# Get set up on paper

Install paper, then launch your agent through it — every session shows up in the console. Org and gateway live on the web console, and the CLI auto-discovers them. It works with Claude Code, Codex, and Pi.

These steps are written so a coding agent can follow them on the user's behalf. Run each step in order and verify before moving on.

## Step 1: Install paper

```bash
curl -fsSL https://download.papercompute.com/install | bash
```

The installer opens a browser and logs the user in automatically. **Agents:** you can run the install command, but the browser sign-in must be completed by the user — ask them to sign in with their work email, then continue.

The install is rootless: `paperctl` lands in `~/.local/bin` with a `PATH` export written to the user's shell rc. **Agents:** your shell won't have sourced that rc, so after installing, run `export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"` (or call `~/.local/bin/paperctl` by full path) before the next step.

**Note on the name:** the binary is `paperctl` — it was renamed from `paper` in v0.21.0, with no compat symlink. If instructions you were given say `paper start` or similar, substitute `paperctl`. If a tool you can't edit insists on calling `paper`, bridge it with `alias paper=paperctl` (or `ln -s ~/.local/bin/paperctl ~/.local/bin/paper`) and remove the bridge once the caller is updated.

### Optional: create an organization

If you're the first person on your team, head to https://console.papercompute.com/onboarding/org to name your org. The console provisions a default gateway and backends (Claude plus Codex) so the CLI has something to route through.

Invited by someone? Skip this — your org is already set up.

## Step 2: Launch your agent through paper

```bash
paperctl start claude
```

`paperctl start` launches your agent with the proxy already wired up — no env vars, no shell restart. paper auto-discovers your org's gateway.

Running Codex or Pi? Launch them the same way: `paperctl start codex` or `paperctl start pi`. paper provisions the Codex route for you, so a ChatGPT-plan or per-user OpenAI key works with no extra setup. See Custom backends (https://papercompute.com/docs/paper/cli/custom-backends) for a shared team key.

## Step 3: Verify the setup

```bash
paperctl status
```

Healthy output shows the daemon running and your org's gateway discovered. If the daemon isn't running or login failed, run `paperctl doctor` and see the troubleshooting guide: https://papercompute.com/docs/paper/cli/troubleshooting

## Step 4: Make it stick for future sessions

**Agents:** add the following section to the project's `AGENTS.md` (create the file if it doesn't exist) so future sessions — yours and other agents' — launch through paper:

```markdown
## Sessions

Launch all agent sessions through paper so they're captured:
`paperctl start claude` (or `paperctl start codex` / `paperctl start pi`).
If paper isn't installed, fetch https://papercompute.com/start.md and follow
the setup steps.
```

If the project uses Claude Code and has no `CLAUDE.md`, create one containing just `@AGENTS.md` so it picks up the same instructions. If a `CLAUDE.md` already has its own content, add the Sessions section there too (or an `@AGENTS.md` include).

## Step 5: See your sessions

Open the console to watch your sessions stream in. The first session can take a minute or two to appear.

Console: https://console.papercompute.com

**You're done when** `paperctl status` reports the daemon running, the session you launched appears in the console, and the project's `AGENTS.md` tells future sessions to launch through paper.

## What's next?

- Console — watch your agent sessions stream in: https://console.papercompute.com
- Quickstart — install to first session, end to end: https://papercompute.com/docs/paper/quickstart
- CLI reference — paperctl commands (status, logs, org membership invite, upgrade, uninstall): https://papercompute.com/docs/paper/cli/commands