# Init

Use the `ably init` command to set up the Ably CLI in a single step. It installs the CLI, authenticates you with [OAuth Device Authorization](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8628), and installs the Ably [Agent Skills](https://github.com/ably/agent-skills) into any AI coding tools detected on your machine.

Supported AI coding tools:

* [Claude Code](https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code) - installed via the `@ably/agent-skills` Claude Code plugin.
* [Cursor](https://cursor.com)
* [VS Code](https://code.visualstudio.com) (GitHub Copilot)
* [Windsurf](https://windsurf.com)

For tools other than Claude Code, the skill files are copied directly into the tool's user skills directory.

## Synopsis

<Code>

### Shell

```
ably init [options]
```
</Code>

You can also run `init` without installing the CLI first:

<Code>

### Shell

```
npx -p @ably/cli ably init
```
</Code>

## Options

### `--target | -t` 

Target AI coding tools to install Agent Skills for. Defaults to `auto`, which detects installed tools and prompts you to choose. Repeat the flag to specify multiple tools.

Supported values:

* `auto` - Auto-detect installed tools (default).
* `claude-code` - Claude Code.
* `cursor` - Cursor.
* `vscode` - VS Code (GitHub Copilot).
* `windsurf` - Windsurf.

`auto` cannot be combined with explicit targets.

### `--json` 

Output results as compact JSON. Mutually exclusive with `--pretty-json`.

### `--pretty-json` 

Output results in formatted, colorized JSON. Mutually exclusive with `--json`.

### `--verbose | -v` 

Enable verbose logging. Can be combined with `--json` or `--pretty-json`.

## Examples

Set up the CLI with auto-detected AI coding tools:

<Code>

### Shell

```
ably init
```
</Code>

Install Agent Skills for Claude Code only:

<Code>

### Shell

```
ably init --target claude-code
```
</Code>

Install Agent Skills for Cursor and Windsurf:

<Code>

### Shell

```
ably init --target cursor --target windsurf
```
</Code>

Set up the CLI without installing it first:

<Code>

### Shell

```
npx -p @ably/cli ably init
```
</Code>

Run `init` in JSON mode for use in scripts:

<Code>

### Shell

```
ably init --json
```
</Code>

## See also

* [Login](https://ably.com/docs/cli/login.md) - Authenticate without installing Agent Skills.
* [Environment variables](https://ably.com/docs/cli/env.md) - Authenticate via environment variables instead of OAuth.
* [CLI reference](https://ably.com/docs/cli.md) - Full list of available commands.

## Related Topics

- [Overview](https://ably.com/docs/cli.md): Command-line interface for the Ably realtime messaging platform.
- [Login](https://ably.com/docs/cli/login.md): Log in to your Ably account using the CLI.
- [Autocomplete](https://ably.com/docs/cli/autocomplete.md): Display autocomplete installation instructions for the Ably CLI.
- [Env](https://ably.com/docs/cli/env.md): Show the reference for environment variables supported by the Ably CLI.
- [Status](https://ably.com/docs/cli/status.md): Check the status of Ably services using the CLI.
- [Version](https://ably.com/docs/cli/version.md): Display the version of the Ably CLI.
- [Help](https://ably.com/docs/cli/help.md): Display help information for Ably CLI commands.

## Documentation Index

To discover additional Ably documentation:

1. Fetch [llms.txt](https://ably.com/llms.txt) for the canonical list of available pages.
2. Identify relevant URLs from that index.
3. Fetch target pages as needed.

Avoid using assumed or outdated documentation paths.