Install and use Codewhale
Find installation steps, model setup, tool configuration and troubleshooting. The guides include commands and examples you can run.
By task
18Start from what you are trying to do.
One command on macOS or Linux; npm, Cargo, release binaries, and the Homebrew tap on Linux also work.
Open Codewhale in a project, look around in Plan, then let it edit in Work.
Save a key for DeepSeek, OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, or another provider — or run a local model with no key.
Supported providers, switching mid-session, and local runners.
Plan, Work, or Operate; Ask, Auto-Review, or Full Access; and how to answer a prompt.
See every edit, roll files back to an earlier turn, and get a code review before you push.
Write a review receipt and check it before you push.
Write a repeatable Workflow, run it as a Lane, and watch or stop it from any terminal.
Roles, separate worktrees for parallel edits, and how to watch sub-agents.
Add a local or remote MCP server, sign in with OAuth, or serve Codewhale over MCP.
Let the model compose several read-only tool calls in one short program. Experimental.
Block a risky command, add context, or get notified when Codewhale waits for you.
See which OS sandbox your platform has and turn on bubblewrap on Linux.
Run one-shot jobs in CI, or drive threads and approvals over the local HTTP API.
Work in a local browser tab, or continue a session from the web app with /rc.
Preview: propose and confirm a cloud agent that opens a pull request.
Diagnose in one command, then fix install, key, network, and stuck-turn problems.
What a provider receives, what usage counting sends, and how to turn it off.
By topic
24Get started
5The installer, npm, Homebrew tap, Cargo, and release binaries, with the output each step prints.
Details
docs/INSTALL.md
Install, connect a model, and give Codewhale a task in your project.
Details
docs/GUIDE.md, docs/KEYBINDINGS.md
Save a provider key, check which key is used, run a local model, or sign in to the optional account.
Details
docs/CONFIGURATION.md, docs/CODEWHALE_AGENT.md
Supported providers, switching models, and local runners such as Ollama, vLLM, and SGLang.
Details
docs/PROVIDERS.md, docs/MODEL_LAB.md
Find the config file, change settings from the session or shell, and see what a repository may override.
Details
docs/CONFIGURATION.md, docs/LEGACY_PATHS.md
Work with Codewhale
7Plan, Work, or Operate for the kind of work; Ask, Auto-Review, or Full Access for when it asks you.
Details
docs/MODES.md
See every edit, roll files back to an earlier turn, get a code review, and keep a review receipt.
Details
docs/RECEIPTS.md, docs/CONFIGURATION.md
Follow the goal, To-do list, and sub-agents in the workbar, and hand work to a fresh session.
Details
docs/TOOL_SURFACE.md, docs/TOOL_LIFECYCLE.md
Hand independent parts of a task to sub-agents, pick roles, and keep parallel edits in worktrees.
Details
docs/SUBAGENTS.md
Save roles in a Fleet, write a repeatable Workflow, run it as a Lane, and run batches of tasks.
Details
docs/FLEET.md, docs/WORKFLOW_AUTHORING.md
The OS sandbox on macOS, Linux, and Windows, how to turn it on, and how much a command may write.
Details
docs/SANDBOX.md
What stays local, what a provider receives, what usage counting sends, and how to turn it off.
Details
docs/SANDBOX.md, docs/AUTHORIZATION_ORDER.md, docs/TELEMETRY.md, docs/public-surface-facts.json
Extend and automate
7Add local (stdio) or remote (HTTP) MCP servers, sign in with OAuth, serve Codewhale over MCP, and try code mode.
Details
docs/MCP.md
Run your own scripts at session start, before a tool call, at turn end, or when Codewhale waits for you.
Details
docs/rfcs/1364-hooks-lifecycle.md, docs/CONFIGURATION.md
Install, find, trust, and load reusable instruction packages.
Details
docs/SKILLS.md
Find, install, review, and trust plugin bundles.
Details
docs/PLUGINS.md, docs/PLUGIN_BUNDLES.md, docs/EXTENSIONS.md
Run one-shot jobs from scripts, or drive threads, events, and approvals over the local HTTP API.
Details
docs/RUNTIME_API.md
Work in a local browser tab, or continue a terminal session from the web app with /rc.
Details
docs/WEB.md
Preview: propose, confirm, and track a cloud agent that opens a pull request on GitHub, CNB, or Gitee.
Details
docs/DAYTONA_CLOUD_DISPATCH.md, docs/CODEWHALE_AGENT.md
Get help
2Diagnose in one command, then fix install, key, network, stuck-turn, session, and MCP problems.
Details
docs/OPERATIONS_RUNBOOK.md, docs/DOCKER.md
The contributing guide, agent ethos, contributor credits, and release process.
Details
CONTRIBUTING.md, docs/AGENT_ETHOS.md, docs/CONTRIBUTORS.md, docs/RELEASE_CHECKLIST.md
Reference
3Fleet, Workflow, Lane, and Runtime; Plan, Work, and Operate — each in one sentence.
Details
docs/FLEET.md, docs/MODES.md, docs/public-surface-facts.json
What the agent treats as law: built-in rules, your personal constitution, and a repository's own.
Details
docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
The small set of tools every session starts with, and how Codewhale finds the rest.
Details
docs/TOOL_SURFACE.md, docs/RUNTIME_SIMPLIFICATION_DESIGN.md
Web guides open on codewhale.net. Source docs open the full reference in the GitHub repository.