Getting started

Synced from outfitter/docs/documentation/getting-started.md. The repository is the source of truth.

Install Outfitter globally:

npm install -g @ai-outfitter/outfitter
outfitter --help

Outfitter launches agent CLIs; install the agents you plan to use separately.

Already have a .agents/ directory?

You’re most of the way there. Outfitter reads the Dotagents .agents protocol directly — your existing agents, skills, knowledge, and commands are usable by slug with no conversion:

outfitter list          # see what resolves from ~/.agents and <project>/.agents
outfitter run           # launch with your defaults

Set default_agent in .agents/settings.yml to one of your agent slugs; that agent’s own loadout selects the skills, subagents, model, and so on it runs with. You’re done.

If your configuration lives in ~/.claude instead, outfitter setup can port it into ~/.agents/ and symlink it back so Claude Code keeps working natively — see Porting a Claude Code setup.

First-time setup

Bootstrap from the Outfitter default catalog, then launch the default agent:

outfitter setup
outfitter

If you are new to Claude Code, Codex, Pi, and agent CLIs, start with First-time CLI agent users. If you already have an agent workflow, use Switching to Outfitter to adopt the smallest durable set first.

Learn how shared sources work in Catalogs, then see Agents, Agent profiles, and Personas for composition.

Common commands

outfitter run engineer
outfitter run persona-reviewer --harness claude
outfitter sync
outfitter list agents
outfitter validate
outfitter dump --out ./review

See the CLI reference for every command and flag, and Concepts for how settings, resources, and adapters fit together.

Other install options

Upgrade a global install:

npm update -g @ai-outfitter/outfitter

Try without a global install:

npx --yes @ai-outfitter/outfitter@latest --help

Run directly from the repository’s Nix flake:

nix run github:ai-outfitter/outfitter -- --help