Nightly ADK Installation

Install a packaged ADK preview, then its runtime. The ADK is your language client; the jan runtime is the separate executable that runs the agent. Neither needs Jan Desktop, a Git checkout or a Rust compiler.

⚠️

These are previews, not npm/PyPI releases. If a download below fails (HTTP 403 or 404), that build is not available; use the source-install fallback.

Install the ADK

Each command looks up the latest validated build and installs its versioned package URL, so your dependency file pins that exact build.

Node.js 20+ and npm:


npm install "$(node -e "fetch('https://delta.jan.ai/adk-nightly/manifest.json').then(r => r.json()).then(m => console.log(m.packages.javascript.url))")"

In PowerShell, replace "$(...)" with (...).

Prefer to copy a fixed URL? The download page (opens in a new tab) shows the same commands with the current build's URLs written out.

For repeatable installs, save that build's versioned manifest (https://delta.jan.ai/adk-nightly/<build>/manifest.json, linked from the download page) alongside your lockfile. It identifies the package versions, source revision, digests, protocol version and compatible runtime. Use it rather than the moving latest manifest.

Install the runtime

For a first run, the hosted installer puts the latest nightly jan on your PATH, which also gives you jan login:


curl -fsSL https://delta.jan.ai/jan-cli/install-jan-agent.sh | bash    # macOS / Linux
irm https://delta.jan.ai/jan-cli/install-jan-agent.ps1 | iex            # Windows PowerShell

JanRuntime.start() finds jan on PATH, or the binary named by JAN_BIN.

Pin the runtime your ADK build was tested with

Each ADK build records the runtime it was smoke-tested against. To install exactly that one, download the build's versioned manifest as adk-nightly.json and pass its runtime pin to the ADK installer, which downloads, verifies and caches the binary. Configure your provider as described in the Agent quickstart before asking the agent to do work.

Save as runtime.mjs, then run node runtime.mjs:


import { readFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
import { JanRuntime, installRuntime } from '@janhq/adk'
const manifest = JSON.parse(await readFile('adk-nightly.json', 'utf8'))
const installed = await installRuntime({
  manifestUrl: manifest.runtime.manifestUrl,
  version: manifest.runtime.version,
})
const runtime = await JanRuntime.start({ bin: installed.bin })
try {
  console.log(runtime.serverInfo)
} finally {
  await runtime.close()
}

Expect the runtime's reported name and version, followed by a clean exit. A runtime's reported version can differ from its nightly artifact version; the manifest pins the artifact, while the ADK checks the wire protocol before starting work.

An already provisioned compatible runtime can be passed directly as bin, or selected with JAN_BIN. For an offline launch, skip installRuntime / install_runtime and pass that existing binary. Do not silently substitute another build if a pinned artifact has gone missing.

Supported nightly platforms

The publication gate exercises Linux x64 and ARM64, macOS Intel and Apple Silicon, and Windows x64. Windows ARM64 is not claimed by this ADK nightly matrix, even when the runtime channel offers an ARM64 binary.

Each job installs the packaged ADKs into clean environments, downloads the pinned runtime, streams a turn, executes a host callback, checks that its answer reaches a loopback provider, and verifies runtime shutdown. Python runs without Node on PATH. This is a real-runtime packaging check, not evidence of a live model-provider run.

Versions, integrity and failures

The latest manifest (opens in a new tab) and download page each point to one complete, validated build. An unsuccessful build or smoke run does not promote either pointer.
Versioned directories include the source revision and CI run/attempt. The workflow does not overwrite or automatically delete them. Keep a local copy if you require availability independent of the download service's storage policy.
The manifest records SHA-256 digests for both packages and the runtime manifest. The Python install link includes the wheel digest; compare the downloaded JS tarball with the manifest digest if independently verifying it. npm's lockfile also records the installed tarball's integrity.
A 404 on a saved artifact URL means that build is unavailable. Choose another build explicitly; the installer does not replace your pin with latest.
A digest or protocol mismatch is a failure before work starts. Do not retry a potentially executed host action just because the runtime disconnected.

Source-install fallback

Until a nightly is published, clone Jan once and install only your language package:


git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/janhq/jan.git jan-source

For JavaScript, run npm install ./jan-source/packages/adk in your project. For Python, run python -m pip install ./jan-source/adk/python in a virtual environment. This fallback needs Git and a source checkout; it still needs no Jan Desktop or Rust build. Install the runtime explicitly with the ADK installer as described in the package README.

Publishing and recovery

Maintainers can run Jan ADK Nightly manually from main; it also runs after a successful Jan Agent CLI - Nightly Build. It snapshots the current published runtime manifest, rather than assuming an ADK package version is a runtime version.

The workflow packages both clients, uploads immutable versioned assets, runs the platform smoke matrix against the public downloads, then advances discovery. PRs and manual runs on other branches validate artifacts without publishing credentials. If smoke fails, inspect that run; the previous nightly remains selected. A rerun creates a new run-attempt identity. To restore an older known-good build, restore its complete discovery documents; never replace files inside its versioned directory.

This workflow does not publish to npm or PyPI. Registry releases are a separate path.

Jan ADK JavaScript Quickstart