Getting started

Getting Started

Goal: go from zero → first working chat (with sane defaults) as quickly as possible.

Fastest chat: open the Control UI (no channel setup needed). Run crocbot dashboard and chat in the browser, or open http://127.0.0.1:18789/ on the gateway host. Docs: Dashboard and Control UI.

Recommended path: use the CLI onboarding wizard (crocbot onboard). It sets up:

• model/auth (OAuth recommended)
• gateway settings
• Telegram channel
• DM allowlists (secure DMs)
• workspace bootstrap + skills
• optional background service

If you want the deeper reference pages, jump to: Wizard, Setup, Security.

Sandboxing note: agents.defaults.sandbox.mode: "non-main" uses session.mainKey (default "main"), so group/channel sessions are sandboxed. If you want the main agent to always run on host, set an explicit per-agent override:

{
  "routing": {
    "agents": {
      "main": {
        "workspace": "~/croc",
        "sandbox": { "mode": "off" }
      }
    }
  }
}

0) Prereqs

• Node >=22
• pnpm (optional; recommended if you build from source)
• Recommended: Brave Search API key for web search. Easiest path: crocbot configure --section web (stores tools.web.search.apiKey). See Web tools.

Windows: use WSL2 (Ubuntu recommended). WSL2 is strongly recommended; native Windows is untested, more problematic, and has poorer tool compatibility. Install WSL2 first, then run the Linux steps inside WSL. See Windows (WSL2).

1) Install the CLI (recommended)

curl -fsSL https://github.com/moshehbenavraham/crocbot/install.sh | bash

Installer options (install method, non-interactive, from GitHub): Install.

Windows (PowerShell):

iwr -useb https://github.com/moshehbenavraham/crocbot/install.ps1 | iex

Alternative (global install):

npm install -g crocbot@latest

pnpm add -g crocbot@latest

2) Run the onboarding wizard (and install the service)

crocbot onboard --install-daemon

What you’ll choose:

• Local vs Remote gateway
• Auth: OpenAI Code (Codex) subscription (OAuth) or API keys. For Anthropic we recommend an API key; claude setup-token is also supported.
• Telegram: bot token from BotFather
• Daemon: background install (systemd; WSL2 uses systemd)
  • Runtime: Node (recommended). Bun is not recommended.
• Gateway token: the wizard generates one by default (even on loopback) and stores it in gateway.auth.token.

Wizard doc: Wizard

Auth: where it lives (important)

• Recommended Anthropic path: set an API key (wizard can store it for service use). claude setup-token is also supported if you want to reuse Claude Code credentials.

• OAuth credentials (legacy import): ~/.crocbot/credentials/oauth.json

• Auth profiles (OAuth + API keys): ~/.crocbot/agents/<agentId>/agent/auth-profiles.json

Headless/server tip: do OAuth on a normal machine first, then copy oauth.json to the gateway host.

3) Start the Gateway

If you installed the service during onboarding, the Gateway should already be running:

crocbot gateway status

Manual run (foreground):

crocbot gateway --port 18789 --verbose

Dashboard (local loopback): http://127.0.0.1:18789/ If a token is configured, paste it into the Control UI settings (stored as connect.params.auth.token).

Note: Node is the recommended runtime for the Gateway.

3.5) Quick verify (2 min)

crocbot status
crocbot health
crocbot security audit --deep

4) Connect Telegram

Telegram bot token

The wizard can write tokens/config for you. If you prefer manual config:

• Create a bot via @BotFather on Telegram
• Set TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN or add to config: channels.telegram.botToken
• Telegram doc: Telegram

Telegram DM tip: your first DM is ignored unless your user ID is allowlisted.

5) DM safety (allowlists)

Default posture: unknown DMs are ignored until they are allowlisted. Add your user ID to channels.telegram.allowFrom, then restart the Gateway.

From source (development)

If you’re hacking on crocbot itself, run from source:

git clone https://github.com/moshehbenavraham/crocbot.git
cd crocbot
pnpm install
pnpm ui:build # auto-installs UI deps on first run
pnpm build
crocbot onboard --install-daemon

If you don’t have a global install yet, run the onboarding step via pnpm crocbot ... from the repo. Gateway (from this repo):

node dist/entry.js gateway --port 18789 --verbose

7) Verify end-to-end

In a new terminal, send a test message:

crocbot message send --target @mychat --message "Hello from crocbot"

If crocbot health shows “no auth configured”, go back to the wizard and set OAuth/key auth — the agent won’t be able to respond without it.

Tip: crocbot status --all is the best pasteable, read-only debug report. Health probes: crocbot health (or crocbot status --deep) asks the running gateway for a health snapshot.

Next steps (optional, but great)

• Remote access (SSH tunnel / Tailscale Serve): Remote access and Tailscale
• VPS hosting: exe.dev, Hetzner, Fly.io