05-05"
last_reviewer: "-"
documented_code: []
---

```{tags} tutorial, user, administrator, developer, linkahead, installation
```

# Installing the LinkAhead Debian package

In this tutorial you will learn how to install and operate LinkAhead on Debian based operating
systems. For all other systems, please refer to the general [installation guide](installation.md).

Download the debian package available on the
[LinkAhead download page](https://www.indiscale.com/download/). Install this package by running:

:::{note}
Docker is a dependency for the LinkAhead deployment. If you do not have Docker installed, please
follow [Docker's official documentation](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/) for installation
on your distribution.
:::

Now, install the Debian package:

```bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ./linkahead-filename.deb
```

Make sure to replace the filename placeholder with the name of the file you downloaded earlier.

The installation will now start. During installation, when asked whether you have a LinkAhead
subscription, select `No`. As some files must be downloaded, the installation process may take a
while. Once the installation has concluded, the LinkAhead service should be running, and will be
restarted on every reboot.

Use `journalctl` to inspect the server logs:

```bash
journalctl -u linkahead -f
```

Once the log output says `Starting org.caosdb.server.CaosDBServer application` the installation is
done and LinkAhead is running with the default configuration.

You can now reach the web interface at [https://localhost:10443](https://localhost:10443). On first
access, your browser may warn you that the connection is insecure because the website uses a
self-signed certificate. Select `Accept the risk` to continue.

On the welcome page, you will be asked to log in. Per default, the preconfigured admin credentials
are username `admin` and password `caosdb`. The web interface tutorials can be found in the
tutorial section, [here](/tutorial/webinterface/index.md).

To manually start or stop the LinkAhead service, use the following commands:

```bash
systemctl start linkahead.service
```

```bash
systemctl stop linkahead.service
```

:::{note}
Instead of a systemd service, LinkAhead can also be started completely manually. The command to
start LinkAhead then is `linkahead start`; it is stopped with `linkahead stop`.
:::