Documentation
Find the Tako task, primitive, or reference you need: agent setup, local development, deployments, secrets, storage, live data, and operations.
Tako runs applications on local HTTPS and deploys them to your own servers. Use this index to select the relevant topic instead of loading the entire documentation set.
Read with an agent
Read the project’s AGENTS.md and selected tako.toml first. With Tako MCP connected, use tako_docs to list topics or read docs/<topic>, and tako_search_docs for literal text search. Bundled docs match the installed CLI; use its tool schemas or tako <command> --help for exact arguments.
On the web, use llms.txt to discover topics and the .md version of a page for source text, for example secrets.md. The JSON API lists and retrieves pages. Use the matching SDK skill for JavaScript, Go, or Rust APIs.
Start here
- Quickstart: install, initialize, run locally, and deploy.
- Coding agents: install skills, connect MCP, and use version-matched docs.
- Framework guides: Next.js, TanStack Start, Vite, fetch handlers, Go HTTP frameworks, and Rust/Axum.
- Docker: package an SDK-aware image and deploy it with Tako.
Develop an app
- Local development: start and inspect apps, use HTTPS routes, and run one-off scripts.
- Secrets: set app secrets, access them through an SDK, and rotate deployed values.
- Storage: bind local or S3-compatible files and issue upload/download URLs.
- Images: optimize public images and generate responsive image URLs.
- Cache: cache server-side JSON results with a TTL.
Add live data and background work
| Need | Primitive | Important boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Deliver events to every subscriber | Channels | Params do not partition a channel’s stream; replay is temporary. |
| Track online connections and metadata | Presence | Membership is scoped by params; metadata does not establish identity. |
| Keep database reads current in the UI | Stores | Invalidate after committed writes; Tako does not detect database changes automatically. |
| Execute background jobs or schedules | Workflows | Checkpointed side effects still need idempotency. |
Channels, Presence, and Stores require the postgres_url provider credential across multiple servers. Workflows support shared Postgres or intentional per-server execution; each primitive documents its requirements. Application databases, file storage, and caches are separate from this runtime state.
Deploy and operate
- Servers: provision a host, enroll management access, and maintain the service.
- Deployment: build artifacts, run migrations, and roll a release into traffic.
- Routing and TLS: configure domains, path routes, certificates, and client-IP policy.
- Operations: inspect status and logs, scale instances, and roll back releases.
- Backups: configure private backup storage, create backups, and restore app data.
- Troubleshooting: choose diagnostics from the observed failure.
Look something up
- CLI: every command and flag.
- tako.toml: project configuration.
- Presets: runtime and framework defaults.
Learn the model
How Tako works explains the CLI, server, SDK bootstrap, request routing, and state ownership. Use it when a task depends on a runtime boundary; command, configuration, and primitive topics contain the actionable details.
For product context, see tako.sh. Report bugs or request features in GitHub issues.