Quickstart

Install the LinkCode desktop app, set up your first agent, and run a thread with Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Pi, or Grok Build.

Installing LinkCode installs everything it needs to run: the desktop app carries the host (the LinkCode daemon) and starts it for you. The one thing LinkCode doesn't ship is the agents themselves — you pick one on first use and LinkCode downloads or finds it.

Before you begin

Supported OS: macOS, Windows, or Linux.
An agent account: LinkCode drives agents you authenticate with their own provider. The shortest path is a Claude or ChatGPT subscription you can sign into from inside LinkCode, but an API key for any supported provider works too — see agents.
Optional — pull request status: install and sign in to the GitHub CLI (gh auth login) if you want pull request status in the Git panel.
Optional — iOS Simulator: the Simulator panel needs Xcode, an iOS runtime, and a simulator device on macOS. The panel walks you through those steps if any are missing.

Set up

Install the desktop app

Download the build for your platform from the releases page and install it. macOS builds are signed and notarized; Windows builds are signed through Azure Trusted Signing.

Launch it

Open the app. The host starts with it, and the sidebar shows Local Host once it's up — you don't start anything by hand, and you don't need an account to use LinkCode on your own machine.

If it stays on "Connecting to the daemon…", see troubleshooting.

The desktop app connected to a local host: the sidebar shows the Chats section and a New Task button

Screenshot coming soon

/images/docs/quickstart-connected.png

Set up your first agent

Agents aren't bundled — LinkCode fetches or finds each one the first time you use it, and never downloads anything without asking.

Press New Task, pick an agent, and follow whichever card appears:

Not installed → Download fetches the version paired with this release of LinkCode. Grok Build is the exception: install the grok CLI yourself and LinkCode detects it.
Signed out → Sign in opens your browser. Claude Code and Codex finish the sign-in there; if the page shows an authorization code instead, paste it back into LinkCode.
Unverified → an install already on your machine that hasn't been tested against this LinkCode release. Continue with it, or download the paired version.

Prefer an API key, a gateway, or your own endpoint over a subscription? Add it once under Settings → Providers and connect it to any agent — see settings.

Start your first thread

Pick a working directory, or choose Chat to talk without a project attached. If the directory is a git repository you can also pick a branch, and LinkCode starts the thread in an isolated worktree for it.

Type your prompt into the composer — the input box at the bottom — and send it. You can @-reference a file or terminal output, attach images, or start the message with / to run one of the agent's own commands.

Watch for permission requests as the agent works: they appear pinned above the composer, and the agent waits for your answer. How often that happens is up to the approval policy in the composer's shield menu — each agent has its own set, and some default to running unattended.

A first thread with Claude Code: the agent working through a prompt, with a permission request pinned above the composer