Install & first run
Two commands put Stele on your machine; one more, inside the agent you already use, wires it into a project. After that you don't run anything special. You just keep prompting, and the record fills in around you.
You can start without installing the CLI or opening a local folder. Choose your setup for browser-only work, shared context across agents, or scheduled jobs. The steps below are for agents working on your machine.
1. Install the CLI
The stele CLI is a single binary that wires into your shell. One line installs it on macOS or Linux, or inside WSL on Windows, with no runtime to set up and nothing to configure. The script checks the download against its published checksum before it installs anything. It finds the coding agents and supported terminal multiplexers you already have, then asks which integrations to enable. You can re-run stele install any time to add more.
Say yes to the last question and Stele installs new releases on its own: it checks at most once a day, downloads in the background so nothing you are doing waits on it, and tells your agent afterwards that a restart will pick the new version up. Say no and nothing is ever installed without you — run stele update when you want it. You can change your mind by running stele install again.
If Herdr is installed, the picker offers a separate Herdr integration. Agent rows get a compact Stele marker and claimed-task id, and a status popup carries the rest: the agent's current intent, task, project, and workspace scope, without squeezing long names into the sidebar. It also sends a Herdr notification when a new Stele version is available.
Herdr opens the popup on a key you set, so install offers to add one. Say yes and it writes the binding to your Herdr config; say no and it prints the block for you to place yourself. stele update refreshes the integration after you opt in, and stele uninstall takes the binding back out. Surfaces has the details.
Some agents let you move their config directory — keeping a second account separate is the usual reason — with a setting like CODEX_HOME or CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR. Set it when you run the install and Stele sets the agent up there: CODEX_HOME=~/.codex_work stele install. Without it, the install goes to the default location, which that agent never reads.
2. Sign in
Sign in once with GitHub, Google, or your email address. There's no separate account to create and no key to paste. GitHub and Google open your browser, you approve, and you're in. Email sends you a one-time code you paste back into the terminal, so you never leave it.
Signing in creates your account the first time, so there is no separate signup step. Use the email you want the project's record attributed to.
3. Wire it into a project
Open the project in the agent you already use and run the start command once. Stele binds itself to the project, maps the codebase and any docs it finds, and builds the first record. You approve what it's about to do before it does it.
The way you invoke it depends on the harness, but the behavior is identical everywhere:
- Claude Code and Cursor.
/stele:startand the other/stele:*slash commands. - Codex, Antigravity, Copilot, Grok Build, and Kimi Code CLI. The same commands as skills (or plugin commands, depending on the host).
- OpenCode. An in-process plugin.
- Pi. A native TypeScript extension with Stele tools, automatic recall, compact terminal receipts, claimed-task status, and
/stele-*prompt templates. - DeepSeek Harness. A native Cordis plugin with
/stele-*commands, skills, automatic recall, and an in-app session panel. - Any other MCP-compatible client. Connects to the Stele MCP server directly and walks the same record.
Already have history in the repo? Backfill seeds the record from your existing code, git history, and docs. Your agent reads them and writes what it finds into the graph.
4. Keep working
That's the whole setup. From here you prompt your agent the way you always have. Before each answer, Stele quietly pulls the decisions, lessons, and risks that bear on what you asked; as work happens, it writes new knowledge and tasks back. Nothing to remember, nothing to maintain by hand.
A good first move is to ask the agent to take stock. It'll read the record and tell you where things stand.
What's the current state of this project? Check Stele for open tasks, recent decisions, and any risks I should know about before I start.
Agents that can't run anything on your machine — ChatGPT, Claude in the browser or on your phone, a scheduled cloud run — reach the same record through Stele's hosted endpoint. Paste one URL into the client's connector settings and sign in. Connect your AI agent has the steps for each one.