Getting Started

Installation

There are two ways to install Crewly. Pick whichever suits you best, or visit the download page for more details.

Option 1 — Quick install script (macOS / Linux, recommended)

$ curl -fsSL https://crewlyai.com/install.sh | bash

Open a new terminal and run:

$ crewly start

Option 2 — Install with npm

Use npm if your Node comes from Homebrew or the nodejs.org installer.

$ npm install -g crewly
$ crewly init
$ crewly start

The installer runs the interactive setup wizard for you, so the next step is crewly start in a new terminal.

Requirements

  • Node.js 22 or later
  • C/C++ compiler: not needed on macOS or glibc Linux (x64/arm64). If crewly doctor says you need one, install python3, make and g++.
  • jq installed (brew install jq, or sudo apt-get install -y jq)
  • curl
  • One AI coding CLI, installed and logged in:
    • Claude Code — Anthropic's coding agent
    • Codex — OpenAI's coding agent
    • Antigravity — Google's coding agent (Gemini API key)

The onboarding wizard (crewly onboard) installs the AI tool you choose (Claude Code by default).

What agents can and cannot touch

Agents run on your machine, as the AI tools you installed. Knowing where the limits are matters more than the flags you launch with.

What they can do without asking

  • Claude Code agents launch with permission prompts skipped, so they can read and write files and run shell commands on your machine.
  • Posts to Slack are not held for approval.

What waits for you

  • Email sent through a connected Gmail account becomes a draft. Only you can send it.
  • WhatsApp replies are drafts. Sending one needs your explicit confirmation.
  • In your Chrome, clicks and keystrokes that look like Send, Submit, Pay, Delete, Confirm, Publish or Sign are held for your approval in Slack. This is a keyword match, not a guarantee, and you can switch it off.

You can set a daily token cap for each agent, each team or everyone. An agent that reaches its cap is stopped. Caps are off until you set one.

Creating a Team

Open the dashboard and go to the Teams page. Create a team, pick roles (developer, QA, architect, PM, etc.), and choose which AI runtime powers each agent. Start the team and agents will register themselves automatically.

Communicating with Your Team

Talk to your AI team through two channels:

  • Slack — Connect your workspace and chat with agents in dedicated channels with full thread support.
  • Chat UI — Use the built-in chat on the dashboard to send messages and tasks directly.

Knowledge Base & Memory

Store SOPs, architecture docs, and runbooks in the knowledge base. Agents query these automatically when working on tasks. The memory system lets agents persist learnings, patterns, and decisions across sessions — your team gets smarter over time.

Skills Marketplace

Browse the marketplace to find community-built skills for your agents. Install items directly from the dashboard or use the CLI:

$ crewly install --all

Troubleshooting

If crewly start stops with STALE BUILD, run CREWLY_SKIP_BUILD_CHECK=1 crewly start.