---
title: "Quickstart"
description: "Set up an agentOS actor, create a session, and run your first coding agent."
skill: true
---

<Note>
agentOS is in preview and the API is subject to change. If you run into issues, please [report them on GitHub](https://github.com/rivet-dev/rivet/issues) or [join our Discord](https://rivet.dev/discord).
</Note>

<Steps>
<Step title="Install">

- **rivetkit** — Actor framework with built-in persistence and orchestration
- **@rivet-dev/agent-os-common** — Standard VM software (curl, grep, git, and more)
- **@rivet-dev/agent-os-pi** — [Pi](https://github.com/mariozechner/pi-coding-agent) coding agent (Claude Code, Amp, and OpenCode coming soon)

```bash
npm install rivetkit @rivet-dev/agent-os-common @rivet-dev/agent-os-pi
```

</Step>

<Step title="Create the Server & Client">

<CodeGroup>
```ts @nocheck server.ts
import { agentOs } from "rivetkit/agent-os";
import { setup } from "rivetkit";
import common from "@rivet-dev/agent-os-common";
import pi from "@rivet-dev/agent-os-pi";

const vm = agentOs({
  options: { software: [common, pi] },
});

export const registry = setup({ use: { vm } });
registry.start();
```

```ts @nocheck client.ts
import { createClient } from "rivetkit/client";
import type { registry } from "./server";

const client = createClient<typeof registry>("http://localhost:6420");
const agent = client.vm.getOrCreate(["my-agent"]);

// Subscribe to streaming events
agent.on("sessionEvent", (data) => {
  console.log(data.event);
});

// Create a session and send a prompt
const session = await agent.createSession("pi", {
  env: { ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY! },
});
await agent.sendPrompt(
  session.sessionId,
  "Write a hello world script to /home/user/hello.js",
);

// Read the file the agent created
const content = await agent.readFile("/home/user/hello.js");
console.log(new TextDecoder().decode(content));
```
</CodeGroup>

</Step>

<Step title="Run">

Start the server:

```bash
npx tsx server.ts
```

Then in a separate terminal, run the client:

```bash
npx tsx client.ts
```

</Step>

<Step title="Customize">

Now that you have a working agent, customize it to fit your needs:

- **[Software](/docs/agent-os/software)** — Install software packages inside the VM
- **[Tools](/docs/agent-os/tools)** — Expose your JavaScript functions to agents as CLI commands
- **[Filesystem](/docs/agent-os/filesystem)** — Read, write, and manage files inside the VM
- **[Registry](/docs/registry)** — Browse more agents, tools, and filesystems

</Step>
</Steps>


## agentOS Core

The quickstart above uses `rivetkit/agent-os`, which includes statefulness, multiplayer, and orchestration out of the box. If you only need direct VM control without those features, you can use the core package (`@rivet-dev/agent-os-core`) standalone.

See [agentOS core documentation](/docs/agent-os/core) for reference.
