Installing NetGet

NetGet runs as a global CLI on your machine. It manages the OpenResty gateway, generates nginx config, and serves the operator dashboard at local.netget.

Prerequisites

• Node.js ≥ 18
• OpenResty (nginx + LuaJIT) — the gateway engine

Install OpenResty on macOS:

brew install openresty/brew/openresty

On Linux, follow the OpenResty install guide.

Install

npm install -g netget

This installs the netget CLI and bundles the operator dashboard frontend.

Verify:

netget --version

First run

netget

The interactive CLI walks you through:

1. Initial config — namespace, port, frontend mode
2. Generating the OpenResty nginx config
3. Writing local.netget → 127.0.0.1 to /etc/hosts
4. Starting the NetGet Express server on port 3432

After setup, open http://local.netget in your browser.

Starting NetGet

netget
# then: NetGetX → Start Server

Or use the shorthand once configured:

netget start

NetGet must be running for local.netget to respond. OpenResty must also be running:

sudo openresty          # start
sudo openresty -s reload  # reload config after changes

Uninstall

npm uninstall -g netget

Remove the /etc/hosts entry and the OpenResty config manually if needed:

# /etc/hosts — remove the local.netget line
# /opt/homebrew/etc/openresty/conf.d/netget_app.conf — delete file

See also

• local.netget — the operator dashboard
• Surface Access Points and Routing — full routing map
• Architecture — how NetGet routes requests