JAT Quick Start Guide

Get from zero to orchestrating AI agents in 5 minutes

The 10X Boost in 5 Steps

Andrej Karpathy said it best: you could be 10X more powerful with AI agents if you could just string together what's available. JAT is that string.

Step 1: Install Prerequisites (2 min)

# Linux (Arch/Manjaro)
sudo pacman -S tmux sqlite jq nodejs npm

# Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt install tmux sqlite3 jq nodejs npm

# macOS
brew install tmux sqlite jq node

Why these?

tmux - Agent sessions run here (IDE tracks them)
sqlite3 - Agent Registry database (coordination)
jq - JSON processing (tool outputs)
node/npm - IDE and browser automation

Step 2: Install JAT (1 min)

# One-line installer (works on Linux and macOS)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/joewinke/jat/master/install.sh | bash

This symlinks all tools to ~/.local/bin/:

jt-* - JAT Tasks CLI
am-* - Agent Registry (4 commands)
browser-* - Browser automation (11 commands)
db-* - Database tools (4 commands)
jat-* - JAT signals and launchers

Reload your shell:

source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc on macOS

Verify:

am-whoami    # Should show "Not registered" (expected)
jt --version # Should show version number

Step 3: Initialize a Project (30 sec)

cd ~/code/myproject
jt init

Answer the prompts (or press Enter for defaults):

Project name: myproject
Default priority: 2 (Medium)
Task prefix: mp (e.g., mp-001, mp-002)

This creates .jat/ directory - git-backed task tracking.

Step 4: Start the IDE (30 sec)

jat

This:

Checks dependencies (npm install if needed)
Starts SvelteKit dev server (port 3333 by default)
Opens browser to http://localhost:3333

You should see:

Empty Work page (no active sessions yet)
Navigation: Tasks, Work, Files, Servers, Agents, Config

Step 5: Launch Your First Agent (1 min)

Option A: Via IDE (Recommended for First Time)

Go to Tasks page
Click "Create Task" button
Fill in:
- Title: "Add authentication"
- Type: task
- Priority: P2 (Medium)
Click "Create"
Go to Work page
Click "Start Next" dropdown → Select your new task
Watch agent spawn in tmux session

Option B: Via CLI (Faster for Repeat Use)

# Single agent
jat-myproject

# Multiple agents in auto-attack mode
jat myproject 4 --auto

What happens:

Tmux session created: jat-{AgentName}
Claude Code starts in session
Agent runs /jat:start (picks highest priority task)
IDE shows live terminal output
Session state updates in real-time

You're Now Orchestrating AI Agents! 🎉

What you have:

✅ Visual IDE showing all agent sessions
✅ Task management (create, assign, track)
✅ Live terminal output per agent
✅ Code editor (/files page)
✅ Server controls (/servers page)
✅ Token usage tracking

Configure Auto-Proceed Rules (Optional but Recommended)

Go to Config → Review Rules:

The Review Rules Matrix:

              P0        P1        P2        P3        P4
bug         review    review    review    auto      auto
feature     review    review    auto      auto      auto
task        review    auto      auto      auto      auto
chore       auto      auto      auto      auto      auto

What this means:

P3-P4 bugs: Agent auto-completes → spawns next task
P0-P2 bugs: Agent asks for review before completing
Click cells to toggle between auto/review

Why configure this?

Lets agents work overnight on low-priority items
You review high-priority completions
Balances autonomy with control

Configure Automation Rules (Optional)

Go to Config → Automation → Presets:

Install these presets:

✅ API Overloaded Recovery (auto-retry with backoff)
✅ Rate Limit Recovery (wait 60s, retry)
✅ Network Error Recovery (detect ECONNREFUSED, retry)
✅ Auto-Continue Prompts (send Enter on "Continue?" prompts)

Why these help:

Agents recover from transient errors automatically
You don't babysit stuck sessions
3am rate limit? Handled.

Your First Epic Swarm (Multi-Agent Workflow)

Create an Epic

Tasks page → Create Task
Type: epic
Title: "Add user authentication system"

Description:

- [ ] Design auth flow
- [ ] Add login endpoint
- [ ] Add registration endpoint
- [ ] Add password reset
- [ ] Write tests
- [ ] Update documentation

Click Create

Launch the Swarm

Click the Epic's title → Opens detail drawer
Click "Launch Epic Swarm" button
Configure:
- Execution mode: Parallel
- Max concurrent: 4
- Review threshold: P0-P1 (only review critical items)
- Auto-spawn blocked: Yes (wait for dependencies)
Click "Launch"

Watch the Magic

IDE converts each [ ] item into a subtask
4 agents spawn simultaneously
Each picks a subtask (ordered by priority)
As tasks complete, agents auto-proceed to next task
Progress bar shows completion

When to intervene:

Agent shows "NEEDS INPUT" badge → click to answer
Agent shows "REVIEW" badge → check work before completing
Error in terminal → automation rules try recovery first

Common First-Time Issues

"Agent shows offline in IDE"

Cause: Not running in tmux

Fix:

