Start Here · 01.04

Bootstrap Your First Agent

Wire a durable Agentis identity to a model runtime with one CLI command, agentis bootstrap, then verify it's alive from the dashboard.

BootstrapCLIAdapters

What bootstrapping actually does

Bootstrapping is not "starting a chat." It's the one-time act of wiring a durable Agentis identity to a model runtime — creating the agent record that will go on accumulating memory and skills for as long as you keep it, and pointing it at whichever CLI harness or HTTP endpoint should execute its turns today. That binding is exactly the thing you can change later without losing anything, via the Runtime Abstraction Layer.

Check for an existing orchestrator first. A workspace holds exactly one — bootstrapping a second will conflict with it, not add a peer.

The bootstrap command

Installed CLI

agentis bootstrap \
  --url http://127.0.0.1:3737 \
  --api-key $AGENTIS_API_KEY \
  --name "The Brain" \
  --adapter codex

Repo-local CLI (no global install)

pnpm exec tsx packages/cli/src/index.ts bootstrap \
  --url http://127.0.0.1:3737 --api-key $AGENTIS_API_KEY \
  --name "The Brain" --adapter codex

Choosing an adapter

Adapter	Runtime
`claude_code`	Claude Code CLI
`codex`	OpenAI Codex CLI
`cursor`	Cursor
`hermes_agent`	Hermes Agent (ACP)
`openclaw`	OpenClaw
`http`	Any HMAC-authenticated custom endpoint

Don't agonize over this choice — it's not permanent. Bootstrapping just picks who executes today's turns; the identity, memory, and skills that accumulate from here belong to Agentis regardless of which adapter is attached.

Pass channel secrets and credentials through environment variables, never as CLI flags — flags land in shell history and process listings.

Confirm it worked

Open the dashboard's Agents view. A successful bootstrap shows your new agent with a live status and its bound adapter. From here you have a real, durable, empty-minded agent — the next move is deciding whether to start it from zero or bring in an agent you already run elsewhere, memories and skills included.

Continue

Install Agentis and Boot the Local Runtime

Clone the repo, run pnpm install, and start the Agentis API on 127.0.0.1:3737 — then open the dashboard and mint your first API key.

InstallCLIpnpm

Your First Workflow, App, and Reach: The Paved-Road Walkthrough

Describe intent, build, validate, dry-run, run, and deliver — the paved road every Agentis workflow follows, walked end to end with a real example.

Paved roadWorkflowsCode mode