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Install the Axol software with one command on the computer connected to Axol. This is usually the Jetson in your Compute Kit. The command installs the axol command line and starts the web control panel in the background. When it finishes, you can drive Axol from a browser.
To work on the Axol software itself, see Development install.

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Requirements

  • Axol set up: mounted, powered and connected to the computer. See Hardware Setup.
  • Linux with systemd.
  • An NVIDIA Jetson, if you use the ZED cameras for data collection or policies. Supported models are the ZED Box Orin NX 16GB, the AGX Orin (32GB, 64GB or Industrial) and the Thor T5000. On other Linux computers the installer skips the Jetson-only steps.
On the Advantech MIC-742 Thor, first install Advantech’s image and camera driver. See Advantech Thor (MIC-742).

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ZED Box login

If your ZED Box came from Almond, log in with these default credentials:
If other people can reach this computer on the network, change the password after you first log in.

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Install

Run this on the robot’s computer:
The command:
  • Installs uv if it is missing.
  • Installs the latest release of the axol command line, with Python 3.13 included.
  • Installs the camera streaming software, adb for the Quest-over-USB link, and Lighthouse tracking for Mantis (see axol provision). Steps that need the ZED SDK are skipped when it is not installed.
  • On a ZED Box (Duo or Mini), upgrades an outdated GMSL camera driver (see zed.driver). If it upgrades the driver, the computer restarts at the end of the install and your SSH session closes. Reconnect after a minute or two.
  • On a Jetson, tunes the system for real-time robot control (see jetson.setup). The tuning is applied again at every boot.
  • Starts the control panel as a service named axol, which starts at boot and restarts if it stops (see axol serve).
If an optional step fails, such as Lighthouse tracking, the install finishes with a warning that names it. Axol works without it. Fix the problem and run the install command again to add it. If a required step fails, the install stops with an error. The control panel then shows the failed step, and you can press Update to install a fixed release.
On a Jetson, the installer sets up PyTorch without GPU support. Teleoperation, recording and remote policy inference all work. To run a policy on the Jetson’s GPU with run-policy or collect-dagger, you must install a PyTorch and Torchvision build for your JetPack version yourself. Each update replaces it, so install it again after updating. Until then, use remote inference, or run on the CPU with --device cpu.
When the install finishes, open axol.almond.bot and connect to the computer. See First connection below. From then on, you can do everything in the browser.

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Where recordings are saved

Recorded datasets are saved under ~/.cache/huggingface/lerobot in the home folder of the user who ran the install. The control panel and the command line use the same folder, so you see the same recordings from both. You can change the folder with the control panel’s Dataset root setting. The service runs as root, but everything it writes in that folder stays readable and writable by your user. You don’t need sudo to read, copy or upload your recordings. Steps that need root, like starting the CAN bus, run without asking for a password.

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Staying up to date

Axol updates to each new release on GitHub. When a new release is out, the control panel shows a banner with your version and the latest one.
  • Press Update to install it. Axol installs the new release and restarts once no operation is running.
  • Axol never updates until you press Update.
  • Running the install command again also updates to the latest release.
To see the service logs or restart the service, run:

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First connection

  1. On any computer on the same network, open axol.almond.bot.
  2. Enter the IP address of the robot’s computer.
  3. The first time, your browser warns about the robot’s security certificate. Accept it. You only do this once, for both the control panel and the VR headset link.
On the first connection, the control panel sets up the connection to Axol’s arms for you (see can.setup). See the Web Control Panel guide for the rest of the steps.

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Next steps

Teleoperation

Drive the robot from a VR headset.

Web Control Panel

Run every operation from a browser.