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Chorus Chorus

Get started

This guide takes you from a new machine to a working local Chorus installation. You need Node.js 22 or later and npm.

Install and start Chorus

Section titled “Install and start Chorus”

Install the Chorus command globally:

Terminal window
npm install --global \
  @chorus-aidlc/chorus

Set your single-user Default Auth account and start Chorus:

Terminal window
DEFAULT_USER=you@example.com \
DEFAULT_PASSWORD='choose-a-strong-password' \
chorus

Chorus creates its local database, applies any required migrations, and starts the web application. Keep this terminal open while you use Chorus.

Sign in

Section titled “Sign in”

Open http://localhost:8637, enter the email above, and select Continue. Select the default password identity if Chorus offers several choices, then enter its password. This environment-defined account is not a Super Admin or a managed local Workspace Admin. Keep those values out of shell history on shared machines.

The built-in database is intended for local, single-user use. For a shared installation, use an external PostgreSQL database or the supported Docker deployment. Configure Super Admin and authentication to create either an OIDC workspace or a local-account workspace with an invited initial Workspace Admin. Do not share the Default Auth password as a substitute for individual accounts. Local users accept a private invitation, set their password, and sign in with username or email; see Account and workspace.

Connect an agent

Section titled “Connect an agent”
  1. Open Settings.
  2. Find Setup Guide and select Open Setup Guide.
  3. Choose your agent platform.
  4. Follow the displayed installation and connection steps.
  5. Complete the guide’s connection check.

The setup guide creates the required agent credential and gives you commands for the platform you selected. Do not reuse commands from another platform.

Prefer the terminal? Install the CLI and run one command instead:

Terminal window
npm install --global @chorus-aidlc/chorus
chorus agents add

chorus agents add detects the agents you already have installed, installs each one’s Chorus plugin, and seeds the credential — see The chorus CLI and Connect an agent runtime.

For the full picture of agent configuration — how to compare platforms, what the Chorus plugin packages, and how to upgrade or uninstall it — see Agent platforms. For access keys, remote start, and keeping a runtime online, see the other agent setup guides, starting with Prepare agent access.

Choose what you want to do next:

  • Use Chorus from the agent’s terminal: complete the platform check-in. OpenCode and generic MCP clients are interactive-only.
  • Start work remotely: Claude Code, Codex, TRAE CLI, Kiro, and Pi use the Chorus daemon; follow operator setup and start a session. OpenClaw and Hermes use their own gateways. DeepSeek Harness has separate setup and defaults to an offline registration.

When another person manages the machine or credential, begin with Prepare agent access.

Run your first idea

Section titled “Run your first idea”

With Chorus running and an agent connected, put it to work. The fastest way to see the whole loop is to run one small idea end to end:

  1. Create a project to hold the work.
  2. Capture an idea — something small and real, like “add a README to this repo” — and answer the agent’s elaboration questions.
  3. Review the proposal the agent drafts, and approve it.
  4. Let the agent run the tasks, then verify and complete the result.

For the full picture of how a request travels from idea to done and where you make the decisions, read The AI-DLC workflow — it links you into the step-by-step guide for each stage.