The command-line agent sends your room's sound to InterScribe from a machine that stays in the venue and runs on its own, with nobody at it.

It runs on:

A Raspberry Pi with the 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS (or Debian 12 "bookworm"). We test it on a Raspberry Pi 5. It uses the Pi's standard sound system (ALSA), so a USB audio interface or a sound card HAT works without extra audio software.
A Mac with Apple Silicon.

It does not run on Windows. On any other computer, use the desktop agent or send audio from a browser.

Before you start

You need an admin or organizer role to see the install command.
Decide how the machine signs in. If a person will sign in on it, use your InterScribe account. If nobody will, create an agent key: on the Agents tab, select New key, name the machine and select Create key.

Install on a Raspberry Pi

STEP 1Install
On the Pi, open a terminal and run:
```
curl -fsSL https://interscribe-apps.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/cli/test/rpi5/install.sh | sudo bash
```
It checks that the Pi runs a 64-bit system, checks the download against our published checksum, installs the agent and starts it as a service that starts with the Pi. Running it again updates the agent and keeps its sign-in and channel.
STEP 2Sign in and choose the channel
The first time, the installer prints the command that signs the agent in and picks the room's channel and microphone. Run it, then sign in with your account or paste an agent key.

STEP 1Copy the install command
In the Portal, go to Rooms & audio → Agents, select Set up an agent, then Command line. Under For, choose macOS (Apple Silicon) and select Copy install command.
STEP 2Install
On the Mac, open Terminal in an empty folder, paste the command and run it. It checks the download against our published checksum and that Apple notarized it, and installs it only once every check passes. Rather not pipe a script to your shell? Use Install manually instead.
STEP 3Sign in
Run interscribe-agent login. Sign in with your account, or choose the agent key method and paste the key.
STEP 4Choose the channel and microphone
Run interscribe-agent setup. It guides you through choosing the room's channel and the microphone.
STEP 5Run it
Run interscribe-agent run and leave that terminal open, or install it as a service (below).

The machine appears on the Agents tab as soon as it checks in. Select Test audio on its card, speak at the desk and watch the meter move.

On the machine, interscribe-agent status shows the saved settings, the sign-in and whether the agent is running.

On a Raspberry Pi the installer has already set the agent up as a service. On a Mac:

sudo interscribe-agent install-service installs the agent as a service that starts when the Mac starts and runs as your account, never as root.
interscribe-agent start, stop and restart control the service.
interscribe-agent keep-awake while-signed-in keeps the Mac from idle-sleeping whenever it is signed in. The default, while-broadcasting, keeps it awake while an event broadcasts.
macOS may ask once to allow the microphone for the service. If the sound is silent, allow interscribe-agent under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.

interscribe-agent status: shows the saved settings and the agent's local status.
interscribe-agent audio-devices: lists the microphones the machine can see.
interscribe-agent set-audio-device: chooses the microphone.
interscribe-agent select-av-channel: chooses the channel.
interscribe-agent logs --lines 50: shows the last lines of the agent's log.
interscribe-agent update --check: checks for a newer version without installing it.
interscribe-agent update: installs a newer version after asking you.
interscribe-agent logout: signs the agent out.

An update never restarts the sound capture by itself. Restart the agent after you update it.

If the machine was signed out by an administrator, removed from your workspace or its agent key was switched off, the agent stops at once. interscribe-agent status gives the reason. Run interscribe-agent login to sign it in again.
The agent shows offline