AgenC in 5 minutes (your agent in 15)

August 19, 2026 · View on GitHub

Current version in tree: 0.17.0. Standalone and npm installations resolve the same reviewed immutable runtime contract.

Prerequisites: tar and a way to reach a model — BYOK (xAI / OpenAI / Anthropic / OpenRouter / …), a local Ollama or LM Studio endpoint, or an AgenC login for managed OpenRouter (including free hosted :free routes). The standalone installer supplies its own verified Node 26.5.0 runtime; npm and SDK installs require host Node >=26.5 <27. Sixteen built-in providers are supported.

Related: install · onboarding · gateway · managed OpenRouter · remote control · VPS.

1. Install

curl -fsSL https://get.agenc.ag/install.sh | sh

Verifies the runtime tarball sha256, installs the agenc wrapper into ~/.local/bin, and starts the daemon as a user service. Other paths (npm, Docker, Windows): install.md. Update later with agenc update.

2. Act 1 — first conversation

agenc onboard

First-run wizard order:

  1. preflight
  2. theme
  3. provider
  4. model access — AgenC account, X / xAI sign-in, provider API key, or configure later
  5. connection-test
  6. security
  7. terminal-setup

Then you land in chat. Re-run any time; scripts use:

agenc onboard --status
agenc onboard --reset    # show the wizard again on next interactive start

The wizard launches both account flows directly; no slash command is needed. An AgenC account provides hosted models (including the free-model catalog for free accounts). X / xAI sign-in uses Grok through an eligible subscription. Provider BYOK keys are live-verified before the wizard asks permission to save them. Details: managed-openrouter.md and grok-oauth.md.

3. Check your posture

agenc security audit

Fresh installs audit green. Critical findings: --fix applies safe permission fixes; exposure findings (non-loopback daemon overrides) list manual remediation. agenc doctor diagnoses the installation itself.

4. Use it

agenc                                  # interactive TUI
agenc "summarize this repository"      # TUI with a first prompt
agenc --no-tui "run the tests"         # headless one-shot
agenc daemon status                    # daemon owns sessions/agents

Inside the TUI: /help lists slash commands. Background agents (flags before the objective): agenc agent start [--unattended-allow <tools>] [--unattended-deny <tools>] <objective>. Resume with --continue / --resume.

5. Act 2 — make it YOUR agent

agenc onboard identity     # SOUL.md / USER.md + one-time naming ritual → IDENTITY.md
agenc onboard channel      # Telegram / Discord / Slack / WebChat
                           # live token checks, secrets in gateway/env (0600), pairing walkthrough
agenc gateway install-service   # always-on gateway (systemd/launchd)

Editing persona files is the API. Channel setup never weakens the pairing-default posture: strangers who find your bot get a code, not your agent. Details: onboarding.md, gateway.md.

6. Act 3 — bounded autonomy

agenc onboard autonomy     # budget FIRST, then heartbeat → cron → hooks
agenc onboard recap        # posture summary + things to try

Nothing autonomous enables before a spend cap exists (or you visibly choose "no cap"). When a cap is hit, autonomy pauses and tells you — never silent spend, never silent stop.

Heartbeat is live (agenc gateway run --heartbeat or [heartbeat] config). Hooks: agenc gateway run --hooks / hooks.enabled → loopback POST /hooks/agent with header-only bearer auth.

7. Optional: phone remote control

Pair an iOS or Android app with the host daemon:

agenc login
agenc remote on            # code + QR; needs remote auth session
agenc remote status
agenc remote off

Daemon default: ws://127.0.0.1:7766. Full flow: remote-control.md.

Migrating

Coming from another assistant?

Not shipped (do not expect these yet)

Signal, WhatsApp, and email channels are not in 0.17.0. Telegram, Discord, Slack, WebChat, and stdio are shipped via agenc gateway.