Kvist
RU

Install guide

Install Kvist, step by step

Eight steps from an empty terminal to your first task. Every screenshot is the real installer and the real interface, with the parts to look at outlined and numbered. Every command has a Copy button.

Before you start

  • A terminal on Linux, macOS or Windows (macOS without guarantees)
  • No Python and no administrator rights are needed
  • A provider API key, or a ChatGPT Plus/Pro subscription to sign in with

About the screenshots They were taken from the release installer in a clean home directory. The last two show a local test gateway instead of a real provider, so the provider and model names there are not what you will see; the layout is.

01

Run the installer

Open a terminal and paste one command. It downloads the agent and Node.js into a temporary folder and writes nothing until you confirm on the next screen.

Linux and macOS
curl -fsSL https://github.com/davud-d/Kvist/releases/download/latest-plugin-build/install.sh | bash
Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://github.com/davud-d/Kvist/releases/download/latest-plugin-build/install.ps1 | iex

On Windows the installer has no component screen yet: it installs the defaults and finishes. Skip to step 07.

Terminal showing the installer downloading the Kvist binary and Node.js
  1. Nothing is installed until you choose it on the next screen
  2. The agent binary downloads into a temporary folder
02

Choose what to install

Arrow keys move, Space ticks or unticks, Enter installs. The defaults are fine: the Kvist agent is required, and Node.js runs the terminal interface. Untick anything you do not want, such as the desktop app or an editor extension.

The installer screen listing components with checkboxes
  1. The Kvist agent: the kvist command itself
  2. Node.js 22: runs the terminal interface
  3. Exactly what will be written, and where
  4. Install starts it; Esc quits with nothing written
03

Wait for it to finish

Each component shows its own state and the bar counts finished ones. Files go under ~/.local/share/kvist and the launcher goes to ~/.local/bin. It usually takes a minute or two.

The installer showing each component as working, with a progress bar
  1. One line per component you ticked
  2. Progress and what is downloading right now
04

Start the first-run setup

When the installer says Installed, the same window continues into setup. It tells you what Kvist will not do: it does not read .env files or SSH keys, it asks before risky commands, and /revert undoes what it changed. Press Enter on Get started.

The setup welcome screen with an Installed confirmation
  1. The installation is done
  2. The folder Kvist will work in; press F to change it
  3. Get started continues
05

Pick where the model comes from

Choose a provider with the arrow keys or the number, then Enter. You can add more or switch later with /provider. ChatGPT Plus/Pro signs in with your subscription instead of a key; More providers opens the longer list.

The provider list: AnyModel, ChatGPT Plus/Pro, OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek and more
  1. AnyModel, Kvist's own router, is the recommended start
  2. Sign in with a ChatGPT Plus or Pro subscription
  3. Forty more providers, set up in the classic terminal
06

Paste your key

Paste the key and press Enter; Tab shows or hides it. It is saved only in ~/.kvist/config.json on this computer, never in a project. Without a key yet, the registration button opens the provider's page. After that the setup may ask for models and which interface to use; the first interface in the list is the one most people want.

The key prompt with a masked input field and a registration button
  1. Where the key is kept
  2. Paste it here
  3. Opens the registration page if you have no key
  4. Continue saves it
07

Start Kvist in a project

Go to your project folder and run kvist. The current folder becomes the workspace: Kvist reads, edits and runs commands only inside it.

In your project folder
cd ~/project
Start the agent
kvist
Kvist Glass, ready for a task
  1. Where you type your request
  2. Enter sends, Ctrl+P picks the model, Ctrl+T shows helpers
  3. The provider, model and reasoning effort in use
  4. The workspace: the only folder Kvist works in
08

Give it a task

Type what you want in plain words and press Enter. Type / to see the commands. Approvals appear inline: answer them and the run continues. When it is done, /changes shows what was written and /revert puts it back.

See what the agent wrote
/changes
Put it back
/revert
A task typed into the Kvist Glass input
  1. Your request, in plain words
The slash command list above the input
  1. Typing / lists the commands; /commands prints them all

Prefer to run from source? It needs Python 3.11+: clone the repository, install requirements.txt in a venv and run main.py --workspace <path>. See the repository README.