Quick Start

From zero to a working AI coding session in under 5 minutes.

Step 1 — Choose a model provider

Local (free, private, offline)

Install Ollama and pull a model:

ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:7b

Akmon detects Ollama automatically. No key needed.

Cloud API

# Anthropic — best quality
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key

# OpenRouter — 500+ models with one key
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your-key

# Groq — fastest inference
export GROQ_API_KEY=your-key

Step 2 — Open your project

cd your-project
akmon chat

The TUI opens. If this is your first session in this project, Akmon suggests running /init to generate project memory.

Step 3 — Try your first task

Type a task in plain language and press Enter:

explain how authentication works in this codebase

Akmon will search the codebase semantically, read relevant files, and explain what it found.

Step 4 — Make a change

add input validation to the create_user function

Before writing any file, Akmon shows a colored diff of exactly what will change. You approve or reject each change.

Step 5 — Generate project memory

/init

Akmon analyzes your project and generates AKMON.md — a context file describing your tech stack, conventions, and architecture. Every session after this will produce better results.

Common first tasks

What you wantWhat to type
Understand the codebaseexplain the overall architecture
Find somethingfind where database connections are managed
Add a featureadd rate limiting to the API endpoints
Fix a bugthe login endpoint returns 500, debug it
Refactorrefactor the user module to use the repository pattern
Write testsadd unit tests for the authentication service
Review codereview src/api.rs for security issues
Analyze performancefind the slowest database queries

Key slash commands

CommandWhat it does
/helpShow all commands
/planPlan before implementing
/initGenerate AKMON.md
/modelSwitch model mid-session
/costShow session cost so far
/auditShow audit log
/clearFresh context, same session
/exitExit with session summary

Exit summary

When you exit, Akmon shows a full session summary:

  Akmon session complete

  Session
  ──────────────────────────────────
  ID         a1b2c3d4
  Duration   12m 34s
  Directory  ~/my-project
  Model      claude-haiku-4-5 (Anthropic)

  Activity
  ──────────────────────────────────
  Messages      14
  Tool calls    23
    ✓ Succeeded  22
    ✗ Failed      1
  Files read    8
  Files written 3

  Tokens
  ──────────────────────────────────
  Input      48,291
  Output      6,847
  Cache hit  41,203 (85% savings)
  Est. cost  ~$0.047

  Audit log
  ──────────────────────────────────
  .akmon/audit/a1b2c3d4.jsonl

  Agent powering down. Goodbye!