Install on other systems

Install doona and honk-core from release archives on an x86_64 or aarch64 Linux system that meets the kernel requirements below. Alpine can use the signed apk packages instead. Then continue with Minimal configuration.

Note

Download the beta.19 assets from the release page.

Before you start

• Linux 6.12 or later and the kernel options listed in Requirements. Check the kernel with uname -r.
• A user account with sudo, or a root shell. Commands that need root have a sudo tab and a root tab; pick the one that matches your shell.
• curl, tar, gzip, sha256sum and CA certificates. honk uses the system CA certificates to verify HTTPS downloads. On Alpine, install them with sudo apk add curl ca-certificates, or with apk add curl ca-certificates in a root shell; other systems name the packages similarly.
• Access to github.com.
• Run every step in the same terminal: later steps use the VERSION, BASE and TARGET variables that earlier steps set.

For lite, ensure curl and CA certificates are installed, then go directly to 3. Install doona and select the doona lite tab. Skip the standard edition’s package, repository, download and verification steps before it.

Install on Alpine

For doona lite, use the lite archive installation; lite has no distribution packages yet. The package commands below install the standard edition.

The Alpine .apk files are not interchangeable with OpenWrt's. In the current directory, download the Alpine packages, release key and checksums:

VERSION=0.1.0-beta.19
BASE=https://github.com/Zakkaus/doona/releases/download/v$VERSION
curl -fL -O "$BASE/doona-${VERSION}-r0.alpine.apk" \
  -O "$BASE/doona-precompressed-${VERSION}-r0.alpine.apk" \
  -O "$BASE/doona-alpine.rsa.pub" -O "$BASE/SHA256SUMS"
grep -E " (doona(-precompressed)?-${VERSION}-r0.alpine.apk|doona-alpine.rsa.pub)\$" SHA256SUMS | sha256sum -c -

Each release signs its packages with a new key. Keep the name doona-alpine.rsa.pub when installing it; a later release replaces it.

sudo wget -O /etc/apk/keys/doona-alpine.rsa.pub "$BASE/doona-alpine.rsa.pub"
sudo apk add ./doona-${VERSION}-r0.alpine.apk ./doona-precompressed-${VERSION}-r0.alpine.apk
ls -l /usr/share/doona/index.html

wget -O /etc/apk/keys/doona-alpine.rsa.pub "$BASE/doona-alpine.rsa.pub"
apk add ./doona-${VERSION}-r0.alpine.apk ./doona-precompressed-${VERSION}-r0.alpine.apk
ls -l /usr/share/doona/index.html

ls must list /usr/share/doona/index.html. The optional doona-precompressed package adds .br and .gz copies for servers that serve precompressed responses; omit its download and install argument if not needed. The optional fonts package is doona-fonts-${VERSION}-r0.alpine.apk.

Without the signing key, apk add --allow-untrusted can install the files directly. To install honk-core, continue at step 4 below and choose a musl build. The remaining numbered steps describe the archive route for other systems.

1. Download doona

Set the release version, then download the program archive and the checksum file into the current directory.

VERSION=0.1.0-beta.19
BASE=https://github.com/Zakkaus/doona/releases/download/v$VERSION
curl -fL -O "$BASE/doona-${VERSION}.tar.gz" -O "$BASE/SHA256SUMS"

2. Verify the download

The command works with both GNU and BusyBox sha256sum.

grep " doona-${VERSION}.tar.gz\$" SHA256SUMS | sha256sum -c -

You should see:

doona-0.1.0-beta.19.tar.gz: OK

3. Install doona

With ui: embedded, the honk debug.2026.10.9.native-api.2 assets for doona beta.19 (commit eac5e0c5fba5078a7ff4517a3e3851e7fa0f4f8e) serve bundled doona 0.1.0-beta.19 without a separate UI package. You can also serve the beta.19 files installed here with ui: /usr/share/doona; see Minimal configuration.

Extract the archive into /usr/share/doona, the directory honk serves doona from.

