Getting Started with Organism on macOS

System Requirements

Step 1: What is Organism?

Organism is a self-hosted application platform by WiseJNRS. Think of it as Steam for Docker — it provides a web-based dashboard to discover, install, and manage containerised applications on your own hardware.

Key features:

• One-click app installs from the WiseJNRS app catalogue
• Container management — start, stop, restart, and monitor your apps
• Health monitoring — real-time status and logs for every container
• Auto-configuration — generates secure passwords, encryption keys, and environment variables
• Works with Docker Desktop or Podman — no vendor lock-in

Step 2: Check Prerequisites

Before installing Organism, ensure you have:

1. A Mac running macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later
2. Administrator access (you'll need your password for sudo)
3. At least 5 GB of free disk space
4. A stable internet connection

That's it! The installer will automatically detect and install any missing dependencies:

• Homebrew — the macOS package manager (if not installed)
• Podman or Docker Desktop — you'll be prompted to choose if neither is installed

Step 3: Install Organism

Open Terminal and run the one-liner installer:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://www.wisejnrs.net/install-macos.sh)

The installer will guide you through the process:

1. System detection — identifies your macOS version and architecture (Apple Silicon or Intel)
2. Sudo access — prompts for your password to install system dependencies
3. Homebrew check — installs Homebrew if not present
4. Container engine — detects Podman/Docker, or offers to install one
5. Podman machine — ensures the container runtime is started and configured
6. Port check — verifies ports 4517 and 4518 are available
7. Image pull — downloads the Organism image (~450MB)
8. Container start — configures volumes and starts Organism
9. Health check — waits for services to initialise
10. Connectivity test — verifies connection to WiseJNRS services

Here's what a successful installation looks like:

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║║║│└─┐├┤   ║║║║╠╦╝╚═╗
╚╩╝┴└─┘└─┘ ╚╝╝╚╝╩╚═╚═╝

Organism Installer v1.0
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

> Detecting system...
[OK] Detected: Darwin on arm64

[WARN] This installer may need administrator access (sudo)

Sudo access is required to:
  • Install Homebrew (if not already installed)
  • Install Podman or Docker Desktop
  • Configure system services

Press Enter to continue (you'll be prompted for password if needed)...

[INFO] Checking sudo access...
Password: ******
[OK] Sudo access confirmed

> Checking for Homebrew...
[OK] Homebrew found (Homebrew 5.0.13)

> Checking for Docker or Podman...
[OK] Podman found and configured

> Checking Podman machine status...
[OK] Podman machine is running

> Checking if ports 4517 and 4518 are available...
[OK] Ports 4517 and 4518 are available

> Checking for existing Organism installation...
[OK] No existing installation found

> Pulling latest Organism image from registry...
[TIP] Image size: ~450MB - this may take a minute or two
[OK] Image downloaded successfully

> Starting Organism container on ports 4517/4518...
[OK] Container started successfully

> Waiting for Organism to become healthy...
[OK] Organism is healthy and ready

> Testing connectivity to WiseJNRS services...
[OK] Connection to www.wisejnrs.net successful

> Testing local Organism web interface...
[OK] Organism web interface is responding

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🎉 Installation Complete!

Access Organism:
  ▸ Local:  http://localhost:4517

[TIP] Using default WiseJNRS ports: 4517 (web) and 4518 (API)

Step 4: Open the Dashboard

Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:4517.

localhost:4517

You'll see the Organism Welcome page with options to create an account or sign in.

The Organism dashboard gives you an overview of:

• System status — container engine, CPU, memory, disk usage
• Running applications — quick glance at all your installed apps
• Health checks — green/yellow/red status for each container

Step 5: Sign In or Create an Account

When you first open Organism, you'll be prompted to sign in with your WiseJNRS account.

• Already have an account? Enter your email and password to sign in.
• New to WiseJNRS? Click Create Account to register for free. You'll need a valid email address.

Once signed in, Organism links your account to your local instance. This enables:

• App catalogue access — browse and install apps from the WiseJNRS catalogue
• Licence verification — some apps require a valid account
• Update notifications — get notified when new app versions are available

After signing in, you'll land on the Home page — your central hub for managing applications:

localhost:4517

Step 6: Browse the App Catalogue

Click App Store in the sidebar to browse the available applications.

localhost:4517/apps

Each app listing shows:

• App name, description, and feature highlights
• Ratings and reviews from other users
• Required resources (CPU, memory, disk)
• Pricing and free trial availability
• Install Now button to get started

Step 7: Install an Application

Click Install Now on any app to open the installation wizard.

localhost:4517/apps/therapy-assistant — Install Dialog

The wizard walks you through four steps:

1. Configure — Organism auto-generates secure database passwords and encryption keys. You can customise these or accept the defaults.
2. Ports & Data — Choose port mappings and data storage locations for each container. Organism checks for port conflicts automatically.
3. Licence — Enter a licence key or start a free trial.
4. Install — Organism pulls all required container images and starts the application.

Once complete, you'll see the Installation Complete screen:

localhost:4517 — Installation Complete

Step 8: Monitor & Manage

Organism provides several tools to monitor and manage your installation:

System Monitoring

The Monitoring page shows real-time metrics for CPU, memory, and disk usage across all containers:

localhost:4517/monitoring

Container Logs

The Logs page aggregates logs from all containers with filtering by level, source, and time range:

localhost:4517/logs

Installed Apps

The Installed page shows all your running applications with quick actions to start, stop, restart, or uninstall:

localhost:4517/installed

Settings

Configure notifications, Docker settings, and check for Organism updates from the Settings page:

localhost:4517/settings

Step 9: Updating Organism

To update Organism, simply re-run the same installer command:

The installer detects the existing installation, pulls the latest image, and restarts the container. Your installed apps and data are preserved — they live in separate volumes.

bash <(curl -fsSL https://www.wisejnrs.net/install-macos.sh)

Step 10: Custom Port Configuration

By default Organism uses:

• Port 4517 for the web dashboard
• Port 4518 for the API

If these conflict with other services, you can specify custom ports:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://www.wisejnrs.net/install-macos.sh) --web-port 9517 --api-port 9518

The installer also supports an interactive mode where you'll be prompted to choose your ports.

Troubleshooting

# For Podman
podman machine start

# For Docker Desktop
# Open Docker Desktop from Applications

bash <(curl -fsSL https://www.wisejnrs.net/install-macos.sh) --web-port 9517 --api-port 9518

podman machine stop && podman machine start

docker info

podman machine start
podman info

# Using Docker
docker stop wisejnrs-organism && docker rm wisejnrs-organism
docker volume rm organism-data

# Using Podman
podman stop wisejnrs-organism && podman rm wisejnrs-organism
podman volume rm organism-data