Install Dante and every command: the complete guide

Exactly what to click, what to type and what you should see. Every command has a Copy button. You do not have to understand anything first.

The short version

If Node.js is already on your computer, open a terminal, paste this line and press Enter:

The first time, npm may ask Ok to proceed? (y). Type y and press Enter. Dante opens and waits. Then say what you want in a normal sentence, for example check my computer. The rest of this page explains each step slowly.

What you need

• A Mac, a Windows PC or a Linux machine.
• Node.js version 18 or higher, a free program that many tools already need. Step 1 shows how to get it or check that you have it.
• A terminal, a program that is already on your computer. Step 2 shows where.

Nothing you type in a terminal can break anything by itself. Dante only reads. Before he changes anything he shows the exact command and waits for your yes.

Step 1: Node.js

First check whether you already have it. Open a terminal (Step 2 shows how) and paste:

v22.12.0

If you see a version number that starts with 18 or higher (like v22.12.0 above), skip to Step 3. If you see command not found or a number below 18, install Node.js:

Step 2: open a terminal

A window with a blinking cursor opens. That is all. To paste a copied line: ⌘+V on Mac, right-click or Ctrl+V in PowerShell, Ctrl+Shift+V on most Linux terminals. Then press Enter.

Step 3: start Dante

Copy this line, paste it into the terminal and press Enter:

@latest makes sure you get the newest version and not an old copy that npx kept from last time.

You may see a question like this. It is normal:

Need to install the following packages:
dante-watch@0.1.26
Ok to proceed? (y)

Type y and press Enter. After a few seconds Dante opens:

  ___     _    _  _  _____  ___
 |   \   /_\  | \| ||_   _|| __|
 | |) | / _ \ | .` |  | |  | _|
 |___/ /_/ \_\|_|\_|  |_|  |___|
  I am Dante. I walk through hell and bring back the map.
  ● awake · I watch over localhost. Say help when you need the words.
user ❯

The line starting with user ❯ is where you talk. Type a sentence and press Enter. The version number in the example differs from yours; that is fine.

What happens on the first start

1. Language. Dante answers in German, English or Spanish, in the language you write. To fix it: language en, language de or language es. He remembers.
2. "May I look around?" He asks before he reads anything. If you answer yes, he reads the names of your project folders and the hosts in your SSH config (no file contents) and writes them into ~/.dante/user.md, a plain text file you can open and edit. If you answer no, he does not look, and everything else still works.
3. He offers a check. Say check my computer (or just yes when he offers). Each result carries the real line it came from. If he cannot see something, he says unknown, never "safe".

Summon him with one word

With npx you type the long line every time. To start Dante by typing only dante, install him once on your computer:

From then on, open any terminal and type:

dante-watch works too. The first line needs permission to install globally; if npm answers with EACCES, do not use sudo: keep using npx dante-watch@latest, or install Node.js through nvm.

Update to the newest version

With npx, npx dante-watch@latest already fetches the newest. If you installed him globally:

Check which version runs:

or npx dante-watch@latest --version. The newest version number is also shown on npm. This updates the program; the knowledge packs are updated separately with update inside Dante (see Packs).

Every command you can say

Type these inside Dante, at the user ❯ line. You can also use normal sentences, in German, English or Spanish: check my computer, what is my system?, who else has a key to my server?, check my server root@host, show me the report. The words below are the plain ones; each language works in each language.

Two more ideas worth knowing: report (bericht, informe) shows what he checked and found, writes it as a PDF to ~/.dante/reports/ and offers a copy in your Downloads folder. keys in a sentence ("who still has a key to my server?") lists the SSH keys that give access, never the keys themselves.

Command-line options

These go after the command in the terminal, before Dante opens (useful for scripts and automatic runs):

Example: a server check without opening the chat:

Check a server

Dante checks servers you own. What you need: a login that already works from your terminal, for example ssh root@203.0.113.7 without a password prompt (or with your key). Then, inside Dante:

Replace the address and the key file with yours. The first line points him at the server; the second says which key to use if your SSH does not pick it by itself. He then checks the SSH settings, readable secrets, files anyone can write, web shells and the PHP version, and every result shows the real line from that server. The server section of Is my server hacked? explains what a read-only check can and cannot prove.

He learns your servers

From version 0.1.25 on, Dante does not just show a list of servers, he remembers them. Check your version with dante --version; update with npm install -g dante-watch@latest (or just use npx dante-watch@latest).

1. He looks, read only. When he visits a server he reads which services run, which ports listen, which containers and which websites are there and which database versions are installed. He keeps what he saw with the day, for example "nginx, PostgreSQL 15.5 (seen 2026-10-28)". He says what runs, never what it is for.
2. You tell him what it is for. Say it in a normal sentence, and he writes it down as your words:

(Use any word that fits: db is the database, web is the shop.) Questions ("is the second one the till?") and states ("web is down") are not saved as roles.

3. You can ask him. He answers from what he keeps, and shows what is your word and what he saw:

4. Tell him which key to use. Say use ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 for the first one (replace the file). Dante tries the key once with a harmless test login that changes nothing on the server, and writes it down as checked only if the login worked. If not, he tells you why and changes nothing: a broken key never replaces one that works. This is the only place where Dante tries something on a server because you said so, and never as a scan.
5. Follow-up questions work. After he shows a list, which others? (welche noch?) shows the rest and what are these servers? (was sind diese server?) explains what the entries are.

Everything is kept in ~/.dante/user.md, a plain file you can read and edit. Each server there has separate fields for the system, your role word, what he saw (with the date) and whether the key is checked, so the three sources never get mixed.

Let him patrol on a schedule

Say arm. He explains what he would set up (a patrol 4 times a day, a deep run once a week), shows it and waits for your yes. He changes nothing without that. To remove it: say disarm. Each run is written into a diary in ~/.dante/.

Packs, license, shop

The program and all built-in checks are free and work offline. Packs are signed data files with fresh knowledge. The newest costs 4 EUR, older ones 0.80 EUR each, the first one is free, no subscription. How it works:

1. Say buy. Dante shows the one command that looks at the public catalog and, after your yes, offers to open the shop page.
2. Pay on the shop page. You receive a token.
3. Say license YOUR-TOKEN to save it, then update to fetch the pack. Or download a pack and install it without any network call: pack ~/Downloads/pack-4.json.

More on prices and what each pack contains: Install, packs and what they cost.

The bait watch

Say watch. Dante lays fake secret files (a bait .env, mcp.json, .npmrc or AWS file) where attackers look first. If someone uses a bait, you get a mail. First month free, then 1.99 EUR a month. Dante shows the one call that registers him and runs it only after your yes. Details and limits: Bait files that warn you.

What touches the network

Dante makes no network calls on his own. Exactly three things can reach out, and each one starts only after you answer yes to the command Dante prints first: update (fetch the newest pack), buy (look at the public catalog) and the bait watch. Everything else runs on your machine, and the source is open: github.

If something does not work

Remove it

Inside Dante, say disarm first if you set a schedule. Then:

(only needed if you installed globally) and delete the folder ~/.dante. Dante keeps all his files there, so he is gone.