Self-hosted
Get started with Volca
Download the Volca binary, load a database, and start querying through the REPL, CLI, or API in a few minutes. No compilation needed.
Install in one step
Download the binary for your platform from the releases page and make it executable. That is all the installation needed.
# Download for Linux (example) curl -L https://github.com/ccomb/volca/releases/latest/download/volca-linux-x86_64 -o volca chmod +x volca
Then verify the binary works:
./volca --version
First usage in three steps
1. Create a config file
Create a volca.toml pointing to your database:
[[databases]] name = "my-db" path = "path/to/my-database.CSV" load = true [[methods]] name = "EF-3.1" path = "path/to/EF-3.1.zip"
2. Start the server
Start the Volca server once. It loads your databases into memory.
./volca --config volca.toml server --port 8080
Then open http://localhost:8080 to use the web interface.
3. Query from the CLI or REPL
With the server running, query from any terminal:
# Search activities ./volca --config volca.toml activities --name "wheat" # Or use the interactive REPL ./volca --config volca.toml repl
What you get out of the box
HTTP API
Query activities, trees, inventories, mappings, and more through a documented HTTP API at /api/v1/.
MCP endpoint
Connect Volca to AI assistants and agent workflows at /mcp through Model Context Protocol.
OpenAPI / Swagger
Browse the interactive API docs at /api/v1/docs or fetch the spec at /api/v1/openapi.json.
REPL
Explore interactively from a terminal. The REPL auto-starts the server if it is not already running.
Run it directly
Volca is distributed as a standalone binary. Download it, point it at your data, and run it directly without an extra packaging layer.
./volca --config volca.toml server --port 8080
Need help with a specific setup?
If you are deploying Volca in a more complex environment, integrating it into a larger system, or need support with a specific dataset or workflow, contact us.