Get started

This walkthrough gets you from zero to a completed pipeline on your laptop: install the CLI, start the daemon, assemble a team, run it, and inspect the result. For the product story, see What is Cliq?. For building blocks (phases, gates), see Concepts.

Before you begin

Need	Notes
Node.js	26+ if you build from source; installer handles the released CLI
Network	To install the CLI and pull teams from CliqHub
An agent (optional for first demo)	`@cliq/hello-world` needs no API keys; Cursor/Claude/etc. for AI teams

1. Install

curl -fsSL https://getcliq.io/cliq/install | bash
cliq --version

The installer gives you two binaries: cliq (the CLI) and cliqd (the daemon).

cliqd &
cliq login
cliq whoami

The daemon (cliqd) executes pipelines. The CLI is a client of it. Start cliqd once per session, before any other cliq command. The first cliq login also puts the daemon in a realm (you pick one if you have several). Logging in is optional for local teams; you need it to install teams from CliqHub. Optional guided setup (log in, agent credentials):

cliq setup

After a later upgrade, restart cliqd so its built-in agents refresh. List what is on the agents path with cliq agent list.

3. Create a project and run a team

mkdir hello && cd hello
cliq init
cliq assemble @cliq/hello-world
cliq run

When it finishes:

cliq status
cliq logs

You should see phases complete and a gate pass.

4. Try an AI team (optional)

cliq settings set agents.cursor.api_key <your-cursor-api-key>
cliq assemble @cliq/hello-world-cursor-gate
cliq run -i task="Write a haiku about programming to haiku.txt"
cat haiku.txt
cliq logs

What just happened

You did not “chat with an agent.” You ran a team:

Phases ran in dependency order
Each phase left a recorded result for later steps
A gate had to pass before the run was done

That loop is the product. Concepts names every piece. More on assemble / inputs / resume: Running teams. Agents and params: Agents.

When you outgrow one laptop

Goal	What to do
Develop and test locally	`cliqd --no-login` — Local Development
CI / scripts calling Hub	`cliq auth token <name>` — Auth
Publish a team	`cliq team publish ./my-team`, then have a realm admin add it to the realm’s team list so its runs sync
Enroll another machine	`cliq auth token <name> --realm <realm_id>` (or the realm page) → `CLIQ_DAEMON_TOKEN` on that machine
Push work to a remote daemon	Hub dispatch — Hub API tab

Full command inventory: CLI. The daemon: cliqd.

​Before you begin

​1. Install

​2. Start the daemon and sign in

​3. Create a project and run a team

​4. Try an AI team (optional)

​What just happened

​When you outgrow one laptop