Quick Start

Quick Start

Get ARGUS running in about two minutes.

Requirements

	Minimum
Runtime	Node.js 20+
OS	macOS, Linux, Windows (WSL recommended)
RAM	~2 GB for local models; less if cloud-only
Keys	Optional — with none, ARGUS uses local Ollama
Wallet	Optional — economy layer stays off without one

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One-command install (recommended)

curl -fsSL https://magic-ai-factory.com/install | bash

The wizard writes argus.config.json, prompts for provider keys, and optionally wires Telegram.

Then:

argus doctor    # what's configured?
argus chat      # interactive REPL
argus serve     # HTTP + optional Telegram + Arena

Details: Install

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First questions to try

argus ask "summarise https://example.com in three bullets"
argus warden scan    # vet configured MCP servers
argus status         # budget meter + channel health

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Autonomy smoke test (no API keys, no wallet)

# Needs Ollama on :11434 or another local OpenAI-compatible endpoint:
ARGUS_LOCAL_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:11434/v1 argus ask "hello"

argus doctor should report economy: OFF (autonomous). See Autonomy.

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Next steps

Goal	Page
Tune models & budgets	Configuration
Add MCP tools safely	WARDEN
Telegram / HTTP / MCP	Channels
Enable USDC economy	Economy
Full user guide	User-Guides

Repo quickstart: argus/README.md