Blowhorn Download

Finish setup on this computer

Run blowhorn setup to check this computer, write the Chrome native host, and see what is left.

Finish setup on this computer

blowhorn setup checks what Blowhorn needs on this computer, changes only what is missing or out of date, and lists what is left for you to do. It is safe to run as often as you like. ./install.sh runs it for you at the end.

It never starts, opens or attaches to Chrome, and it installs no extension.

See what would change

terminal 
blowhorn setup --dry-run

Nothing is written. Each line starts with a state:

State Meaning
ok already in place; nothing was written
changed written by this run
planned would be written: a dry run, or nobody could be asked
declined you answered no; nothing was written
todo needs you: signing in, or putting blowhorn on your PATH
failed could not be checked or written; the line says why

Run it

terminal 
blowhorn setup

It checks, in order:

  1. cli - that blowhorn is on your PATH.
  2. chrome-profiles - your Chrome profiles, read from Chrome's Local State file.
  3. native-host - the small file that lets the Blowhorn Chrome extension talk to Blowhorn. When it is missing or out of date, setup says which Chrome profiles it reaches - every Chrome profile you use on this computer, now and later, naming the ones it found today - and asks before writing it.
  4. cloud-account - whether you are signed in to Layer5 Cloud.

The run ends with changed: (what this run wrote, or that everything was already in place) and Next:, the steps only you can take:

  • sign in to Layer5 Cloud (or create an account there)
  • install the Blowhorn extension from the Chrome Web Store
  • check the extension answers: blowhorn chrome extension-status
  • get the Blowhorn app for macOS from https://blowhorn.ai/download

Run blowhorn setup again after any of them: the steps already done report ok.

Run it from a script

terminal 
blowhorn setup --yes --json

--yes agrees to write the native host without asking. --json prints one object with steps, profiles, changed, already_ok and next_steps. With --json, or when there is no terminal to ask in, and no --yes, nobody is asked: the native host is reported planned and nothing is written. The command exits 1 when any step failed.

Do not run it with sudo: the native host would land in the wrong home directory, so a root run on behalf of another user is refused and reported failed.

Last modified October 14, 2026