Get your first task done

Goal: from scratch, watch Rind actually finish a task - read files, change code, run commands.

Install and start

npm install -g @rind-ai/cli     # Node.js 18+
cd your-project
rind

If you have no npm environment, use the standalone installers from Releases (Windows x64 / macOS / Linux x64); to run from source, see Running the CLI from source.

The startup banner tells you three things: the current model, the session, and the working directory. Note that there is no session yet - the session is created only when the first message is sent.

Connect a model

The first run requires connecting a model provider first:

/login

Just follow the menu (ChatGPT subscription sign-in, API Key, or a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint). For multiple providers and more involved model selection strategies, see Get Rind to use the model you specify; for now, keep going with the defaults.

/model shows or switches the current model; /status shows the current connection state.

Assign the first task

Describe the task in natural language in the input box, then press Enter to send:

Read src/parser/tokenizer.js, summarize how it handles unicode, and add the corresponding tests

During the turn you will see tool calls appear one by one (read_file, bash, ...); they are collapsed by default, showing only a one-line summary. To see the full output, press Ctrl+O to expand/collapse.

Rich text in assistant replies - tables, code blocks - is laid out directly by the Markdown renderer. Streaming text arrives as incremental events, but the persisted message is what counts in the end, so a refresh or a disconnect never loses content.

Two kinds of mid-task interaction

It may ask you questions: when a tool needs your call, the input box gives way to an option menu - up/down to select, Enter to confirm, Esc to cancel. Non-interactive rind run does not support such questions and fails outright.
You want to change direction: you can type and send right now. For the full semantics of steering / queuing / interrupting, see Steer the work back on track.

Finishing and exiting

/exit (or /quit) exits; Ctrl+C interrupts while a turn is running (press once more for a hard stop), exits when pressed twice in a row while idle (within 2 seconds), and first clears unsent text when the input box has any.
Sessions are saved automatically. To pick up where you left off: rind --session <id> resumes one directly, or /sessions lists recent sessions - see Come back and keep working.
If you only want to see what it looks like, no API key needed: rind tour plays a simulated demo, or use /tour inside a session.

Back to the scenario index