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title Getting started
description Install Aster, connect a model, and run your first turn in a repository.

Install

curl -fsSL https://withaster.dev/install | sh

The installer downloads the binary for your platform and puts aster on your PATH. Inspect the script first if you prefer to read what runs.

From source instead, with Rust 1.85+:

cargo install --path crates/aster-cli

Upgrade later with aster upgrade, or pin a version with aster upgrade --version 0.4.0 --force.

Sign in

Run aster init in any directory. The wizard walks through:

  1. Provider and model. Pick from the catalog, sign in through the browser, or paste an API key. Keys are written to ~/.aster/.env, never to yaml.
  2. Scope. Global (~/.aster) by default, or --local to keep the config in the repository.
  3. Web keys, optional. Search and page extraction work without a key; crawl and screenshots need one.

aster init --yes --force skips the questions and writes defaults. aster status shows what the next turn will use.

Provider sign-in is also available on its own:

aster login              # GitHub, for --pr and --comment
aster login codex        # ChatGPT subscription, no API key needed
aster login openrouter
aster login zai

aster login codex runs on a ChatGPT subscription against https://chatgpt.com/backend-api/codex. Aster translates OpenAI's Responses API in both directions, so models and tools behave as they do anywhere else.

First turn

In a repository:

cd your-repo
aster

The TUI prints a session header (model, provider, skills) and a prompt. Start with a question:

where does the retry logic live?

Aster reads files, searches, and answers with file and line references. Then ask for a change:

add a timeout to that call and a test for it

In the default edit mode, edits land in your working tree and commands run in a sandbox. Press esc to interrupt a turn, shift+tab to change the permission mode, and esc esc to quit.

Everyday flow

aster                        # chat in the current repo
aster --continue             # resume this repo's latest session
aster --resume               # pick a session
aster "why does the build fail?"   # one-shot: print the answer and exit
echo "explain this repo" | aster   # piped stdin is the prompt

Outside a repository, chat still works, with less to look at.

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