Quick Start

Get started with OWL in 5 minutes.

Start OWL

Simply run:

owl

OWL automatically starts the daemon if it's not already running. You should see:

  (o,o)
  /)_)   OWL - A wise AI with a growing soul
  " "

Project: your-project-name
Type /help for commands, or just chat!

Basic Conversation

Just type naturally to chat with OWL:

you: What can you help me with?

owl: I can help you with:
- Exploring and understanding codebases
- Reading and writing files
- Searching for patterns in your code
- Running shell commands (when enabled)
- Remembering your preferences and project context

What would you like to work on?

Working with Projects

OWL automatically detects your project when you start the CLI from a project directory:

cd ~/my-project
owl

Or set it manually:

/project ~/my-project

OWL will detect:

• Project type (Python, Node.js, Rust, Go, Java, etc.)
• Frameworks (Django, FastAPI, React, Spring Boot, etc.)
• Key directories (src, tests, docs, etc.)

Using Tools

OWL has built-in tools for file operations:

you: What files are in the src directory?

  📁 list_files(src/) ✓

owl: The src directory contains:
- main.py
- utils.py
- config.py
...

you: Show me the contents of main.py

  📄 read_file(src/main.py) ✓

owl: Here's main.py:
[file contents]

Memory Commands

Teach OWL things to remember:

/remember I prefer pytest over unittest
/remember This project uses PostgreSQL for the database
/remember Always use type hints in Python code

View what OWL remembers:

/memory

Essential Commands

Command	Description
/help	Show all commands
/status	Show daemon status
/project [path]	Set/show current project
/memory	View remembered facts
/remember <text>	Remember something
/tools	Show available tools
/new	Start fresh session
/quit	Exit OWL

Multi-line Input

For longer messages:

• \ + Enter - Add a newline (backslash escape)
• Alt + Enter - Add a newline
• Ctrl + J - Add a newline
• Ctrl + X, Ctrl + E - Open in your $EDITOR

Shell Commands

Run shell commands directly with !:

!git status
!ls -la
!python -m pytest

Next Steps

• Configuration - Customize OWL
• CLI Commands - Full command reference
• Memory System - How memory works