Quick Start Downcity

This article is designed to be executable step by step. Follow it in order and you can launch a conversational Downcity runtime in about 10 minutes.

1. Install CLI

Install the global CLI first and verify the command is available. `downcity` and `city` are equivalent.

npm install -g downcity
downcity --version

2. Initialize in your repository

Create/init the agent project inside your repository. It creates `PROFILE.md`, `ship.json`, and `.ship/`.

cd /path/to/your-repo
city agent create .

3. Configure model and start runtime

Create `.env` in project root, then start runtime (default: background daemon). Use foreground mode when you want logs in the current terminal.

LLM_API_KEY=your_key

city start
city agent start
# or (foreground)
city agent start --foreground

4. Health check and next steps

After startup, verify service health first, then move on to configuration, skills, and task automation.

curl http://localhost:3000/health
curl http://localhost:3000/api/status