Install and run Limn

Limn is an npm package that you run on your own computer. One command starts it and opens the app in your browser. There is nothing to sign up for. You need Node.js and the GitHub CLI, signed in to the GitHub account whose repositories you want to follow.

#What you need

• Node.js 22 or later. Check with node --version.
• The GitHub CLI (gh), installed from cli.github.com and signed in. Limn reads GitHub with the CLI's sign-in. It does not ask for, or store, a GitHub token of its own. See GitHub.
• Optional, for the AI features: a Claude Code sign-in, an Anthropic API key, or a ChatGPT sign-in for Codex. You can add these later. See Claude and Codex.

#Start Limn

1. Sign in to the GitHub CLI, if you have not already: gh auth login.
2. Run npx limn-review in a terminal.
3. Wait for the address to show. Limn opens your browser at http://localhost:4000/app.
4. Keep the terminal open. Limn runs while the command runs. Press Ctrl+C to stop it.

$ npx limn-review

  LIMN
  ▸ http://localhost:4000/app

#What happens the first time

• Limn makes its data folder, ~/.limn, and its local database there.
• It reads your GitHub account through the GitHub CLI and suggests repositories you worked on recently. See Add your repositories.
• In the background, it downloads the runtimes the AI features use (about 110 MB, one time). It does this after the app is open, so you do not wait for it. Signing in is the only step you do.
• The model that scores review bot comments is a separate download (about 240 MB). It is downloaded only when you choose to set it up. See Severity scoring.

#Options

Commands

• npx limn-review status prints your My Turn list in the terminal, with links. Add --sync to read GitHub first, or --watch to repaint it until you stop it.
• npx limn-review ai login codex signs Limn in to Codex with your ChatGPT account. Add --device-auth on a machine with no browser.
• npx limn-review ai install and npx limn-review ml install download the AI runtimes or the comment-scoring model now, instead of when Limn first needs them.

#Set up the rest

Limn works as soon as you add repositories. Everything else is optional. Switch on the parts you want, in this order:

1. Add your repositories. Tick the ones Limn suggests, or search for any repository. See Add your repositories.
2. Connect your AI agent for AI Review, AI Fix and the chats. Sign in to Claude Code with claude, or sign in to Codex with your ChatGPT account in Settings → AI. See Claude and Codex.
3. Check the AI budget. On a subscription, Limn may use 50% of your week for its automatic runs until you change it. On an API key, there is no limit until you set a weekly budget in US dollars. See The spend budget.
4. Add the scoring model if your repositories use review bots. It scores each bot comment from nit to critical, on your machine. See Severity scoring.
5. Connect your issue tracker so reviews can check each pull request against its ticket. GitHub Issues needs nothing. See Jira, Linear and GitHub Issues.
6. Connect Slack for a daily digest of the team’s Pending board. See Slack.

#Update Limn

npx can keep an older copy. To run the newest release, run npx limn-review@latest. If you installed it globally, run npm install -g limn-review@latest. Your data stays in ~/.limn, and the database updates itself the next time Limn starts. The Changelog says what each release changed. The version these docs describe is shown at the top of every docs page.