Getting Started

Getting Started

From zero to a running agent in a few minutes. Mutiro-hosted is the default; choose self-hosted when you want to run the daemon yourself.

Prefer no install?

The illustrated web quickstart walks through signup and creating your first Mutiro-hosted agent at app.mutiro.com with screenshots — no CLI required.

The CLI steps below are still useful for self-hosted agents and for scripting.

1. Install the CLI

curl -sSL https://mutiro.com/downloads/install.sh | bash

Verify it works:

mutiro version

Note: it's mutiro version (subcommand), not --version.

2. Create Your Account

mutiro auth signup <email> <username> "<display_name>"
  • Username: 6-20 characters, lowercase letters and numbers only (no underscores, no uppercase)
  • You'll receive a verification code by email — enter it when prompted

Already have an account? Log in instead:

mutiro auth login <email>

Check who you're logged in as:

mutiro auth whoami

3. Create an Agent

mutiro agents create my_assistant "My Assistant" --objective "Help me stay organized and move daily work forward"

Mutiro creates the profile, generates starter instructions and an avatar, and deploys the hosted runtime. No local .mutiro-agent.yaml, daemon process, or provider API key setup is needed for the default hosted path.

mkdir -p ~/agents/my-assistant cd ~/agents/my-assistant mutiro agents create my_assistant "My Assistant" --objective "Help me stay organized and move daily work forward" --self-hosted

Agent username rules:

  • 3-20 characters, lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores
  • Mutiro adds a unique suffix automatically (like my_assistant_K3P7)

Save the API key immediately — it's shown once and starts with mut_key_.

echo 'MUTIRO_AGENT_API_KEY=mut_key_...' > .env

See runtime modes if you're not sure which path to choose.

4. Choose an LLM Provider

The default hosted runtime uses Mutiro's hosted model setup. You can skip this step for your first agent.

Your agent needs an AI model to think with. Check if you already have a key set:

echo "GEMINI_API_KEY=${GEMINI_API_KEY:+set}" "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY:+set}" "OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY:+set}"
Provider Config value Best for Env var
Google Gemini (default) genai General purpose, good free tier GEMINI_API_KEY
Anthropic Claude anthropic Reasoning, coding, careful analysis ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
OpenAI openai GPT models, broad ecosystem OPENAI_API_KEY
Ollama ollama Local, private, no key needed —
LM Studio lmstudio Local, GUI model manager —

Add your provider key to .env:

echo 'GEMINI_API_KEY=your_key_here' >> .env

5. Write the Agent's Personality

The create flow uses the agent name and objective to create a polished starting profile and behavior. You can refine the owner-visible instructions later through the Agent Management UI or, where supported, by asking the agent as its owner.

A good instruction file usually looks like this:

# My Assistant ## Who You Are A helpful, concise assistant that gets things done quickly. ## How You Communicate Short messages, like texting. No fluff. Ask clarifying questions when needed. ## What You Do Help with tasks, answer questions, manage notes and reminders. ## Rules - Never make things up — say "I don't know" when you don't - Keep responses under 3 sentences unless asked for detail

6. Start the Agent

Hosted agents start automatically after creation. If deployment is still warming up, wait a moment and send a test message from any Mutiro client.

source .env mutiro start

Look for "Connected to message stream" — your agent is online.

7. Talk to Your Agent

See all client options for details. Quick options:

  • Web app: https://app.mutiro.com
  • Terminal: mutiro chat
  • Mobile: Mutiro app on iOS and Android
  • Desktop: Mutiro desktop app

Quick test from the terminal:

mutiro user message send <agent-username> "Hello! Who are you?"

Using an AI Assistant

For self-hosted agents, you can also paste a ready-made prompt into your AI assistant (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.) and it will walk you through the full owner-managed setup interactively. Copy it from:

https://mutiro.com/docs/guides/create-agent

CLI Help

The Mutiro CLI has extensive built-in help:

mutiro --help mutiro agents --help mutiro agents create --help

Full CLI reference at https://mutiro.com/docs/cli/. For self-hosted file configuration, see configuration. For security and sharing, see sharing and security.