Quickstart

This page takes you from nothing installed to a finished piece of work. It assumes you already use at least one coding agent CLI (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or similar). If you do not, connect a provider covers that first.

Outcome: Harmony installed, a workspace open on a real repository, one agent running in a pane, and one durable task completed.

Launch path (every unanswered question becomes support)

Work these in order the first time you ship Harmony to a new machine:

Before you start

1. Install

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://ideharmony.com/install.ps1 | iex

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://ideharmony.com/install.sh | sh

Both scripts ask the site which build is current, verify the download against the published SHA-256 and byte size, then install only if both match. If either check fails the script stops rather than executing the file.

Prefer to read a script before running it? That is the better habit. See installation.

Expected result: the installer completes and nala is available on your PATH.

Verify:

nala version

If the command is not found, open a new terminal. PATH changes do not reach shells that were already running.

2. Open a workspace

Launch the desktop app and point it at a real repository:

nala desktop

A workspace is a named context with its own pane tree, working directory, and status. Create one for the project you actually want to work on rather than exploring in a scratch directory: the interesting behaviour — git status, worktrees, tasks — only appears against a real repo.

Expected result: a window with one terminal pane, and your repository's branch shown in the status bar.

3. Connect a provider

Open the bottom orchestration bar and launch a provider you already have installed. Harmony does not resell model access; it launches the CLI you already pay for, in a pane it manages.

Verify: the provider's pane reaches its own ready prompt. See connect a provider for per-provider detail.

4. Run one real task

Ask the agent for something small and concrete against your repository — a focused refactor, a test for an existing function, a bug you already understand. Small and concrete is the point: you are verifying the loop, not evaluating the model.

While it runs, you can close the desktop window. The daemon keeps the session, scrollback, and conversation alive; reopening reattaches you.

Verify:

nala tasks list

The task you just ran should appear with its state.

5. Try the terminal agent

The same daemon backs a terminal-native agent. From any terminal, in your project directory:

nala

This is the NALA TUI Agent — the same tasks, artifacts, and messages as the desktop, in a keyboard-only surface. Start work in one and pick it up in the other; nothing is lost either way.

If something goes wrong

The fastest general diagnostic is:

nala doctor

Next

• Installation — every install method, and how to verify one.
• How Harmony works — the daemon, the surfaces, and why sessions survive.
• First orchestration run — delegate work to more than one agent.