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How to Install Moltbot on Mac Mini M4

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The Mac Mini M4 is arguably the best hardware for running self-hosted AI agents like Moltbot. Its neural engine and unified memory architecture make it perfect for local inference and agentic workflows.

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”

Before we start, ensure you have:

  • Hardware: Mac Mini M4 (Base model is fine, 16GB RAM recommended). Buy on Amazon *
  • Software: macOS 15+ installed.
  • API Key: A valid API key from Anthropic or OpenAI.

Installation Steps

Section titled “Installation Steps”

  1. 1. Prepare your Mac Mini

    Update your system to the latest macOS version. Open System Settings > General > Software Update to check.

  2. 2. Install Docker Desktop

    Terminal

    docker pull moltbot/moltbot:latest

    Go to the Docker website and download Docker Desktop for Apple Silicon. Drag the icon to your Applications folder and start the app.

  3. 3. Pull Moltbot Image

    Terminal

    mkdir moltbot-setup && cd moltbot-setup touch .env

    Edit the .env file to add your API key:

    .env

    ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-…

    Open your Terminal app (or iTerm2) and run the following command to get the latest version of Moltbot.

  4. 4. Create Configuration

    Terminal

    docker run -d —name moltbot
    —env-file .env
    -p 3000:3000
    moltbot/moltbot:latest

    Create a directory for your project and a basic config file.

  5. 5. Run Moltbot

    Launch the container and verify it's running.

Verification

Section titled “Verification”

Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000. You should see the Moltbot dashboard.