Quick Start Guide
Set up a Theseus node and deploy your first agent.
Preview access required
The repository is currently private. The instructions below assume you have the CLI binary and a testnet endpoint. If you do not yet, request access first, or watch the walkthrough to see the same flow run end to end.
Prerequisites
Installation
Clone the Repository (preview-access devs)
# The repository URL is provided with preview access. # Replace <preview-clone-url> with the value from your invite. git clone <preview-clone-url> theseus cd theseus
Install Tooling and Build
# Install development dependencies make install-dev # Build the project make build
Run a Local Node
# Start via Makefile make node # Equivalent cargo command cargo run --bin theseus-node
Your node will start syncing with the network. First sync may take time depending on network conditions.
Deploy Your First Agent
An agent is a directory: a THESEUS.md (Markdown body with YAML frontmatter) plus optional skills/<name>/SKILL.md siblings. The repo ships a working example at theseus-chain/examples/hello-agent/. Compile it with its bundled binary, then submit via the Theseus CLI.
# Compile the example agent → produces hello.compiled cargo run -p hello-agent # Submit to chain (signs with the configured account) theseus agent deploy hello.compiled --name "Hello"
theseus agent deploy takes the compiled SCALE-encoded CompiledAgent blob and submits the pallet_agents::register_agent extrinsic. The chain funds the new agent's account with the value you provide (--value, defaults to the existential deposit). The agent's SS58 address is returned in the output.
Or skip the build entirely
Ecosystem Examples
| CLI arg | Description |
|---|---|
<file> | Path to the compiled .compiled SCALE blob produced by the agent's bundled binary. |
--name | Display name recorded on chain. Optional; defaults to the name field from THESEUS.md. |
--salt | Hex-encoded salt used for SS58 address derivation. Optional; lets you re-deploy the same code to a different address. |
--value | Initial THE funding for the agent's account (default 1000000000 = 1 MILLI_UNIT, the existential deposit). Top up later if the agent spends THE on its own operations. |
Model Registration (API-Level)
Model registration currently appears in the codebase as runtime API flows (AIVM + store), not as a stable, documented one-line CLI command.
Model weights + metadata
↓
Store in TheseusStore
↓
Reference model root from agent/AIVM execution| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Name/version | Llama 3.1 8B |
| Architecture | LLM, diffusion, etc. |
| Tensor Commit | Weight fingerprint for verification |
| Root reference | Used by agents during inference calls |
Development Workflow
Running Tests
# Run full test suite make test # Component-specific targets make test-aivm make test-consensus make test-store make test-tensor make test-ship
Next Steps
Need help? Email eric@theseus.network, or read the whitepaper. Once you have preview access, the invite includes upstream command references and the docs/getting-started.md file.