Installation

This guide will walk you through installing the Dexto CLI and setting up your environment so you can start running agents.

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 20.0.0
• An LLM API Key:
  • Get an OpenAI Key
  • Get a Gemini Key
  • Get a Claude Key
  • Get a Groq Key

1. Install Dexto

Install Dexto globally using npm:

npm install -g dexto

This adds the dexto command to your system, giving you access to the agent runtime.

2. Run dexto for the first time

dexto

This triggers the first-time setup, where you will be asked to set up your preferred Large Language Model (LLM) and enter the API key.

Once setup is complete, the Web UI will open in your browser, where you can interact with your first dexto agent! Say hi!

Note: You can re-run setup at any time with dexto setup

Quick Command Reference

# Open Web UI (default)
dexto

# Use CLI mode
dexto --mode cli

# One-shot commands (auto-use CLI mode)
dexto "say hello"
dexto -p "list files in this directory"

CLI reference

For detailed information about all CLI commands, flags, and advanced usage patterns, check out our comprehensive CLI Guide.

Next Step: Build Your First Agent

Now that Dexto is installed, you're ready to create your first custom agent with its own configuration and capabilities.

Continue to the Build Your First Agent Tutorial to learn how to build agents using declarative configuration.