Obot CLI Setup

The obot setup command prepares your local workstation to use an Obot server from the command line and from supported local AI clients.

Use it after an Obot server is running and reachable from your machine.

What it does

obot setup performs these steps:

1. Resolves the Obot app URL to use, either from --url, from an existing local default, or by prompting you.
2. Authenticates to that Obot server. If OBOT_TOKEN is set, the CLI uses that token. Otherwise, it uses the same browser-based token flow as obot login.
3. Stores the normalized default Obot URL in the local Obot CLI config.
4. Stores a newly acquired Obot bearer token in the host OS keyring, scoped to that Obot URL.
5. Optionally installs Obot bootstrap skills into supported local AI clients.

The bootstrap skills let local agents use the obot CLI to search for Obot-managed skills, install skills, and run local client scans without manually editing client configuration.

note

obot setup configures the local CLI and local client bootstrap files. It does not deploy the Obot server or configure server-side authentication providers.

Prerequisites

• The obot CLI is installed and available on your PATH.
• The Obot server URL is reachable from your workstation.
• If authentication is enabled, Obot has at least one configured authentication provider that your user can use.
• Your local OS keyring is available so the CLI can store a newly acquired authentication token.

If Obot authentication is enabled but no provider is configured yet, finish server-side authentication setup first. See Enabling Authentication and Auth Providers.

Basic usage

Run setup with your Obot app URL:

obot setup --url https://obot.example.com

For a local Docker deployment using the default port:

obot setup --url http://localhost:8080

If authentication is required, the CLI opens a browser to complete login. After login succeeds, setup saves the default URL and asks where to install local bootstrap skills.

Choosing local client targets

Use --clients to choose where bootstrap skills are installed:

Value	Description	Install location
agents	Install into the shared Agent Skills directory used by clients that support ~/.agents.	~/.agents/skills
claude-code	Install into Claude Code's skills directory.	~/.claude/skills
none	Skip local client bootstrap installation.	Not applicable

You can install into more than one target:

obot setup --url https://obot.example.com --clients agents,claude-code

To configure only CLI authentication and the default URL:

obot setup --url https://obot.example.com --clients none

When --clients is omitted in an interactive terminal, setup prompts you. The prompt always offers agents. It offers claude-code when Claude Code is detected locally. You can still install Claude Code support explicitly with --clients claude-code.

Non-interactive setup

For scripts or GUI wrappers, pass both --url and --clients with --non-interactive:

obot setup \
  --url https://obot.example.com \
  --clients agents \
  --non-interactive

Non-interactive mode never reads from stdin. It still uses the normal token flow, so it may open a browser and wait for authentication unless a valid token is already stored.

Use --yes to accept defaults and confirmations. If --clients is omitted with --yes, setup installs the shared agents target by default:

obot setup --url https://obot.example.com --yes

If a different default Obot URL is already configured, setup refuses to replace it unless you pass --yes:

obot setup --url https://new-obot.example.com --yes

Check setup status

Use obot setup status to verify the local configuration:

obot setup status

The command prints:

• CLI version
• Default Obot URL
• Whether the stored token is valid
• Whether setup is complete

For JSON output:

obot setup status --json

What setup writes locally

obot setup writes:

• The default Obot URL to the Obot CLI config file under the user's XDG config directory.
• A bearer token to the host OS keyring under the obot service, scoped by Obot app URL, when setup acquires a new token through the login flow.
• Bootstrap skill files under the selected client skill directories, such as ~/.agents/skills or ~/.claude/skills.

Troubleshooting

auth_unavailable

The Obot server did not report exactly one usable configured authentication provider. Configure an auth provider first, or use an interactive setup flow if multiple providers are configured and you need to choose one.

server_unreachable

Check that the URL points to the Obot app, that the server is running, and that the CLI can reach it from your workstation.

Missing --url in non-interactive mode

Pass --url, or run setup interactively and enter the URL when prompted.

--clients is required in non-interactive mode

Pass --clients agents, --clients claude-code, --clients agents,claude-code, or --clients none.

Existing URL mismatch

If setup reports that another Obot URL is already configured, pass --yes to replace the stored default URL.