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You get a sandbox with your repository cloned in it, and an agent that works on it. It takes five steps.

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Before you start

  • The boat CLI is installed and signed in. Read Quickstart.
  • Your account has GitHub connected. If you signed in with Google or an email code, open Dashboard > Environment and click Connect GitHub.

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1. Connect an AI key or subscription

Open Agents & Proxying. Sign in to Claude (Pro or Max) or ChatGPT, or paste an API key. Do this one time. Without this step, the first prompt fails with 409 provider_not_configured. For all options, read Keys and subscriptions.

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2. Add the repository to your environment

base is your default environment. Every new sandbox on it clones acme/web-app into /home/user/web-app. Private repositories work.

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3. Let the environment pass your GitHub access and AI keys

  • --github true lets the sandbox clone and push with your GitHub access.
  • --agents-credentials true gives the agents the keys from step 1.
  • Safe for third parties withholds all your secrets: variables, secret files, GitHub access and AI credentials. Turn it on only for sandboxes that other people use.

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4. Start a sandbox

The command prints the sandbox id, for example bx_f7k2q9hd. Check that the repository is there:
The repository setup script, if you set one, runs at each start. Setup scripts are set on the dashboard only. Read Setup scripts.

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5. Give the agent a task

  • The command prints what the agent does, and exits when the turn ends.
  • Use --provider codex for Codex. Omit --provider to use your default harness.
  • With one repository, the agent starts inside the repository folder.
  • To send more work in the same thread, run boat prompt bx_f7k2q9hd "…" again. The agent keeps its memory.
  • To change the task while it works, run boat steer bx_f7k2q9hd "…". Read Steer a running turn.

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After the task

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