Before you start

A few honest expectations:

  • This is early access. The product works, but rough edges are still being filed down. You'll find some. That's expected and welcomed.
  • This doc is v1. It covers the path you'll actually take in your first session. Deeper reference docs are coming as the product stabilises.
  • Useful feedback is specific. "It broke" is hard to act on. "Screen X hung for 60 seconds after I clicked Y" is gold. Screenshots and rough timestamps help.
  • Plan 15–30 minutes for a first session — long enough to set up, sign in, connect a provider, register a project, and start a first conversation.

Not much:

  • A modern desktop browser. Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari, recent versions. Mobile browsers work but the dashboard isn't laid out for small screens yet.
  • One API key from a supported provider (see Models, providers & costs for the current list). Anthropic Claude is the recommended default. OpenAI keys (and OpenAI-compatible providers) also work.
  • A repository if you want to start with real code — or none at all. When you register a project, the Repository URL field is optional: leave it empty and Genesis hosts the repository for you (a greenfield project). You can bring your own repo later.

What you don't need

  • No installation. ARDS lives at https://<your-slug>.ards.etiakorp.com/. Nothing to install locally.
  • No CLI. Everything is in the web app. (There's a CLI used by operators to provision tenants — testers don't see it.)
  • No payment method during early access. Costs are billed to the API key you connect (your provider, your credit).

What this doc assumes you know

We assume you're comfortable with:

  • Git basics (clone, branch, commit, PR) — you won't run git commands here, but the vocabulary helps.
  • The idea of API keys / personal access tokens.
  • Reading diffs.

If any of those words are unfamiliar, the rest of the doc will still mostly make sense — we explain the new vocabulary as it comes up in Vocabulary. If something doesn't, that's a bug — tell us at Getting help.

Ready? Go to Your first session.