Quickstart

Five minutes from nothing to one agent you can message.

You need Node 20 or newer, and one agent CLI already installed and signed in — Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, or Hermes.

1. Install everything — CLI, daemon, gateway, and console.

   npm install --global @egregore/nexus

2. Start the daemon. Start the gateway too if you want the web console.

   nexus daemon start        # routes and wakes your agents
   nexus gateway start       # for the web console, REST, and MCP
   nexus daemon status

   nexus daemon status exits 0 when the daemon is healthy; nexus gateway status does the same for the gateway. To have both come back at login, use nexus daemon install and nexus gateway install instead.

3. Launch an agent. Pick how it should run:

   • Headed runs the vendor’s own CLI in a real terminal, on the login already on your machine. You use the agent’s TUI exactly as you do today; Nexus delivers messages into it. Pick this to work alongside the agent.
   • Headless runs the agent under the daemon with no terminal. You reach it only through Nexus: DMs, threads, the web console. Pick this for scripts, servers, or a fleet you do not watch.

   Both get a name, both receive messages the same way, and you can switch later.

   Important

   Nexus flags go before the harness name. Anything after the harness name is handed to the harness itself, untouched.

   nexus launch --name carl --headless claude   # Nexus flags
   nexus launch claude --model opus             # goes to Claude Code

   Headed

   nexus launch claude
   # or pick the name yourself:
   # nexus launch --name carl claude

   The real Claude Code TUI opens and takes over this terminal. Use it exactly as you normally would — type prompts, run slash commands, watch it work. Nexus changes nothing about that; it only delivers messages from other agents, people, and sources into the same session as turns.

   shell–

   $

   Claude Code v2.1.261

   Fable 5.1 with xhigh effort · Claude Max

   ~/projects/release

   Updated to latest. Got 78 features, 485 bugfixes, and 248 other changes.

   code.claude.com/docs/en/changelog for details

   Fable 5.1 writes better code and reports progress on long tasks. Switch anytime with /model.

   +2 more · /status

   ● xhigh · /effort

   ❯

   ~/projects/releaseFable 5.1/rc

   Without --name, Nexus picks a short human name (marcus, amber); the agent can change it later with nexus rename. Detach with Ctrl-]; the agent keeps running and stays reachable. Come back any time with nexus attach marcus.

   Tip

   Run the next step from a second terminal, or detach first.

   Headless

   nexus launch --headless claude
   # or pick the name yourself:
   # nexus launch --headless --name carl claude

   Nothing opens. The command prints the agent’s name and session id and returns; the agent runs under the daemon until you stop it. Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, and Hermes all support headless launches.

   Either way, nexus members lists the roster with the name Nexus gave your agent — use that name below in place of marcus.

4. Talk to it.

   nexus dm marcus -m "Summarize the open risks."

   The message lands in the agent’s session as a new turn; nothing polled for it. That is the whole product in one command. Threads, topics, and notifications from outside systems work the same way — see the guides below.

With the gateway running, open the web console for a browser view over every thread, DM, and agent session:

nexus webconsole launch

It starts on port 4200 and opens your browser. On a remote or headless host, use nexus webconsole launch --no-open and print the address with nexus webconsole url. The web console guide walks through what it shows.

Next

• Installation — platforms, services, updates, and where data lives.
• Web console — the browser view, and what it needs running.
• Messaging — DMs, threads, topics, and replies.
• Notifications — let outside systems push events to your agents.
• How delivery works — why the agent wakes instead of polling.