Quickstart

Install Engineer Kit project-natively and run ak:cook in a supported coding runtime.

This focused journey installs Engineer Kit natively in the current project and starts one software task in a supported coding runtime. The commands below show Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, DeepSeek Harness, Grok Build, and Pi.

Before you start

Complete Installation and Onboarding, or verify the three required states now:

ak --version
ak whoami
ak licenses

ak whoami must show the intended account, and Engineer Kit must appear in ak licenses. Your selected runtime must also be installed and signed in. These checks do not print your stored secret. An unauthenticated ak whoami result still exits 0, so check the displayed state rather than the exit code alone.

Install and run

Open a project

Change to a project where you can review and revert changes. The commands below use project scope and native runtime delivery.

Install Engineer Kit

ak kit init engineer --target claude-code --channel <channel>

ak kit init engineer --target codex --channel <channel>

ak kit init engineer --target cursor --channel <channel>

ak kit init engineer --target dsh --channel <channel>

ak kit init engineer --target grok --channel <channel>

ak kit init engineer --target pi --channel <channel>

Replace <channel> with the release channel selected in the docs header. Omitting --channel on ak kit init uses persisted kit.channel when that key is set; otherwise it resolves stable and can return version_not_available when a runtime package exists only on another channel. Review the preview and warnings before continuing.

Reload your assistant

Start a new session in the selected runtime from the same project so it discovers the installed Skill.

Invoke `ak:cook`

/ak:cook Add a health-check endpoint

$ak:cook Add a health-check endpoint

Claude Code uses /ak:...; Codex uses $ak:.... For Cursor, DeepSeek Harness, Grok Build, and Pi, verify the current runtime discovery and invocation surface after the install. DeepSeek Harness can dispatch a local Skill through ak run engineer/scout --target dsh; its one-shot headless adapter receives the generated prompt as a process argument, so do not use it for secrets. Pi installs expose portable ak-<slug> Skill directories under .pi/skills/. For direct Skill dispatch, ak run also supports --target omp for Oh My Pi. The kit name remains plain in CLI commands such as ak kit init engineer.

Expected result

The assistant recognizes ak:cook, reads the task and current project context, and begins the skill workflow. Review its proposed scope and any file changes as you would for other coding work. The quickstart is complete once the skill has started successfully; the result of the sample task depends on your project.

If the skill is not recognized

Confirm the installation summary named engineer and your intended target.
Confirm you are in the same project, scope, and delivery mode used for the install, and that the selected Skill set includes ak:cook.
Confirm the CLI and Kit versions and release channels are the ones you intended.
Start a new assistant session in the same project.
Run ak doctor --exit-on-fail and address any runtime or Kit check it reports.
If install ownership conflicts were reported, stop and inspect them; do not immediately retry with --force.

If a managed operation printed a backup ID, preserve it until you have verified the project. Inspect and preview the recovery point with ak backups show <backup-id> and ak recover <backup-id> --dry-run; see Onboarding recovery for the apply command and restore limits.

Keep the CLI and Kit current

The binary, project-owned content, and an installed runtime Kit are separate layers. ak self-update changes the CLI binary; it does not refresh files in .claude, .codex, or another runtime destination. ak update handles AgentKit-owned project content, while ak kit refresh re-emits one installed Kit route with its recorded target, scope, delivery mode, and selected Skills.

Use Updating AgentKit and Kits to choose the layer you actually intend to change. If files remain unchanged, inspect the route and ownership evidence before reinstalling or deleting runtime content.

Continue

Onboarding explains authentication methods, setup, scope, and recovery in more detail.
Installing kits covers skill selection and refresh behavior.
CLI reference contains the exact released flags and command behavior.

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