Quickstart

This page walks you through your first real task. It takes about five minutes.

Before you start, make sure you have installed C5.

Step 1 — Start C5 #

bash

growther

C5 prints the address it is running on. Open http://localhost:4299 in your browser to use the app.

Step 2 — Connect a model #

C5 needs a model to think with. A model is the AI brain behind your agents. C5 does not lock you into one — you choose.

Go to Settings.
Open the LLMs tab.
Pick a provider and paste in your API key.
Click Save.

C5 checks the key right away and tells you if it works.

Note Your API keys are stored encrypted on your own computer. They are never sent anywhere except to the provider you chose.

You can also run models on your own machine instead of using a paid service. See Model providers.

Step 3 — Ask for something #

Go to Chat and type a task in plain words. Try something small and real, like:

Read the notes in my Documents folder and write me a one-page summary.

Press enter. C5 will:

Read what you asked for.
Make a plan and break it into steps.
Do the steps, asking you before it does anything risky.
Hand you the finished result.

You will see it working as it goes. Nothing is hidden.

Step 4 — Watch the work happen #

Open Productivity in the left menu while your task runs. You will see your task on a board, moving from column to column as it goes: waiting, working, done.

Click any task to open it. You can see the steps, the tools used, and how much it cost.

Step 5 — Pick up your results #

Finished work lands in the Library. Open it and you will find your summary saved there, along with any files that were made along the way.

What just happened #

You gave C5 one sentence. It turned that into a plan, did the work with a team of agents, showed you every step, and saved the result. That is the basic loop. Everything else in C5 builds on it.

Try these next #

Schedule it. Want that summary every Monday morning? See Schedules.
Set your limits. Put a cap on spending in Budgets & costs.
Tighten the rules. Decide what agents may do on their own in Permissions.
Take the tour. See what every part of the app does in Tour of C5.