# Don't run:
claude "/jat:start"  # ❌ No tmux, IDE can't track

# Do run:
jat-myproject        # ✅ Launcher creates tmux session

"IDE says 'No projects found'"

Cause: Haven't run jt init in your project

Fix:

cd ~/code/myproject
jt init
# Refresh IDE

"Browser automation tools not found"

Cause: npm dependencies not installed

Fix:

cd ~/code/jat/tools/browser
npm install

"Agents cost too much"

Check usage:

IDE → Agent card → Shows tokens + cost today/week
Adjust review rules to require more human review
Set max concurrent lower (fewer agents = less cost)

Typical costs:

100K tokens/day ≈ $0.30/day
1M tokens/day ≈ $3/day
10M tokens/day ≈ $30/day

Next Steps

Level 1: Single Agent (you just did this ✅)

Launch one agent on one task
Watch it work in IDE
Review and complete

Level 2: Auto-Proceed

Configure review rules matrix
Let agents auto-complete low-priority tasks
Wake up to finished backlog

Level 3: Epic Swarm

Create epic with 10+ subtasks
Launch 4-8 agents in parallel
Track progress in real-time

Level 4: Custom Automation

Write custom automation rules (regex patterns)
Template variables with capture groups
Project-specific error handling

Level 5: Multi-Project

Initialize multiple projects (~/code/project1, ~/code/project2)
IDE shows all projects
Swarm attack across projects

Key Keyboard Shortcuts

Every route with a list, table, or grid supports vim-style j/k navigation. Press ? anywhere for the full route-specific overlay.

Shortcut	Action	Context
`j` / `k` (or `↓` / `↑`)	Navigate list / rows / cards	Any route
`Enter`	Open focused item	Any route
`?`	Show shortcut overlay	Any route
`Esc`	Clear focus / close overlay	Any route
`Alt+N`	Create new task	Global
`Alt+E`	Open Epic Swarm modal	Global
`Alt+S`	Start next task	Global
`Alt+A`	Attach to session	Hovered session (Work page)
`Alt+K`	Kill session	Hovered session
`Alt+1` to `Alt+9`	Jump to session	Work page
`Cmd+K`	Command palette	Global

Full per-route reference: ide/docs/keyboard-navigation.md.

Essential Commands

IDE

jat                             # Launch IDE

Project Management

jat init                        # Auto-discover ~/code/* projects
jat add <path>                  # Add project manually
jat list                        # Show all projects

Task Management

jt ready                        # Tasks ready to work
jt create "Title" --priority 1  # Create task (P1 = High)
jt show <id>                    # View task details
jt close <id>                   # Close completed task
jt dep add <task> <blocker>     # Add dependency

Agent Coordination

am-whoami                       # Check your agent identity
am-agents                       # List all registered agents

Slash Commands (in Claude sessions)

/jat:start          Pick task, reserve files, begin work
/jat:complete       Verify, commit, close task, end session
/jat:tasktree           Convert PRD to structured tasks
/jat:verify         Run tests, lint, security checks
/jat:doctor         Diagnose and repair JAT setup

Support & Next Steps

Documentation

README.md - Overview and philosophy
GETTING_STARTED.md - Complete tutorial
CLAUDE.md - Complete developer reference
shared/signals.md - Signal system
shared/automation.md - Automation rules
shared/tools.md - All 40+ tools

Having Issues?

Check GitHub Issues
Read troubleshooting in CLAUDE.md
Join community discussions

The Bottom Line

Karpathy said programmers could be 10X more powerful if they could just string together what's available.

You just strung it together.

✅ Agents orchestrated
✅ IDE running
✅ Tasks tracked
✅ Automation configured

You're ready to claim the 10X boost. Happy orchestrating! 🚀

Full Docs | README | Issues

FilesExpand file tree

QUICKSTART.md

Latest commit

History

QUICKSTART.md

File metadata and controls

JAT Quick Start Guide

The 10X Boost in 5 Steps

Step 1: Install Prerequisites (2 min)

Step 2: Install JAT (1 min)

Step 3: Initialize a Project (30 sec)

Step 4: Start the IDE (30 sec)

Step 5: Launch Your First Agent (1 min)

Option A: Via IDE (Recommended for First Time)

Option B: Via CLI (Faster for Repeat Use)

You're Now Orchestrating AI Agents! 🎉

Configure Auto-Proceed Rules (Optional but Recommended)

Configure Automation Rules (Optional)

Your First Epic Swarm (Multi-Agent Workflow)

Create an Epic

Launch the Swarm

Watch the Magic

Common First-Time Issues

"Agent shows offline in IDE"

"IDE says 'No projects found'"

"Browser automation tools not found"

"Agents cost too much"

Next Steps

Level 1: Single Agent (you just did this ✅)

Level 2: Auto-Proceed

Level 3: Epic Swarm

Level 4: Custom Automation

Level 5: Multi-Project

Key Keyboard Shortcuts

Essential Commands

IDE

Project Management

Task Management

Agent Coordination

Slash Commands (in Claude sessions)

Support & Next Steps

Documentation

Having Issues?

The Bottom Line