Simplify installation: use needlectl only, install to ~/.needle

- Remove shell scripts (start-needle.sh, stop-needle.sh, status-needle.sh)
- Update install.sh to only use needlectl for service management
- Update uninstall.sh to only target ~/.needle installation
- Update needlectl to default to ~/.needle if NEEDLE_HOME not set
- Update Makefile to use needlectl commands
- Update documentation

Author: merfanian

Makefile

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ dev:
 	@echo "Starting backend in development mode..."
 	@cd backend && source venv/bin/activate && uvicorn main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --reload
 
-# Install Needle (unified setup)
+# Install Needle (for development - use one-liner for production)
 install:
 	@chmod +x scripts/install.sh
 	@./scripts/install.sh
@@ -28,22 +28,19 @@ install-accurate:
 	@chmod +x scripts/install.sh
 	@./scripts/install.sh accurate
 
-# Uninstall Needle
+# Uninstall Needle (only removes ~/.needle installation)
 uninstall:
 	@chmod +x scripts/uninstall.sh
 	@./scripts/uninstall.sh
 
-# Start all services
+# Start all services using needlectl
 start:
-	@chmod +x start-needle.sh
-	@./start-needle.sh
+	@needlectl service start
 
-# Stop all services
+# Stop all services using needlectl
 stop:
-	@chmod +x stop-needle.sh
-	@./stop-needle.sh
+	@needlectl service stop
 
-# Check service status
+# Check service status using needlectl
 status:
-	@chmod +x status-needle.sh
-	@./status-needle.sh
+	@needlectl service status

docs/src/getting-started.md

@@ -36,46 +36,16 @@ curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/UIC-InDeXLab/Needle/main/scripts/in
 curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/UIC-InDeXLab/Needle/main/scripts/install-oneliner.sh | bash -s accurate
 ```
 
-The one-liner installer will:
-1. Clone the Needle repository to `~/.needle`
-2. Set up virtual environments for backend and image generator services
-3. Install the `needlectl` CLI tool
-4. Configure Docker infrastructure services
-
-### Manual Installation
-
-If you prefer to install manually or need more control over the process:
-
-1. **Clone the repository:**
-
-```bash
-git clone --recursive https://github.com/UIC-InDeXLab/Needle.git
-cd Needle
-```
-
-2. **Run the installation script:**
-
-```bash
-./scripts/install.sh
-```
+This installs Needle to `~/.needle` and adds the `needlectl` command-line tool.
 
 ### Configuration Options
 
-During the installation process, you will be prompted to choose the performance configuration. The available options are:
+Choose your performance configuration:
 
 - **Fast (Default):** Single CLIP model, fastest indexing and retrieval - best for getting started quickly
 - **Balanced:** 4 models with balanced performance and accuracy
 - **Accurate:** 6 models with highest accuracy but slower performance
 
-You can also specify the configuration directly:
-
-```bash
-# Install with specific configuration
-./scripts/install.sh fast
-./scripts/install.sh balanced
-./scripts/install.sh accurate
-```
-
 > **Warning:** Once the configuration mode is set, it cannot be changed without uninstalling and reinstalling Needle, which will result in data loss.
 
 > **Note:** Needle automatically checks for GPU accessibility and will use the GPU if available to optimize performance.
@@ -88,7 +58,6 @@ The installation process sets up:
 - **Docker Infrastructure:** PostgreSQL, Milvus, MinIO, and etcd services via Docker Compose
 - **Configuration Files:** Performance-optimized settings based on your chosen mode
 - **needlectl CLI:** Command-line interface for managing Needle (installed to `/usr/local/bin/needlectl`)
-- **Service Scripts:** `start-needle.sh`, `stop-needle.sh`, `status-needle.sh` for service management
 
 ## Starting the Needle Service
 
@@ -98,12 +67,6 @@ Once installed, start the Needle service by running:
 needlectl service start
 ```
 
-Or if you installed manually:
-
-```bash
-./start-needle.sh
-```
-
 This command will start all the necessary infrastructure services (PostgreSQL, Milvus, etc.) and the Needle backend.
 
 To verify that everything is running as expected, check the service status:
@@ -126,6 +89,29 @@ After starting services, you can access:
 - **API Documentation:** http://localhost:8000/docs
 - **Image Generator:** http://localhost:8010
 
+## Managing Services
+
+Use `needlectl` to manage all services:
+
+```bash
+# Start all services
+needlectl service start
+
+# Stop all services
+needlectl service stop
+
+# Check status
+needlectl service status
+
+# View logs
+needlectl service log backend
+needlectl service log image-generator-hub
+needlectl service log infrastructure
+
+# Restart services
+needlectl service restart
+```
+
 ## About needlectl
 
 The `needlectl` command-line tool is the primary interface for interacting with Needle. It will be discussed in detail in the subsequent sections, where you'll learn how to leverage its full capabilities.

needlectl/utils.py

@@ -7,8 +7,12 @@
 def get_storage_dir():
     needle_home_path = os.getenv("NEEDLE_HOME")
     if not needle_home_path:
-        typer.echo("Error: NEEDLE_HOME not set.")
-        raise typer.Exit(code=1)
+        # Default to ~/.needle for one-liner installations
+        needle_home_path = os.path.expanduser("~/.needle")
+        if not os.path.exists(needle_home_path):
+            typer.echo(f"Error: Needle installation not found at {needle_home_path}")
+            typer.echo("Please set NEEDLE_HOME environment variable or install Needle first.")
+            raise typer.Exit(code=1)
     return needle_home_path
 
 

scripts/install-oneliner.sh

@@ -179,21 +179,18 @@ cd "$INSTALL_DIR"
 
 print_success "🎉 Installation complete!"
 echo ""
-echo "📋 Next steps:"
-echo "1. Start services: cd $INSTALL_DIR && ./start-needle.sh"
-echo "2. Check status: ./status-needle.sh"
-echo "3. Stop services: ./stop-needle.sh"
+echo "📋 Usage:"
+echo "  needlectl service start    - Start all services"
+echo "  needlectl service stop     - Stop all services"
+echo "  needlectl service status   - Check service status"
+echo "  needlectl service log      - View logs"
 echo ""
-echo "🛠️  Using needlectl:"
-echo "  - Start services: needlectl service start"
-echo "  - Stop services: needlectl service stop"
-echo "  - Check status: needlectl service status"
-echo "  - View logs: needlectl service log [backend|image-generator-hub|infrastructure]"
-echo ""
-echo "🌐 Access Points:"
+echo "🌐 Access Points (after starting services):"
 echo "  - Backend API: http://localhost:8000"
 echo "  - Image Generator: http://localhost:8010"
 echo "  - API Documentation: http://localhost:8000/docs"
 echo ""
 echo "📊 Configuration: ${CONFIG_MODE}"
-print_warning "Run 'cd $INSTALL_DIR && ./start-needle.sh' or 'needlectl service start' to start all services."
+echo "📁 Installation: $INSTALL_DIR"
+echo ""
+print_warning "Run 'needlectl service start' to start all services."