Install Guide

From download to your first query in five minutes.

1 Download

Download the Berea binary for your platform from the download page. One file. Everything is embedded — no database, no internet required after setup.

Available for macOS (Apple Silicon + Intel), Linux (x86-64), and Windows (x86-64).

2 Install

Run the install command — it handles everything (copies to your PATH automatically):

./berea-service install

That’s it. You can now run berea-service from anywhere.

3 Register your email

Berea needs your email to create a license key. The AI assistant helping you can run these commands directly:

berea-service set-email your@email.com

4 Request a license key

Request a free trial license. A key will be sent to your email:

berea-service request-license
→ License key sent to your@email.com.

Check your inbox for an email from Berea with your license key (starts with CUS_).

5 Save the license key

Once you have the key from your email:

berea-service set-license-key CUS_xxx_KEY

6 Connect to your AI assistant

Register Berea as an MCP server so your AI can discover all 55 tools automatically:

berea-service mcp register

This configures Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI to use Berea via stdio mode. Restart your AI assistant after registering.

7 Use it

Ask your AI anything about the Bible. All 47 MCP tools are self-documenting — the AI discovers them automatically:

# Example prompts for your AI
"What does the Greek word for grace mean in Ephesians 2:8?"
"Find cross-references for Romans 8:28"
"Look up Strong's H7225 — what is the first word of Genesis?"
"Search for 'covenant' in the ESV"
"Run an ELS search for 'Yeshua' in Genesis 1"

Modes of operation

Berea runs in three modes depending on your use case:

• MCP stdio — berea-service stdio — Pipe mode for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex. This is what mcp register configures. Data stays warm in process.
• CLI calls — berea-service call '...' — Direct JSON-RPC via background daemon. First call takes a few seconds to warm up, then ~30ms. Daemon auto-stops after idle.
• HTTP server — berea-service serve — Production server with HTTP + MCP endpoints. For Docker Swarm or always-on environments. Data loaded once at startup.

Shorthand CLI

Berea also has direct CLI commands for common operations:

berea-service verse kjv "John 3:16"    # Get a verse
berea-service search web "faith"      # Search Bible text
berea-service strongs H430            # Strong's lookup
berea-service dict easton love        # Dictionary lookup
berea-service bibles                  # List 59 translations
berea-service books                   # List 66 books
berea-service crossrefs "Gen 1:1"     # Cross-references
berea-service chapter kjv Gen 1       # Full chapter

Upgrading to unlimited ELS

The free trial limits ELS discovery to 25 calls per day. To unlock unlimited ELS (grid visualization, p-value testing, cylindrical scanning, baseline annotations), purchase a subscription for $149/year.

When you run an ELS command that exceeds your quota, Berea will show you a personalized purchase link. After payment, your license upgrades automatically — no action needed.

Updating

Berea can update itself:

berea-service update

For AI assistants