Quickstart
Quickstart is the guided setup that takes you from a fresh install to a working agent in one pass. It runs on three surfaces: the CLI, the zerocode terminal interface, and the web gateway. All three drive the same underlying flow, so the config they produce is identical. Use whichever fits where you are.
Install
Linux
One-liner (install.sh via curl):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw/master/install.sh | sh
From a clone:
./install.sh
Homebrew (Linuxbrew):
brew install zeroclaw
macOS
One-liner (install.sh via curl):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw/master/install.sh | sh
From a clone:
./install.sh
Homebrew:
brew install zeroclaw
Windows
setup.bat (from a release):
setup.bat
Scoop:
scoop install zeroclaw
From source:
cargo install --locked --path .
On WSL2, follow the Linux path; install.sh runs unchanged. See
Setup → Windows for the full walkthrough.
This builds and installs both zeroclaw and the zerocode terminal interface.
Run it with no flags for an interactive picker that lets you choose the build
type, which apps to install, and which optional features to compile in.
The steps
Important: if any of these terms are unfamiliar, read Getting Started → Concepts first. It defines model provider, risk profile, alias, and the rest in one place.
Every surface walks the same checklist and writes the same config. Required steps must be satisfied before the agent can be created; optional steps can be skipped.
| Step | Required | What it sets |
|---|---|---|
| Model provider | yes | Provider family (Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, OpenRouter, …), its API key or endpoint, and the model. |
| Risk profile | yes | Autonomy and sandbox posture. Pick a preset or reuse an existing [risk_profiles.<alias>]. |
| Memory | yes | Memory backend (sqlite, markdown, postgres, qdrant, lucid, or none). |
| Channels | optional | Chat platforms (Telegram, Discord, Slack, …). The built-in cli channel always works; add others here or later. |
| Peer groups | optional | Multi-agent peer membership for the channels you configured. |
| Agent | yes | Agent alias, system prompt, and any personality files. |
The runtime profile is set automatically. Quickstart installs the
unboundedpreset for the new agent. Tune budgets and timeouts afterward by editing[runtime_profiles.<alias>](see Reference → Config).
CLI
The fastest path on a headless box or over SSH:
sh
zeroclaw quickstart
You answer one prompt per step in the terminal. The built-in cli channel
works immediately, so Channels and Peer groups can be skipped. For an
all-defaults, no-approvals config, see YOLO mode.
zerocode
In the zerocode terminal interface, the Quickstart pane is one of the tabs. Drive it with the keyboard:
Switch to the Quickstart pane:
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
Alt+← / Alt+b | prev pane |
Alt+→ / Alt+f | next pane |
Inside the pane:
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
k / ↑ | prev |
j / ↓ | next |
Enter | open |
q / Esc | leave |
c / C | create agent |
Mouse works too: click a tab in the mode bar to switch panes, click a step to select and open it, and scroll to move through the list.
Each step opens a modal that mirrors the checklist above, with a “Use existing” option that lists the matching aliases already in your config.
Web gateway
With the daemon running, open the dashboard in a browser:
sh
zeroclaw daemon
zeroclaw daemon runs the full runtime: the gateway, your configured channels,
the scheduler, and the heartbeat monitor. (zeroclaw gateway starts only the
HTTP gateway if that is all you need.)
Then visit http://127.0.0.1:42617/quickstart. A fresh install with no agents
configured redirects there automatically; afterward you can always reach it
from the dashboard navigation.
The web form presents the same steps as cards. On submit it applies your
submission through the daemon (POST /api/quickstart/apply), which returns a
structured error list if anything is invalid, then reloads the daemon in place
so the new agent is live without a restart. A separate
POST /api/quickstart/validate endpoint runs the same checks without applying,
for clients that want to validate first.
After Quickstart
- Drive it from zerocode: the terminal interface is the best
way to chat, watch live logs, manage config, and monitor the daemon, all in
one place. Just run
zerocode. - Quick one-off from the shell:
zeroclaw agent -a <alias> -m "your message". - Run always-on:
zeroclaw service install && zeroclaw service start. - Add channels later: Channels → Overview.
- Tune autonomy and budgets: Reference → Config.