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Quickstart

Get your first code review running in a few minutes.

Prerequisites

Step 1 - Install the CLI

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CHE3MZ/kaid/master/scripts/install.sh | sh

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CHE3MZ/kaid/master/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

Verify the binary:

kaid version

Other install methods

Prefer a release binary, go install, or a local build? See Installation for every option.

Step 2 - Configure an LLM

Using delegation mode?

If the host agent supplies the model, skip to Step 4. kaid never calls an LLM on its own in Delegation Mode.

kaid config provider

It lets you pick a built-in or custom provider, enter an API key, choose a model, save everything to the config file, and then runs kaid llm test once to verify the endpoint. To switch models later:

kaid config model

Alternative: non-interactive command

In CI or a no-TUI environment, write to the same config directly with kaid config set:

kaid config set provider                    anthropic
kaid config set model                       claude-opus-4-6
kaid config set providers.anthropic.api_key sk-ant-xxxxxxxxxx

Step 3 - Test connectivity

kaid llm test

If you get an error like no valid LLM endpoint configured, recheck the Step 2 config. A 401 / 403 means the token is wrong or expired.

Step 4 - Run your first review

Move into any Git repository and run:

cd path/to/your-repo

kaid review                                    # (1)!
kaid review --from main --to feature-branch    # (2)!
kaid review --commit abc123                    # (3)!
  1. Workspace mode reviews staged, unstaged, and untracked changes. This is the default.
  2. Range mode reviews the feature branch's changes since it diverged from main (merge-base mode).
  3. Commit mode reviews only the diff introduced by that commit.

Preview first

Run kaid review --preview to see which files would be reviewed and which ones were excluded before spending a model call.

JSON output for systems

--audience agent suppresses the human-friendly progress UI so the only thing on stdout is the JSON / final summary - exactly what an upstream agent or CI script wants.

kaid review --format json --audience agent > review.json
Where do the session transcripts live?

Every run writes a JSONL transcript under ~/.kaid/sessions/. Run kaid viewer to browse it in a browser. See Session Viewer for the full UI.

Next steps

CLI Reference Configuration Review Rules

  • Installation - every install method and kaid's state directory.
  • Configuration - every env var, config key, and built-in provider.
  • CLI Reference - every sub-command, flag, and output mode.
  • Review Rules - customize what gets reviewed.
  • FAQ - known errors and remedies.