alvin-bot 4.8.0 → 4.8.1

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,20 @@
 
 All notable changes to Alvin Bot are documented here.
 
+## [4.8.1] — 2026-04-11
+
+### 🐛 Offline setup: Homebrew preferred on macOS
+
+Caught during the first real run of the new offline setup wizard on a fresh test MacBook: the official Ollama `install.sh` script on macOS wants to drop `Ollama.app` into `/Applications` and start it as a GUI app. That requires a real user session with sudo and completely breaks over SSH or any non-interactive context. The install downloads the 25 MB .app, then fails at `Unable to find application named 'Ollama'` and drops the wizard back to the fallback provider picker.
+
+Fix in `bin/cli.js` `installOllama()`:
+
+- **macOS preferred path**: if Homebrew is available (`brew --version` succeeds), use `brew install ollama`. Brew installs `/opt/homebrew/bin/ollama` as a CLI binary with no sudo prompt, no /Applications drop, no GUI dependency — works over SSH and in any CI/non-interactive context.
+- **Fallback**: if brew is not installed or `brew install` itself fails, fall through to the official `install.sh` with an explicit heads-up that the installer may prompt for admin password and may only work in a local terminal.
+- **Better error messaging**: on macOS install failure, suggest `brew install ollama` or the `.dmg` from ollama.com/download as alternatives. On Linux, unchanged.
+
+Linux always uses `install.sh` — systemd user units work non-interactively there.
+
 ## [4.8.0] — 2026-04-11
 
 ### ✨ Offline mode — Gemma 4 E4B via Ollama in the setup wizard

package/bin/cli.js

@@ -143,26 +143,77 @@ function hasOllama() {
 }
 
 /**
- * Install Ollama via the official installer. Prints progress to stdout.
+ * Check whether Homebrew is available on PATH (macOS only path normally).
+ */
+function hasBrew() {
+  try {
+    execSync("brew --version", { stdio: "pipe" });
+    return true;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Install Ollama. On macOS prefers `brew install ollama` because the
+ * official install.sh wants to drop Ollama.app into /Applications and
+ * start it as a GUI app — that needs a real user session with sudo and
+ * breaks over SSH or in any non-interactive context.
+ *
+ * Linux always uses the official install.sh (systemd user services work
+ * non-interactively).
+ *
  * Returns true on success, false on failure.
  */
 function installOllama() {
-  console.log("\n📥 Installing Ollama (official installer)...");
-  try {
-    if (process.platform === "darwin" || process.platform === "linux") {
-      execSync("curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh", {
+  if (process.platform !== "darwin" && process.platform !== "linux") {
+    console.log("  ❌ Offline mode only supported on macOS and Linux.");
+    console.log("     Windows users: download from https://ollama.com/download");
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  // macOS preferred path: Homebrew (non-interactive, no sudo, no GUI dependency)
+  if (process.platform === "darwin" && hasBrew()) {
+    console.log("\n📥 Installing Ollama via Homebrew (non-interactive)...");
+    try {
+      execSync("brew install ollama", {
         stdio: "inherit",
-        timeout: 300_000, // 5 minutes
+        timeout: 300_000,
       });
-      return hasOllama();
-    } else {
-      console.log("  ❌ Offline mode only supported on macOS and Linux.");
-      console.log("     Windows users: download from https://ollama.com/download");
-      return false;
+      if (hasOllama()) {
+        console.log("  ✅ Ollama installed via Homebrew");
+        return true;
+      }
+      console.log("  ⚠️  Homebrew finished but `ollama` not on PATH yet.");
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.log(`\n  ⚠️  brew install ollama failed: ${err.message || err}`);
+      console.log("     Falling back to the official install.sh — this may need sudo and a GUI session.\n");
     }
+  }
+
+  // Fallback: official installer
+  console.log("\n📥 Installing Ollama (official installer)...");
+  if (process.platform === "darwin") {
+    console.log("  ⚠️  Heads-up: on macOS the installer drops Ollama.app into");
+    console.log("     /Applications and wants to start it — this may prompt for");
+    console.log("     your admin password and only works in a local terminal,");
+    console.log("     not over SSH.\n");
+  }
+  try {
+    execSync("curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh", {
+      stdio: "inherit",
+      timeout: 300_000,
+    });
+    return hasOllama();
   } catch (err) {
     console.log(`\n  ❌ Ollama install failed: ${err.message || err}`);
-    console.log("     Try manually: curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh");
+    if (process.platform === "darwin") {
+      console.log("     On macOS, try one of:");
+      console.log("       • brew install ollama    (recommended)");
+      console.log("       • download the .dmg from https://ollama.com/download");
+    } else {
+      console.log("     Try manually: curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh");
+    }
     return false;
   }
 }

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "alvin-bot",
-  "version": "4.8.0",
+  "version": "4.8.1",
   "description": "Alvin Bot — Your personal AI agent on Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, Signal, and Web.",
   "type": "module",
   "main": "dist/index.js",