> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://forgekit-docs-mintlify-9e781f1d.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Guided, low-configuration onboarding

> Five minutes to productive: install once, configure a repo once, do a task, and watch the ledger start paying off on day two — guided, low-configuration, not zero-touch.

Forge aims for **guided, low-configuration onboarding** — a new repo is usually productive
in about five minutes. Install once, configure a repo once, do a task, and the ledger starts
paying off on day two. (It is low-configuration, not zero-configuration: you still install
the CLI, run `forge init` in each repo, and some paths assume Bash, Git, and `jq`.)

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart TD
    I["forge init"] --> Cfg["every tool configured from one source"]
    Cfg --> Work["you work as usual"]
    Work --> Gate["substrate checks each task · ask first? · which model? · what breaks?"]
    Gate --> Edit["agent edits, with guardrails"]
    Edit --> Learn["cortex learns from corrections"]
    Learn -.->|next task is smarter| Work
```

## 1. Install (once)

The recommended paths need no token and no clone:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash Plugin theme={null}
  /plugin marketplace add CodeWithJuber/forgekit
  /plugin install forgekit
  ```

  ```bash CLI theme={null}
  npm install -g @codewithjuber/forgekit
  ```
</CodeGroup>

```bash theme={null}
forge doctor               # everything green?
```

## 2. Configure a repo (once per repo)

```bash theme={null}
cd ~/your-project
forge init                 # emits AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, .gemini/settings.json, .aider.conf.yml …
```

Now Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini, Aider, Copilot, Windsurf, Zed, and Continue all
read the **same** rules — each from its own native file. Change a rule later by editing
`source/rules.json` (or dropping a per-repo `.forge/rules.json`), then run `forge sync`.

## 3. Use the cognitive substrate

```bash theme={null}
forge substrate "<task>"      # ask/route/impact/scope/reuse/context/memory/verify in one pass
forge substrate "<task>" --json
forge impact <symbol-or-file> # the blast radius on its own
```

If `forge substrate` says `ASK FIRST`, ask the returned questions before editing.

## 4. Use the extras

```bash theme={null}
forge atlas build          # index this repo's symbols → .forge/atlas.json
forge atlas query useAuth  # where is it defined?
forge atlas has useAuth    # does it exist? "not found" = likely hallucinated
forge recall add "db port" "Postgres is on 5433 here, not 5432"
forge catalog              # the Start-Here index of everything
```

## 5. Day two: the ledger is learning

Everything the substrate learned on day one — cortex lessons, remembered facts, verified
code — landed as claims in `.forge/ledger/`.

```bash theme={null}
forge ledger stats                     # what the repo knows, by kind and trust level
forge ledger blame <id-prefix>         # who minted a claim, every oracle outcome
forge reuse query "<what you're about to build>"   # verified code you already have
```

<Card title="Share it with your team" icon="arrow-right" href="/guides/team-memory">
  Next: fold a teammate's ledger in, conflict-free, over plain git.
</Card>