Quickstart

Start with a small, easy-to-check task. You will need a working installation and gateway key.

Open your project

In your terminal, change to the project directory:

cd path/to/your-project

Choose a project where you can inspect changes with version control.

List available TAO models

taocode models

Copy a reference beginning with tao/. Model availability depends on the gateways you have connected and their current catalogs.

Run the agent on a TAO model

For example, if this reference appears in your model list:

taocode run --model tao/chutes/Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B-TEE "Create hello.py that prints hello. Run it to check the output."

Replace the reference with one from your own list. The agent can request file edits and shell commands as it works. Follow any permission prompts shown by your installed version.

Review the result

Check the generated file and command output. For this example, running python3 hello.py should print hello. In a Git project, use git diff and git status to inspect modified and new files.

For larger tasks, specify the files to change, expected behavior, and relevant tests in your prompt.

Keep working interactively

taocode

The interactive session is useful for follow-up questions and multi-step changes. Use /connect to add a gateway and /models to choose a model.

If the task does not start

Symptom	What to check
No tao/ models appear	Gateway credentials in this shell or stored authentication
Authentication fails	Key validity and whether an older stored key takes precedence
Model is unavailable	Re-run taocode models and choose an available reference
Request is rejected	Gateway balance, rate limits, model capabilities, and any privacy restrictions reported by the CLI

Continue with Selecting a model or the CLI reference.