Quick Start // System Init
Zero to running agents in 5 minutes. The ostk kernel coordinates distributed AI agents through a cryptographic archive protocol.
PREREQUISITES_MANIFEST
GPG is optional for booting. Without any GPG key you boot at T3 (reads everything, writes denied by pin caps). With a GPG key that isn't cross-signed you're T2 (read + narrow write exceptions). With a T0-cross-signed key you're T1 (full write access). T0 is hardcoded trust anchors only — not reachable by ceremony.
INSTALL_BINARIES
curl -fsSL https://ostk.ai/install.sh | sh
The script detects your platform, downloads the correct binary, verifies its GPG signature, and places it in your $PATH.
INITIALIZE_WORKSPACE
AUTOMATIC_DETECTION
Best for local development and single-node archives.
ostk init GUIDED_CONFIG
7-step manual setup for distributed multi-agent clusters.
ostk init --guided
Both modes create .ostk/ with your
HUMANFILE,
Agentfile,
pin.caps, and
ostk.toml.
Use --guided on your first project.
SYSTEM_BOOT
ostk boot boot: reaped 3 dead agent(s) from process table
✓ HUMANFILE loaded (global only)
HUMANFILE: ✓ verified (T0), project unsigned
trust: T1 (cross-signed, write access)
driver rust: inactive (demand-spawn on first use)
.language: 58 verbs | fleet: 0 alive
needles: 0 open
boot confidence: 0.00 (restricted mode)
Loads state from .ostk/, detects your trust tier, and prints a status report. No configuration file needed. The OS reads the repo and orients.
LAUNCH_INTERFACE
ostk tui The ostk tui is your central command deck. Monitor the fleet, dispatch work via the tack bar, and approve permission gates in real-time.
From here, spawn your first agent: ostk kernel spawn worker --model sonnet --budget 2 "Fix the bug described in →001". See Commands for the full reference.