Installation & Setup

Installation & Setup

Get Rawi up and running on your system in just a few minutes.

📋 Table of Contents

• System Requirements
• Installation Methods
• Post-Installation Setup
• Verification
• Next Steps

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System Requirements

Before installing Rawi, ensure your system meets these requirements:

• Node.js: Version 18.0.0 or higher
• Operating System: Windows, macOS, or Linux
• Terminal: Any modern terminal (Terminal.app, iTerm2, Windows Terminal, PowerShell, etc.)
• Internet Connection: Required for cloud AI providers (optional for local providers like Ollama)

Check Your Node.js Version

node --version

If you need to install or update Node.js, visit nodejs.org.

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Installation Methods

NPM (Recommended)

The easiest way to install Rawi globally:

npm

npm install -g rawi

pnpm

pnpm add -g rawi

yarn

yarn global add rawi

bun

bun add -g rawi

No Installation Required (npx)

Use Rawi without installing it globally:

# Run commands directly with npx
npx rawi ask "What is TypeScript?"
npx rawi configure

Development Version

Install the latest development version from GitHub:

# Clone and install from source
git clone https://github.com/withrawi/rawi.git
cd rawi
npm install
npm run build
npm link

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Post-Installation Setup

After installing Rawi, you’ll need to configure at least one AI provider to start using it.

Link for global usage

npm link

### Interactive Configuration (Recommended)

Run the interactive configuration wizard:

```bash
rawi configure

This will guide you through:

1. Choosing an AI provider
2. Selecting a model
3. Entering API credentials
4. Setting up basic preferences

Quick Setup Examples

Choose one of these popular options for quick setup:

OpenAI (Best for General Use)

# Get API key from: https://platform.openai.com/api-keys
rawi configure \
  --provider openai \
  --model gpt-4o \
  --api-key sk-your-api-key

Ollama (Free & Private)

# Install Ollama first: https://ollama.com/download
ollama pull llama3.2
rawi configure \
  --provider ollama \
  --model llama3.2

Anthropic Claude (Great for Analysis)

# Get API key from: https://console.anthropic.com/
rawi configure \
  --provider anthropic \
  --model claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022 \
  --api-key sk-ant-your-key

DeepSeek (Cost-Effective with Reasoning)

# Get API key from: https://platform.deepseek.com/api_keys
rawi configure \
  --provider deepseek \
  --model deepseek-chat \
  --api-key sk-your-deepseek-key

Mistral (European AI)

# Get API key from: https://console.mistral.ai/api-keys/
rawi configure \
  --provider mistral \
  --model mistral-large-latest \
  --api-key your-mistral-key

Google Gemini (Fast & Efficient)

# Get API key from: https://aistudio.google.com/app/apikey
rawi configure \
  --provider google \
  --model gemini-2.0-flash-exp \
  --api-key AIza-your-key

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Verification

After installation and configuration, verify everything is working:

Check Installation

# Check Rawi version
rawi --version

# Show system information
rawi info

# List available commands
rawi --help

Test Configuration

# Show current configuration
rawi configure --show

# Test with a simple question
rawi ask "Hello, can you hear me?"

# Test file processing (if you have a text file)
echo "This is a test document" > test.txt
rawi ask --file test.txt "Summarize this content"

# Test template functionality
rawi ask --act linux-terminal "list current directory contents"

Expected Output

If everything is working correctly, you should see:

$ rawi --version
rawi/1.0.0 linux-x64 node-18.17.0

$ rawi ask "Hello"
🤖 Hello! I can hear you perfectly. I'm ready to help you with questions,
code review, analysis, or any other tasks you'd like assistance with.
What can I help you with today?

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Common Installation Issues

Permission Errors (Linux/macOS)

If you get permission errors during global installation:

# Option 1: Use sudo (not recommended)
sudo npm install -g rawi

# Option 2: Configure npm to use a different directory
mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
npm install -g rawi

Windows Installation Issues

If you encounter issues on Windows:

# Use PowerShell as Administrator
npm install -g rawi

# Or use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
wsl
npm install -g rawi

Node.js Version Issues

If your Node.js version is too old:

# Update Node.js using nvm (recommended)
nvm install node
nvm use node

# Or download from https://nodejs.org/

Network Issues

If installation fails due to network issues:

# Use a different registry
npm install -g rawi --registry https://registry.npmmirror.com

# Or use npm with retry
npm install -g rawi --maxsockets 1

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Next Steps

Once Rawi is installed and configured:

1. Learn the Basics: Check out the Quick Start Guide
2. Explore Commands: Read the Commands Reference
3. Set Up Multiple Providers: Learn about Profile Management
4. Try Templates: Explore Act Templates
5. Advanced Usage: Discover Shell Integration

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Need Help?

• Troubleshooting: Check our Troubleshooting Guide
• FAQ: Browse Frequently Asked Questions
• Community: Join the GitHub Discussions
• Issues: Report bugs on GitHub Issues

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Navigation

• ← Back to Getting Started
• Next: Quick Start Guide →

Related Pages:

• Configuration Guide
• AI Providers
• Troubleshooting