Installation

This guide installs NOPAL as a systemd service on a Linux machine.

Requirements

Requirement	Detail
Operating system	Linux with apt. The installer runs apt-get, so it targets Debian, Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi OS
Python	3.9 or later
User	A regular user with sudo. The installer refuses to run as root
Network	The machine must be on the same local network as the machines you want to control

You do not need any machine connected to install NOPAL: the model library and the interface work on their own, and each integration only activates what it finds.

Optional, depending on what you will use:

• Klipper + Moonraker reachable, for Klipper printers.
• A Spoolman server on the network, for the Materials plugin.
• A GRBL controller (over the network or USB) for laser or CNC.

Install

git clone https://github.com/charlymigenes-ux/nopal.git ~/nopal

cd ~/nopal

./install.sh

Run it as your regular user. If Klipper and Moonraker run on the same machine, use the same user as they do, as the installer itself instructs.

What the installer does

1. Installs the python3-venv and python3-pip packages with apt-get.
2. Creates a virtual environment in .venv/ inside the NOPAL folder.
3. Installs the dependencies from requirements.txt into it.
4. Creates the uploads/ and previews/ folders.
5. Writes /etc/systemd/system/nopal.service, enables it and restarts it.

The generated service has these characteristics:

Parameter	Value
User	The one who ran install.sh
Working directory	The folder where NOPAL lives
Command	.venv/bin/uvicorn backend.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8420
Start order	After network-online.target and moonraker.service
Restart	Restart=on-failure, with a 5-second delay

warning

The service listens on all interfaces (0.0.0.0) and without TLS. Read it together with Security.

Change the port

The default port is 8420. To use another, set it when installing:

NOPAL_PORT=9000 ./install.sh

First access

When it finishes, the installer prints the access address:

http://<machine-ip>:8420

The first time NOPAL is opened on an installation with no users, Initial setup appears: that is where you create the administrator account. See First access.

Useful commands

sudo systemctl status nopal

sudo systemctl restart nopal

journalctl -u nopal -f

Where the data lives

All the state of your installation (library, registered machines, users, settings) lives inside the NOPAL folder, next to the code. There is no external database. This matters when updating, backing up and uninstalling:

• Update and uninstall
• Configuration backups

If something fails

See Troubleshooting.