For doona lite, use the archive; there are no lite distribution packages yet. Follow Install doona lite, set ui: /usr/share/doona-lite, then continue with the honk steps on this page. Choose the tab for your edition and shell.

sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/doona
sudo tar -xzf doona-${VERSION}.tar.gz -C /usr/share/doona
ls -l /usr/share/doona/index.html

mkdir -p /usr/share/doona
tar -xzf doona-${VERSION}.tar.gz -C /usr/share/doona
ls -l /usr/share/doona/index.html

VERSION=0.1.0-beta.19
BASE=https://github.com/Zakkaus/doona/releases/download/v$VERSION
curl -fL -O "$BASE/doona-lite-${VERSION}.tar.gz" -O "$BASE/SHA256SUMS"
grep " doona-lite-${VERSION}.tar.gz\$" SHA256SUMS | sha256sum -c -
sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/doona-lite
sudo tar -xzf "doona-lite-${VERSION}.tar.gz" -C /usr/share/doona-lite
ls -l /usr/share/doona-lite/index.html

VERSION=0.1.0-beta.19
BASE=https://github.com/Zakkaus/doona/releases/download/v$VERSION
curl -fL -O "$BASE/doona-lite-${VERSION}.tar.gz" -O "$BASE/SHA256SUMS"
grep " doona-lite-${VERSION}.tar.gz\$" SHA256SUMS | sha256sum -c -
mkdir -p /usr/share/doona-lite
tar -xzf "doona-lite-${VERSION}.tar.gz" -C /usr/share/doona-lite
ls -l /usr/share/doona-lite/index.html

For lite, ls must list /usr/share/doona-lite/index.html. Continue at 4. Choose the honk-core build; skip the standard edition results and optional packages below. In Minimal configuration, set ui to /usr/share/doona-lite.

For the standard edition:

ls prints a line ending in /usr/share/doona/index.html.

Optional: the font archive adds the Noto Sans TC and SC fonts for the Chinese interface.

curl -fL -O "$BASE/doona-fonts-${VERSION}.tar.gz"
grep " doona-fonts-${VERSION}.tar.gz\$" SHA256SUMS | sha256sum -c -
sudo tar -xzf doona-fonts-${VERSION}.tar.gz -C /usr/share/doona

curl -fL -O "$BASE/doona-fonts-${VERSION}.tar.gz"
grep " doona-fonts-${VERSION}.tar.gz\$" SHA256SUMS | sha256sum -c -
tar -xzf doona-fonts-${VERSION}.tar.gz -C /usr/share/doona

The optional doona-precompressed-${VERSION}.tar.gz archive adds .br and .gz copies beside the web files so a server can send precompressed responses. Download and verify it from the same release, then extract it into /usr/share/doona, as with the fonts archive.

4. Choose the honk-core build

uname -m

The release carries eight honk-core archives, named honk-core-debug-<target>.tar.gz. Build the target from the machine type and the C library:

For example, x86_64-unknown-linux-musl, aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu or x86_64-unknown-linux-musl-stock.

5. Download and verify honk-core

Set TARGET to the build you chose, then download it from the same release and check it against the same SHA256SUMS.

TARGET=x86_64-unknown-linux-musl
curl -fL -O "$BASE/honk-core-debug-$TARGET.tar.gz"
grep " honk-core-debug-$TARGET.tar.gz\$" SHA256SUMS | sha256sum -c -

You should see:

honk-core-debug-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz: OK

6. Install honk-core

The archive holds one directory with the honk-core binary. Install it as /usr/local/bin/honk-core, the path the service in Service management starts.

tar -xzf honk-core-debug-$TARGET.tar.gz
sudo install -m 0755 honk-core-debug-$TARGET/honk-core /usr/local/bin/honk-core
/usr/local/bin/honk-core --version

tar -xzf honk-core-debug-$TARGET.tar.gz
install -m 0755 honk-core-debug-$TARGET/honk-core /usr/local/bin/honk-core
/usr/local/bin/honk-core --version

The last command prints the honk build, for example:

honk-core debug.2026.10.9.native-api.2

HONK-SOURCE.txt in the same release records the honk build and links both its source and the matching doona source.

Before starting honk, follow Directories and geodata to install geosite.dat and geoip.dat.

Next: Minimal configuration. The service steps cover systemd and OpenWrt’s procd only; doona and honk ship no OpenRC script. With OpenRC, as on Alpine, Service management gives the foreground command that runs honk for the first sign-in.

If it doesn’t work

For problems after installation, see Troubleshooting.