Getting Started

Get Salpa running on your machine in a few minutes.

System requirements

Disk space: ~500 MB for the app, plus additional space for node environments (varies by node).

No prerequisites required — Salpa bundles its own Python environment (via Pixi) and Redis server. You don’t need to install Python, pip, conda, or any other tooling.

Download and install

macOS

1. Download the .dmg file from GitHub Releases 
2. Open the DMG and drag Salpa to your Applications folder
3. On first launch, macOS may show a security prompt — right-click the app and select “Open”

Linux

1. Download the .AppImage file from GitHub Releases 
2. Make it executable: chmod +x Salpa-*.AppImage
3. Run: ./Salpa-*.AppImage

Windows

1. Download the .exe installer from GitHub Releases 
2. Run the installer and follow the prompts
3. Launch Salpa from the Start Menu

First launch

When you open Salpa for the first time:

1. The app will set up its Python environment automatically (this takes 1-2 minutes on first run)
2. You’ll see the Home page with tips, recent workflows, and quick actions
3. The status bar at the bottom shows when all services (server, worker, Redis) are ready

Your first workflow

1. Click New Workflow or use Cmd+N / Ctrl+N
2. Give your workflow a name (e.g., “My First Workflow”)
3. Open the Node Library (left sidebar) and browse available nodes
4. Drag a node (e.g., “Hello World”) onto the canvas
5. Click the node to open its configuration panel on the right
6. Click Execute (play button) to run the node
7. Watch the progress in real-time — logs stream live to the execution panel

Key shortcuts

Next steps

• Features — Explore all capabilities
• Node System — Understand how nodes and workflows work
• Cloud Computing — Run GPU-heavy tasks on the cloud
• Build Custom Nodes — Create your own computational nodes