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Bot Setup

Before you can play against a bot, you need to configure a UCI-compatible chess engine.

The easiest way is the automatic Stockfish installer:

./scripts/install-stockfish.sh

This script detects your OS, installs Stockfish via the appropriate package manager, and writes the engine path to your config automatically. No further configuration needed.

Manual Configuration​

Configuration File​

# CONFIG_DIR/chess-tui/config.toml
engine_path = "/path/to/your/engine"

Command Line​

chess-tui -e /path/to/your/engine
chess-tui --engine-path /path/to/your/engine

The path is automatically saved to your config for future sessions.

Common Engine Paths​

Stockfish:

  • macOS (Homebrew): /opt/homebrew/bin/stockfish
  • Linux: /usr/bin/stockfish

GNU Chess (requires --uci flag):

  • macOS (Homebrew): /opt/homebrew/bin/gnuchess --uci
  • Linux: /usr/bin/gnuchess --uci
tip

Some engines require extra flags to enable UCI mode. Pass them together with the path:

chess-tui -e "/usr/bin/gnuchess --uci"

Verifying Your Setup​

  1. Launch chess-tui
  2. Navigate to Play Bot
  3. If the engine path is valid you can select your color and start playing — otherwise an error message will explain what's wrong