#+TITLE: Quickstart Guide: The Road to Autonomousty
#+AUTHOR: Amr
#+DATE: [2026-04-11 Sat]
#+FILETAGS: :quickstart:onboarding:guide:

* 1. Introduction
Welcome to ~opencortex~, the "Executive Soul" of your personal OS. This guide will help you set up and interact with your first probabilistic-deterministic agent.

* 2. Prerequisites
Before launching the harness, ensure your host environment has:
- **Docker & Docker Compose**: The primary enclosure for the Lisp Machine.
- **LLM API Keys**: At least one key for Gemini, Anthropic, or OpenAI.
- **Emacs (Optional)**: For the full literate experience via ~opencortex.el~.

* 3. Installation & Enclosure
** Step 1: Clone the Autonomousty
#+begin_src bash
git clone https://github.com/amr/opencortex.git
cd opencortex
#+end_src

** Step 2: Secret Configuration
Copy the example environment file and add your keys.
#+begin_src bash
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your favorite editor
#+end_src

** Step 3: Launch the Image
This will build the SBCL environment and start the Micro-Loader.
#+begin_src bash
docker-compose up --build -d
#+end_src

* 4. Interaction Gateways
Once the harness is "Ready", you can interact with it via multiple sensors.

** Gateway A: Emacs (communication protocol)
If you have configured the ~opencortex~ package in Emacs:
1. Open a chat buffer: ~M-x opencortex-chat-open~.
2. Send: "Are you online, agent?"

** Gateway B: External Sensors
If you enabled Signal or Telegram in ~.env~, send a message directly to your bot.

* 5. Verification (The Chaos Check)
To ensure the harness is fully healthy, check the logs for the Micro-Loader summary:
#+begin_src bash
docker-compose logs -f opencortex
#+end_src
Look for: ~LOADER: Boot Complete. [Ready: 34] [Failed: 0]~

* 6. Next Steps
- **Extend the Brain**: Read the [[file:skill-creation.org][Skill Creation Guide]] to add custom Lisp skills.
- **Deep Dive**: Explore the [[file:../literate/][literate/]] directory to understand the harness's architecture.
