Quick Start

From zero to a working agent in four steps: install, configure, launch, delegate.

This guide takes you from nothing to a working agent in four steps. Total time is usually under five minutes on a normal connection.

01 — Install

bash

npx synapse-ai-agent

Or use the platform-specific commands in Installation. The installer sets up Python 3.11, uv, Node.js, ripgrep, ffmpeg, and everything else Synapse needs.

02 — Configure your provider

Run the setup wizard. It configures everything at once — provider keys, defaults, and optional integrations. Synapse does not require any single vendor: bring OpenRouter, OpenAI, another supported provider, or a custom endpoint.

bash

synapse setup

The wizard auto-detects which provider profiles have environment variables set and offers migration if it finds an existing OpenClaw install.

03 — Start Synapse

bash

synapse

This opens the interactive TUI. Type /help to list slash commands. Multiline editing, autocomplete, and conversation history all work from the first prompt.

04 — Give it a task

text

> inspect my project and explain the architecture

The agent will think, search memory, inspect files, run tools, and report back — learning skills it can reuse later. Complex tasks can trigger autonomous skill creation: check /skills afterwards to see what it wrote.

Essential CLI reference

Command	Purpose
synapse	Interactive CLI — start a conversation
synapse model	Choose your LLM provider and model
synapse tools	Configure which tools are enabled
synapse config set	Set individual config values
synapse config get	Print individual config values
synapse gateway	Start the messaging gateway (Telegram, Discord, etc.)
synapse setup	Full setup wizard — configures everything at once
synapse update	Update to the latest version
synapse doctor	Diagnose any issues

Useful slash commands

Slash command	Action
/new · /reset	Start a fresh conversation
/model [provider:model]	Change model mid-session
/personality [name]	Set a personality
/retry · /undo	Retry or undo the last turn
/compress	Compress context when it fills up
/usage · /insights [--days N]	Check context usage and session insights
/skills · /<skill-name>	Browse skills or invoke one directly
Ctrl+C or new message	Interrupt current work and redirect

What to try first

Ask it to inspect and explain a codebase — good test of filesystem tools and summarization
Give it a recurring chore and schedule it with cron (see Cron)
Connect Telegram and message it from your phone (see Gateway)
Delegate a three-way parallel audit and watch the subagents work (see Subagents)