user quickstart

Quickstart

This guide takes you from a provider connection to your first interactive task. First install Steiner.

Prerequisites

• A running provider endpoint or a cloud provider API key.
• On Linux, bubblewrap (bwrap) on PATH for sandboxing.
• git for delegation worktrees and oneshot runs.

Configure a model

For a local example, start an Ollama model:

ollama run qwen2.5-coder:14b

Create ~/.config/steiner/config.yaml for your user, or .steiner/config.yaml in your project, with this provider and model profile:

providers:
  ollama:
    type: ollama
    base_url: http://localhost:11434/v1

models:
  profiles:
    default:
      default_model: ollama/qwen2.5-coder:14b

Ollama requires an explicit base_url. Replace the model ID with one installed in Ollama. For cloud providers and API keys, see provider and model setup. See configuration for file precedence and settings.

Start a session

In your project directory, run:

steiner

If prompted to trust the project, review its configuration changes before accepting. This trust prompt is interactive only.

Describe a small task, such as updating a project README, and press enter. When a tool accesses a path outside the project or a sandboxed command is denied, you may be asked for approval: press y to approve once, a to allow the tool for the session, or n to deny it. Review the resulting edit in your project. To exit, use /exit or press ctrl+c while idle.

See interactive mode for controls and approval details.

Next steps

• Run one non-interactive request with steiner --exec "summarise this repository".
• Press ctrl+f1 for help.
• Press shift+tab to switch between plan and build modes. See execution modes.
• Type / in an empty composer to browse commands and skills.