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Installation

Get started with toni in just a few steps. No complex dependencies, no Docker containers—just Go.

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Prerequisites

  • Go 1.21 or later
  • A terminal that supports ANSI colors (most modern terminals work)

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Installation Methods

1

Install from Source

The recommended way to install toni is using go install:
go install github.com/mihirchanduka/toni@latest
This will install the toni binary to your $GOPATH/bin directory (typically ~/go/bin).
Make sure ~/go/bin is in your PATH. Add this to your shell profile if needed:
export PATH="$HOME/go/bin:$PATH"
2

Clone and Build Manually (Alternative)

If you prefer to build from source:
git clone https://github.com/mihirchanduka/toni.git
cd toni
go build -o toni main.go
Then move the binary to a directory in your PATH:
mv toni /usr/local/bin/  # or ~/bin/ or anywhere in your PATH
3

Run Directly with go run (Development)

You can also run toni directly without installing:
go run main.go
Or with a custom database location:
go run main.go --db ~/my-food.db

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Command-Line Flags

From cmd/root.go:20-31: 
toni --version

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Available Flags

FlagDescriptionDefault
--versionShow version and exit-
--dbPath to SQLite database file~/.toni/toni.db
--yelp-keyYelp Fusion API keyenv: YELP_API_KEY

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Database Location

By default, toni stores your data in ~/.toni/toni.db. The directory is created automatically on first run.

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Custom Database Path

toni --db /path/to/your/database.db

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Multiple Databases

You can maintain separate databases for different purposes: 
# Personal dining log
toni --db ~/.toni/personal.db

# Work lunch tracker
toni --db ~/.toni/work.db

# Travel food journal
toni --db ~/.toni/travel.db
Create shell aliases for quick access to different databases:
alias toni-personal="toni --db ~/.toni/personal.db"
alias toni-work="toni --db ~/.toni/work.db"

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Backing Up Your Data

Since toni uses a single SQLite file, backups are simple: 
# Simple copy
cp ~/.toni/toni.db ~/backups/toni-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).db

# Compress for long-term storage
tar -czf ~/backups/toni-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz ~/.toni/toni.db
Always stop toni before copying the database file to avoid corruption. SQLite handles concurrent reads, but copying while writes are happening can cause issues.

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Environment Variables

toni supports .env and .env.local files in your current directory:
.env
YELP_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
Environment variables are loaded in this order of precedence:
  1. Command-line flags (--yelp-key)
  2. Environment variables (YELP_API_KEY)
  3. .env.local file
  4. .env file
  5. Stored API key in ~/.toni/yelp_api_key

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Verify Installation

Check that toni is installed correctly: 
toni --version
You should see output like: 
toni version dev

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Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Launch toni and log your first visit

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