Getting Started

Your first lap with BoB. Stand up a project, then run the autonomous loop. Extracted from the handbook's Quick Start and first-time-install sections — read top to bottom.

← docs home · the conceptual spine is the handbook.

2. Quick Start

2A. Brand-new project

bob ready ~/projects/my-project # The one command (#3158): creates the directory, git init, the private
                                # GitHub repo, .claude/ links, the manifest, labels, ports — and puts the
                                # project on bob viz. Ends READY, with the viz URL and the next command.
cd ~/projects/my-project
claude                          # Start Claude Code

# Inside Claude:
/vision                         # Living doc: why, who, where (docs/vision.md)
/capability                     # First feature spec (GitHub Issue, label: cap)
/requirement                    # Acceptance criteria (GitHub Issue, label: req)
# Approve a requirement: add the `approved` label

2B. Existing project

bob ready ~/Sites/my-project    # Resuming is the same one command; `bob ready owner/repo` clones it first
cd ~/Sites/my-project
bob dash status                             # Sanity-check tooling status
bob provision status                   # See what's provisioned
claude

Inside Claude:

/what-next                      # Tells you the next sensible work item

2C. Autonomous mode (warp-drive)

claude -a3 -rdb                 # Level 3 + Telegram bridge

Inside Claude:

/warp-drive                     # Picks up next approved requirement and goes

Phone nearby. Decisions land in Telegram. /stop-warp-drive to abort cleanly.

2D. Parallel work clusters

bob fork fork feat/a feat/b feat/c        # 3 worktrees, 3 tmux windows, 3 warp-drives
bob fork fork --from-issues 4              # Auto-pick 4 approved requirements
bob fork status                            # See every active worktree
bob fork drop feat/a                       # Tear down one cleanly

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3.1 First-time install on a machine

git clone git@github.com:paulirv/bigbrain.git ~/projects/bigbrain
cd ~/projects/bigbrain

scripts/deploy.sh --first-run    # Sync source → ~/.claude/ for the first time

scripts/bob-install.sh           # Adds one guarded line to your shell rc that sources ~/.claude/bin/bob-shell.zsh
source ~/.zshrc                  # (or ~/.bashrc) — picks up wrapper, aliases and PATH

What the sourced bob-shell.zsh gives your shell (it exists only after the deploy, so deploy first):

• claude shell wrapper — intercepts -a1 / -a2 / -a3 (automation level), -rdb (Telegram) and --kit <name> (loads a session kit as a provision overlay), then exec's the real claude CLI.
• $BOB_HOME/bin on your PATH — bob and every legacy alias shim (cdi, cdprov, cdfork, …).
• Alias: cdr (disaster recovery — the one command with no bin/ entrypoint).