> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.sonarsource.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.sonarsource.com/sonarqube-server/server-installation/pre-installation/unix.md).

# On Unix-based systems

Pre-installation steps on SonarQube Server 2026.5 host for the Developer and Enterprise Editions on Unix systems.

SonarQube Server should not be run as root on Unix-based systems. It is recommended to create a dedicated user account for SonarQube Server (It is highly recommended for a ZIP installation).

For a ZIP installation, proceed as follows:

1. Create a dedicated user account for SonarQube Server. Note that:
   * This user does not need to have a login shell.
   * This user does not need to have a password.
   * We recommend that the user’s home directory be the same as the installation directory (recommended: `/opt/sonarqube)`.
2. Grant to this user account the read/write/execute (or owner) privileges on the installation directory.

## Agentic features on Unix-based systems <a href="#agentic-features" id="agentic-features"></a>

{% hint style="warning" %}
The agentic features require a Linux host. Each agentic job runs in a sandboxed container, and the sandbox runtime is available on Linux only, so other Unix-based systems cannot run the agent runtimes.
{% endhint %}

You can still run SonarQube Server itself on a Unix-based system. To use the Hunter Agent, the Remediation Agent, or Sonar Vortex, deploy their containers on a Linux host or a Kubernetes cluster. See [Before you start](/sonarqube-server/server-installation/ai-agents/before-you-start.md).


---

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