---
name: grepai-quickstart
description: Get started with GrepAI in 5 minutes. Use this skill for a complete walkthrough from installation to first search.
---

# GrepAI Quickstart

This skill provides a complete walkthrough to get GrepAI running and searching your code in 5 minutes.

## When to Use This Skill

- First time using GrepAI
- Need a quick refresher on basic workflow
- Setting up GrepAI on a new project
- Demonstrating GrepAI to someone

## Prerequisites

- Terminal access
- A code project to index

## Step 1: Install GrepAI

### macOS

```bash
brew install yoanbernabeu/tap/grepai
```

### Linux/macOS (Alternative)

```bash
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yoanbernabeu/grepai/main/install.sh | sh
```

### Windows

```powershell
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yoanbernabeu/grepai/main/install.ps1 | iex
```

Verify: `grepai version`

## Step 2: Install Ollama (Local Embeddings)

### macOS

```bash
brew install ollama
ollama serve &
ollama pull nomic-embed-text
```

### Linux

```bash
curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
ollama serve &
ollama pull nomic-embed-text
```

Verify: `curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags`

## Step 3: Initialize Your Project

Navigate to your project and initialize GrepAI:

```bash
cd /path/to/your/project
grepai init
```

This creates `.grepai/config.yaml` with default settings:
- Ollama as embedding provider
- `nomic-embed-text` model
- GOB file storage
- Standard ignore patterns

## Step 4: Start Indexing

Start the watch daemon to index your code:

```bash
grepai watch
```

**What happens:**
1. Scans all source files (respects `.gitignore`)
2. Chunks code into ~512 token segments
3. Generates embeddings via Ollama
4. Stores vectors in `.grepai/index.gob`

**First indexing output:**

```
🔍 GrepAI Watch
   Scanning files...
   Found 245 files
   Processing chunks...
   ████████████████████████████████ 100%
   Indexed 1,234 chunks
   Watching for changes...
```

### Background Mode

For long-running projects:

```bash
# Start in background
grepai watch --background

# Check status
grepai watch --status

# Stop when done
grepai watch --stop
```

## Step 5: Search Your Code

Now search semantically:

```bash
# Basic search
grepai search "authentication flow"

# Limit results
grepai search "error handling" --limit 5

# JSON output for scripts
grepai search "database queries" --json
```

### Example Output

```
Score: 0.89 | src/auth/middleware.go:15-45
──────────────────────────────────────────
func AuthMiddleware() gin.HandlerFunc {
    return func(c *gin.Context) {
        token := c.GetHeader("Authorization")
        if token == "" {
            c.AbortWithStatus(401)
            return
        }
        // Validate JWT token...
    }
}

Score: 0.82 | src/auth/jwt.go:23-55
──────────────────────────────────────────
func ValidateToken(tokenString string) (*Claims, error) {
    token, err := jwt.Parse(tokenString, func(t *jwt.Token) (interface{}, error) {
        return []byte(secretKey), nil
    })
    // ...
}
```

## Step 6: Analyze Call Graphs (Optional)

Trace function relationships:

```bash
# Who calls this function?
grepai trace callers "Login"

# What does this function call?
grepai trace callees "ProcessPayment"

# Full dependency graph
grepai trace graph "ValidateToken" --depth 3
```

## Complete Workflow Summary

```bash
# 1. Install (once)
brew install yoanbernabeu/tap/grepai
brew install ollama && ollama serve & && ollama pull nomic-embed-text

# 2. Setup project (once per project)
cd /your/project
grepai init

# 3. Index (run in background)
grepai watch --background

# 4. Search (as needed)
grepai search "your query here"

# 5. Trace (as needed)
grepai trace callers "FunctionName"
```

## Quick Command Reference

| Command | Purpose |
|---------|---------|
| `grepai init` | Initialize project config |
| `grepai watch` | Start indexing daemon |
| `grepai watch --background` | Run daemon in background |
| `grepai watch --status` | Check daemon status |
| `grepai watch --stop` | Stop daemon |
| `grepai search "query"` | Semantic search |
| `grepai search --json` | JSON output |
| `grepai trace callers "fn"` | Find callers |
| `grepai trace callees "fn"` | Find callees |
| `grepai status` | Index statistics |
| `grepai version` | Show version |

## Search Tips

**Be descriptive, not literal:**
- ✅ "user authentication and session management"
- ❌ "auth"

**Describe intent:**
- ✅ "where errors are logged to the console"
- ❌ "console.error"

**Use English:**
- Models are trained primarily on English text
- Works best with English queries

## Next Steps

After mastering the basics:
1. **Configure embeddings:** See `grepai-embeddings-*` skills
2. **Setup storage:** See `grepai-storage-*` skills
3. **Advanced search:** See `grepai-search-*` skills
4. **MCP integration:** See `grepai-mcp-*` skills

## Output Format

Successful quickstart:

```
✅ GrepAI Quickstart Complete

   Project: /path/to/your/project
   Files indexed: 245
   Chunks created: 1,234
   Embedder: Ollama (nomic-embed-text)
   Storage: GOB (local file)

   Try these searches:
   - grepai search "main entry point"
   - grepai search "database connection"
   - grepai search "error handling"
```