Quickstart

Run your first self-improving agent session in under five minutes.

Run your first agent session end to end in under five minutes.

1. Point at a model

PoorMad is provider-agnostic. Set your provider and API key in the config (or environment):

# config.yaml (recommended)
provider: openai
model: gpt-4o-mini

# or environment
export POORMAD_API_KEY=sk-...

See Models & Providers for the full list of supported providers and how to use a local model.

2. Run the agent

poormad

You land in an interactive session. Try a real task:

> Summarize the last 20 lines of my shell history and suggest three aliases.

3. Watch it learn

When you repeat a class of task, ask the agent to capture it as a skill:

> Save what you just did as a skill called "shell-audit"

The skill is written to your PoorMad home and reused on future sessions. Read more in Skills.

4. Connect other surfaces

• Desktop: open the app — it finds your local gateway automatically.
• Portal: start the dashboard server and open the browser UI.
• Messaging: link Telegram, Discord, or Slack in Messaging Platforms.

Where to go next

• Configuration — every setting, explained.
• Memory — how cross-session recall works.
• CLI Reference — every command.