Use HQ free, self-hosted or on-prem

You can run HQ free on machines you control, with no HQ account and no HQ cloud. This is the self-hosted or on-prem way to use HQ. It is for advanced, enterprise and government teams that need their files, knowledge and work to stay on their own laptops, workstations or servers. HQ core is open source under the MIT license, so your team can read, audit and change every part that runs.

You need the three things in this table.

What	Where to get it
HQ core, the open-source HQ kit (MIT license)	github.com/indigoai-us/hq-core, installed with `npx create-hq`
The HQ CLI	`@indigoai-us/hq-cli` on npm
The HQ desktop app (optional)	hq-desktop-app releases

Who this is for

Advanced users who want to run HQ from a terminal and manage their own files, backups and tools.
Enterprise teams with data-residency, security review or procurement rules that keep company knowledge off third-party clouds.
Government and regulated teams that must run software on approved machines and choose their own AI provider.

If you want sync, sharing, hosted agents and deploys without running anything yourself, sign up free for HQ cloud instead. HQ cloud is billed by use; see Billing and usage.

What runs on your own machines

Everything in steps 1 to 3 below runs on machines you control, with no HQ sign-in:

HQ core: your knowledge, skills, workers, projects and companies, kept as normal files and folders.
The HQ CLI commands listed in step 3, including local search and each company’s local SQLite database.
Your AI coding tool, such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor, under your own account with its provider.

The features in What needs HQ cloud are an add-on you can turn on later.

Your files are yours

HQ keeps your work as normal files and folders on your own computer. That includes your knowledge, skills, workers, projects and companies. You can open, copy, back up or move them with any tool.
You own them. HQ core is MIT licensed, so you can read it and change it.
You can stop using HQ at any time. Your files stay where they are.
Cloud sync is optional. If you never sign in, nothing leaves your computer through HQ. Your AI tool, such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor, still sends your prompts to its own provider under your own account.

1. Install HQ core and the CLI

You need Node.js and an AI coding tool such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor.

npx create-hq --skip-sync

This downloads HQ core from GitHub into a folder you choose and installs the HQ CLI globally. --skip-sync skips the cloud sync prompt. Nothing here asks you to sign in.

To install only the CLI, run this command.

npm install -g @indigoai-us/hq-cli

2. Set up HQ without signing in

Open the folder in your AI tool and run /setup:

cd <your-hq-folder> && claude

When /setup asks “Sign in to HQ Cloud now?”, answer no. The rest of setup works without an account.

3. Use HQ locally

Skills, workers, projects, knowledge and companies all work from your HQ folder. These CLI commands work with no account.

Command	What it does
`hq search <query>`	Search your HQ with the local search index
`hq index status`, `hq index sync`	Check and update the local search index
`hq reindex`	Refresh skills, the workers registry and hook wiring
`hq scan secrets`	Check staged changes or files for secrets before you commit
`hq db status`, `hq db sql`, `hq db migrate`	Use a company’s local SQLite database
`hq install <path, git URL or npm package>`	Install a package from a local folder, a git URL, or npm
`hq packs`, `hq modules`	Manage installed content packs and modules
`hq rescue`	Update HQ core to the latest release, keeping your local edits
`hq doctor`	Check hooks, runtimes and setup

4. The desktop app and local bots

Desktop app. Download it from the releases page. It asks you to sign in when it first opens. To keep it from syncing, open Settings, then Sync, and turn off “Sync on launch”, “Auto-sync”, “Instant sync” and “Also sync my personal HQ files to the cloud”.
Local bots. hq bot create <name> sets up a bot that runs on your computer with your own AI model login. Each bot has an HQ identity, so it needs a sign-in.

What needs HQ cloud

These features use the HQ cloud and need an HQ sign-in.

Sync between computers and with teammates
Sharing files, DMs and team membership
Deploys (/deploy)
Secrets stored in HQ
Hosted agents, and local bots
HQ MCP and integration calls

When you turn the cloud on, HQ cloud is billed by use with $10 of usage included each month, and new accounts get a 30-day trial. Deploys and DMs are free, and no card is needed until a month’s usage passes $10. See Billing and usage.

Hosted agents are billed per box by size and need a card on file before they are created. Local bots have no box fee.

Talk to us about an enterprise deployment

If your team wants help running HQ on its own machines, a security review, contract pricing or support terms, request an enterprise demo from the pricing page. Tell us where HQ will run and which AI provider you use.

How synced files are encrypted

This only applies if you turn on sync. Files on your own computer are not changed by HQ.

Each company and each personal account gets its own storage bucket in the HQ cloud. Other accounts cannot read it.
Files in that bucket are encrypted at rest. Depending on the account, the key is one made for that account alone, a key HQ manages, or Amazon S3’s default encryption.
HQ is not end-to-end encrypted. The HQ service can decrypt your synced files so it can sync and serve them.

More detail is in Data security and encryption.