Getting Started with Tina4

One CLI runs all languages. Install it once, then init and serve in Python, Node.js, PHP, or Ruby.

Install the Tina4 CLI

macOS (Homebrew):

brew install tina4stack/tap/tina4

Linux / macOS (install script):

curl -fsSL https://tina4.com/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://tina4.com/install.ps1 | iex

Verify the installation:

tina4 --version

On Windows the CLI lands in %LOCALAPPDATA%\tina4 and goes first on your PATH, so the newest copy always wins. If tina4 --version still reports an old version, another tina4.exe sits earlier on a system PATH, and the installer prints its location so you can remove it.

For security teams

Reviewing Tina4 for a managed machine? Installer Security and Transparency states exactly what the installer downloads, where it lands, what it does not do, and how to verify a download is genuine.

Check Your Environment

Run tina4 doctor to see which languages and package managers are available:

tina4 doctor

This shows installed languages (Python, PHP, Ruby, Node.js), their versions, and whether the package managers (uv, composer, bundler, npm) are ready.

Set Everything Up with tina4 setup

The fastest path, especially if you're starting from a fresh machine. tina4 setup reads what doctor found, installs whatever is missing (the language runtime and git, through the OS package manager such as Chocolatey on Windows or Homebrew on macOS), installs the AI skills, scaffolds a ready-to-run project, and points you at it.

tina4 setup

It's guided: it asks which language, which AI tool, where your projects folder is, and the project name. First run remembers those; later runs ask only the project type and name. Use tina4 setup --dry-run to preview without changing anything.

What to expect

Setup asks the four questions, installs whatever doctor flagged as missing, scaffolds the project (including its own CLAUDE.md and .mcp.json), then hands you off based on the AI tool you picked:

• Claude Code: opens a coding session right inside your new project, seeded with a first prompt. Start building.
• Claude Desktop, or no AI: asks "Start it now?". Say yes and it runs tina4 serve, opening your app in the browser. Choose Claude Desktop and it comes to the front too; open a session there and point it at your project folder.

Either way you land on a running app with the skills installed. From here, you build.

Prefer to do it by hand? Skip to Create a Project below.

Skills: make your AI assistant fluent in Tina4

Tina4 ships two AI skills: tina4-developer (backend) and tina4-js (frontend). They are the source of truth for the framework's patterns, so Claude (Code or Desktop) builds correctly instead of guessing.

tina4 setup installs them for you. To install or refresh them on any machine:

curl -fsSL https://tina4.com/install-skills.sh | sh   # macOS / Linux
irm https://tina4.com/install-skills.ps1 | iex        # Windows PowerShell

They install into ~/.claude/skills/tina4-developer and ~/.claude/skills/tina4-js, where Claude Code and Claude Desktop load them automatically.

Create a Project

Pick a language. Scaffold a project. Start the server. Three commands.

Python

tina4 init python my-app
cd my-app
tina4 serve

Access your app at http://localhost:7146

Take a deeper dive into the documentation

Node.js

tina4 init nodejs my-app
cd my-app
tina4 serve

Access your app at http://localhost:7148

Take a deeper dive into the documentation

PHP

tina4 init php my-app
cd my-app
tina4 serve

Access your app at http://localhost:7145

Take a deeper dive into the documentation

Ruby

tina4 init ruby my-app
cd my-app
tina4 serve

Access your app at http://localhost:7147

Take a deeper dive into the documentation

JavaScript (tina4-js)

The frontend framework runs separately from the backend. Scaffold it with npx:

npx tina4js create my-app
cd my-app
npm install
npm run dev

Access your app at http://localhost:5173

Take a deeper dive into the documentation

Delphi 10.4+

Design-time components for FireMonkey. Clone the repo, build and install the packages in your IDE.

git clone https://github.com/tina4stack/tina4delphi.git
# Open Tina4DelphiProject in the Delphi IDE
# Build and install Tina4Delphi (runtime package)
# Build and install Tina4DelphiDesign (design-time package)
# Components appear in the "Tina4" tool palette

Take a deeper dive into the documentation

Common CLI Commands

Once inside a project, the tina4 CLI detects your language and delegates:

tina4 serve                  # Start dev server with file watcher and SCSS compilation
tina4 serve --production     # Use the best production server for your language
tina4 migrate                # Run database migrations
tina4 routes                 # List all registered routes
tina4 test                   # Run tests
tina4 generate model User    # Scaffold a model
tina4 generate route api     # Scaffold a route file
tina4 generate migration create_users  # Create a migration
tina4 ai                     # Install AI context files (CLAUDE.md, etc.)
tina4 books                  # Download the Tina4 book into your project