One ConnectGet started
First-run setup
The setup flow takes you from a fresh install to signed-in agents and an open project. It never downloads or runs anything without your explicit go-ahead.
Setup opens the first time you launch the app. It has a welcome screen and seven steps, shown in a rail on the right. You can go back at any point, Skip setup to explore on your own, and change every choice later in Settings.
Note
When a step hands a command to the terminal, setup pauses and a Resume setup button appears. Nothing in the terminal runs until you press Return.
1. Appearance#
Pick how the app looks on this device. These preferences stay in this browser or app window and never go through the engine.
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Theme | Machine (follow the system), Day, Night (pitch black) |
| Status colours | Standard (lime, amber, coral, sky) or colour-blind safe (blue, yellow, vermillion, purple) |
| Contrast | Standard, or High (7:1 text, no shadows) |
| UI sounds | On (needs you, run done, alerts, toggles) or Off |
2. Your agents#
One Connect scans this Mac for the official agent tools it supports and shows whether each one is installed and which version it found. Tick the agents you want:
| Agent | Runs on |
|---|---|
| Claude Code | Claude Pro or Max |
| Codex | ChatGPT Plus or Pro |
| Cursor | Cursor Pro |
| OpenCode | Your own model source: an API key, Ollama or Ollama cloud |
| Antigravity, Gemini app, IDE agents | Copy and paste through a relay |
| Any other CLI | That tool's own login |
Continuing creates an enabled subscription agent for each tool you chose that has no agent yet. See Agents and subscriptions for every option.
3. Downloads#
One Connect installs nothing by itself. For each chosen tool that is not installed yet, you can Allow this download. That shows the vendor's own install command, which you can review, copy, or open in the project terminal with Open in terminal. The command runs only when you press Return in that terminal.
- Where a vendor offers several install methods (for example a script, Homebrew or npm), you choose one; the recommended one is marked.
- Installing a vendor tool means accepting that vendor's terms, which are linked next to the command.
- Docker Desktop is not offered here. Install it yourself if you want project checks, containers or local databases.
- Rescan installed tools checks again after you install something.
4. Sign in#
Each official tool does its own login, in your browser if it needs to. One Connect never sees or stores the credentials; it only asks the tool whether it is signed in.
For each agent, setup shows its sign-in state and the exact sign-in command, for example claude auth login. Prepare sign-in in terminal places that command in a login terminal for you to run. Terminal output and keystrokes are never written to disk, especially during login. Re-check sign-ins refreshes the states.
Before a subscription agent's first dispatch you also confirm, once per vendor login, that the account is your own and unshared. See Own-account confirmation.
5. Project#
Choose folder… opens the macOS folder picker. One Connect inspects the repository without running any of its scripts, shows what it found, and adds it as a project. Its state lives outside the repository. Cloning from a Git URL and starting a new repository are in Projects.
6. Phone#
Optionally, Create pairing link makes a single-use, expiring link that pairs your phone with this project, so questions, approvals and cost decisions can reach you away from the desk. Remote access through a private tunnel is set up separately; see Phone and alerts.
7. Ready#
A summary shows the agents you chose, how many are signed in and the open project. Open the canvas finishes setup.
After setup#
- If no enabled agent has a working connection, a banner at the top of the app links to Settings → Agents and sign-in.
- To add work, open the issue list or build a workflow on the canvas.
- Setup progress is stored per browser. Running the dashboard in a new browser shows setup again; Skip, I know the way closes it.