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Quick Start

This gets a repo into a working Kolega Code session: pick a provider, verify local permissions, try a normal turn, then use Plan mode or Gigacode when the task is broad enough to benefit from fan-out.

  1. Open your project in the TUI.

    From inside your project directory:

    Terminal window
    kolega-code .

    . is the project path — you can also pass an explicit path, e.g. kolega-code ~/code/my-app.

  2. Complete the setup wizard.

    On first run, choose Sign in with ChatGPT or Use an API key. For the API-key path, pick a provider and model (for example Moonshot — Kimi K2.7 Code or DeepSeek — DeepSeek V4 Pro), enter the key, and finish setup. You can optionally send a tiny connection-test request before finishing.

    To change this later, select Settings in the sidebar and then Open Settings, or run /settings. Make edits in the full-screen categories and select Apply Changes.

    The saved selection is used for every agent role, and your key is written to the local settings file with restrictive permissions. See Settings & API Keys.

  3. Ask the agent something.

    Type a prompt in the composer at the bottom and press Enter:

    Give me an overview of this repository and how it's structured.
    • Mention files with @ — start typing @src/ and pick from the dropdown.
    • Run a command with / — e.g. /help, /model, /context.
    • Insert a newline without sending with Shift+Enter.

  4. Turn on Gigacode for broad work.

    For tasks that are too wide for one serial agent pass — audits across many packages, large migrations, adversarial reviews, or independent implementation chunks — enable orchestration:

    /gigacode on

    Once enabled, Kolega Code decides when a request is broad enough to fan out into a workflow. Focused edits still run directly.

  5. Use Plan mode when you want a read-only pass first.

    Press Shift+Tab to switch to Plan mode. The agent works read-only and proposes a plan in the Planning tab. When it submits a complete plan, choose whether to implement it or keep discussing.

  6. Build it.

    Press Shift+Tab again to return to Build mode and let the agent implement the plan, updating the shared task list as it goes.

  7. Save and exit.

    Press Ctrl+Q (or run /quit) to save the session and exit. Resume later with:

    Terminal window
    kolega-code . --resume

Prefer a one-liner?

Section titled “Prefer a one-liner?”

You don’t have to open the UI. Run a single prompt non-interactively:

Terminal window
kolega-code ask "summarize this repository" --project .

Add --save to keep the session, or --json for machine-readable output. See kolega-code ask.

Where to go next

Section titled “Where to go next”