Install Instructions

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation, ensure you have the following:

• SSH access and administrative (sudo) privileges on the server hosting Transformer Lab
• uv for installation
• You can run tasks locally, or on a remote machine using a compute provider:
  • Install Slurm
  • Install SkyPilot
  • Install Runpod
  • Install dstack
  • Choosing Between Slurm and SkyPilot
• You can store data locally, or use cloud storage (GCP, AWS, or Azure). You'll need an account with permissions to create and manage buckets/containers

Step 1 - Install Transformer Lab Using the CLI

1a. Install the Transformer Lab CLI

uv tool install transformerlab-cli

1b. Install the Server

Run the interactive installer:

lab server install

This will walk you through configuring:

1. Frontend URL — where users will access the web interface.
2. Storage Backend — choose between AWS S3, GCP, Azure, or local filesystem. See Cloud Storage Options for details on each provider.
3. Admin Account — a default admin account (admin@example.com / admin123) is created on first startup. Change the default password immediately after first login.
4. Compute Provider — optionally configure a default compute provider (you can also add or change providers later via the web UI or with lab provider add).
5. Email (SMTP) — optionally configure SMTP for sending user invitations and signup confirmations.
6. Authentication — optionally configure additional auth providers (OAuth/OIDC). Email/password is enabled by default.

The values you enter are saved to ~/.transformerlab/.env and used to configure the server on startup. If you had installed the server before and previously configured the setup, your existing values will be shown as defaults — press Enter to keep them.

If you want to run jobs on remote compute providers, you'll need a shared cloud storage. Configure credentials for your chosen cloud storage option before starting the server:

• AWS S3 Setup
• GCS Setup
• Azure Setup

Note that storage configuration currently cannot be changed via the web UI.

Step 2 - Run Transformer Lab and Log in

Start the server:

cd ~/.transformerlab/src && ./run.sh

Now visit http://localhost:8338 (or the address of your server) and log in with the default admin account:

• Login: admin@example.com
• Password: admin123

Change the default password immediately.

Step 3 - Configuring a Compute Provider

If you already configured a compute provider during the installer, you can skip this step. Otherwise, add one through the web UI or with lab provider add.

For provider-specific setup instructions and example configs, see:

• SkyPilot
• Slurm
• Runpod
• dstack

Congrats, you are up and running

You can now run a Task →