Documentation Getting started

Quick start

Get the current CLI, verify it, and inspect your machine’s runtime prerequisites. Build from source or use the Debian CLI-only bootstrap.

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Prerequisites

Git to clone the repository.
Rust 1.96.0 and Cargo for the source-build path, matching the repository’s pinned toolchain. The bundled Debian CLI alternative needs neither Rust nor a C compiler.
macOS or Linux for local CLI inspection. Debian is the first runtime target.

What this guide gets you

A working CLI for help, build information, and read-only runtime diagnosis. Signed-bundle setup code also exists, but no production signing key or published signed release is available. The complete coding-agent workflow and qualified protected runtime are still in development. No provider API key is needed for these steps.

1. Build the CLI

Clone the repository and build the cella-cli package. The binary is named cella.

Clone and build commands

git clone https://github.com/ryuux05/Cella.git
cd Cella
cargo build --locked -p cella-cli

This is a source build. It does not install runtime services or modify your system configuration.

Alternative: bundled CLI on Debian 13 x86-64

Use the checked-in CLI instead of compiling from source on the exact supported Debian target.

Debian CLI-only bootstrap

mkdir -p ~/src
git clone https://github.com/ryuux05/Cella.git ~/src/Cella
cd ~/src/Cella
./install.sh --check
./install.sh
. ~/.bashrc
cella --version
cella setup --plan

Run this as your ordinary user, without sudo, outside /opt/cella. The script verifies the bundled unsigned alpha CLI against its checked-in SHA-256 and installs only ~/.local/bin/cella. It installs no daemon, Wall, runtime, identities, images, or systemd units. setup --plan is read-only and should report that release installation is not authorized. This bootstrap does not enable init or shell.

After this alternative, use cella instead of ./target/debug/cella in the verification and diagnosis steps below. To replace an existing user-local CLI explicitly, use ./install.sh --replace-cli; this does not update a runtime.

2. Verify the build

From the repository root, check the version, build information, and available commands.

Verification commands

./target/debug/cella --version
./target/debug/cella info
./target/debug/cella --help

The info command reports the build target, Wall contract version, and capability-report schema. It does not report that an execution boundary is installed or protected.

3. Inspect runtime readiness

Run the read-only Wall diagnosis to see which host and runtime prerequisites are missing.

Runtime inspection command

./target/debug/cella doctor --wall

A missing-dependency result and nonzero exit are expected before runtime setup. This command inspects prerequisites; it does not install or repair them, start a Cell, or certify protection.

4. Choose your next step

Explore the available commands See which commands work today and which require an enrolled installation.Attempt the Debian offline candidate The operator runbook covers explicit installation and validation on a Debian 13 x86-64 host.Understand the intended workflow Private repository ingress, Service Cells, checkpoints, handoffs, and reviewed delivery.

The offline candidate is a runtime smoke-test path, not a qualified protected release or a model-connected agent session.

The full agent workflow

The intended short path is project onboarding followed by an agent run. These are product-design steps, not a usable end-to-end quick start today.

Planned workflow

cella init
cella run codex .

The current init command registers a minimal Project and ensures one configured logical Agent Cell exists through an enrolled daemon; it creates no generation or runtime. Provider onboarding and cella run are not implemented.

Read the workflow design