Getting Started

Installing and first run of PxeLab.

Docs: Architecture | Deployment | Troubleshooting

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System Requirements

Item	Requirement
OS	Windows 10+ / Linux (kernel 3.10+) / macOS 12+
Architecture	amd64 / arm64
Memory	≥ 512 MB
Disk	≥ 1 GB free space
Network	Admin/root privileges required (DHCP port 67)
Dependencies	None (single binary, all files embedded)

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Installation

Option 1: Download Release (Recommended)

Download the binary for your platform from GitHub Releases:

# Linux amd64
wget https://github.com/user/pxelab/releases/latest/download/pxelab_linux_amd64.tar.gz
tar xzf pxelab_linux_amd64.tar.gz

# macOS arm64
wget https://github.com/user/pxelab/releases/latest/download/pxelab_darwin_arm64.tar.gz
tar xzf pxelab_darwin_arm64.tar.gz

# Windows
# Download pxelab_windows_amd64.zip, extract to get pxelab.exe

Option 2: Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/user/pxelab.git
cd pxelab

make build          # Generates bin/pxelab
make frontend       # cd web && npm ci && npm run build (optional, already embedded)
make release        # goreleaser release --clean

Option 3: Docker (Planned)

Docker containerized deployment is on the roadmap, not yet implemented.

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First Run

Linux / macOS

# Root required (DHCP port 67 needs privileges)
sudo ./bin/pxelab

# Or specify data directory
sudo ./bin/pxelab --data-dir /opt/pxelab-data

# Or App mode (auto-opens browser)
sudo ./bin/pxelab --mode app

Windows

# Run as Administrator
pxelab.exe

# Or App mode
pxelab.exe --mode app

Windows System Tray: On Windows, PxeLab runs in system tray mode by default, hiding the console window. The tray icon provides access to open browser, view data directory, and exit.

First Start Behavior

1. Auto-creates data directory ~/.pxelab/
2. Initializes SQLite database ~/.pxelab/pxelab.db
3. Generates default config ~/.pxelab/config.yaml
4. Extracts embedded boot files to ~/.pxelab/boot/
5. Extracts embedded netboot catalog to ~/.pxelab/netboot/
6. Starts HTTP server (port 8080)
7. Auto-opens browser (in --mode app)

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Verify Services

After starting, verify service status at:

URL	Purpose
http://localhost:8080	Web Management UI
http://localhost:8080/api/v1/status	Service status JSON
http://localhost:8080/api/v1/metrics	Prometheus metrics
http://localhost:8080/boot/ipxe/script	iPXE boot script

curl -s http://localhost:8080/api/v1/status | python -m json.tool