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Installation

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

Prerequisites​

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. Set Your API Key​

Dexto agents use Large Language Models. Set the API key(s) for your chosen provider(s):

# OpenAI
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

# Anthropic
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."

# Google Gemini
export GOOGLE_GENERATIVE_AI_API_KEY="AIza..."

# Groq
export GROQ_API_KEY="gsk_..."

# XAI
export XAI_API_KEY="xai_..."

# Cohere
export COHERE_API_KEY="cohere_..."

Dexto auto-detects keys based on provider selection (CLI flag --model can infer provider).

3. Verify Your Installation​

Test your installation with a simple command:

dexto "What is the meaning of life?"

If you receive a response, your installation is successful and the runtime is working correctly.

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 First Agent Tutorial to learn how to build agents using declarative configuration.