Getting started

Myco runs the conversation and model requests on your computer. Tools run on the always-available local host or on a remote host you name in SSH config. You can start with only local tools.

Install

With stable Rust and Cargo installed:

cargo install myco --locked
myco --version

Have bash and uv available for shell work and Python tooling, and OpenSSH for remote hosts. git, gh, rg, and curl are useful programs for the agent to use through bash. Startup reports missing expected executables.

This book tracks main. To run the same source from a checkout:

git clone https://github.com/tsnl/myco.git
cd myco
cargo install --path . --locked

Configure one model

Myco has no built-in model catalog. Create the selected profile's config directory (the default profile is shown here):

mkdir -p ~/.myco/profiles/default

Save this as ~/.myco/profiles/default/config.toml. Replace the endpoint, api_id, and context window with values supported by your model server:

model = "local"

[gateways.local]
protocol = "openai-completions"
base_url = "http://localhost:11434/v1"

[models.local]
gateway = "local"
api_id = "YOUR_SERVED_MODEL_ID"
thinking = "none"
context_window = 32768

This example expects an already-running Chat Completions compatible server; Myco does not install or start that server. For a hosted gateway, set its base URL and add an authentication source, for example:

# Place inside the gateway table.
auth = { source = "env", var_name = "MY_MODEL_API_KEY" }

Use the protocol your endpoint implements. The configuration guide explains all three protocols and credential sources; the manual contains fuller catalog examples.

Start in your project

cd /path/to/your/project
myco

Myco serves HTTP on loopback only (127.0.0.1 by default, or --bind ::1 for IPv6). For a remote server, use an SSH tunnel from your computer:

ssh -N -o ExitOnForwardFailure=yes -L 127.0.0.1:8766:127.0.0.1:8765 user@remote-host

Change the remote launch URL's address to http://127.0.0.1:8766, keeping its profile and session path. No browser login is needed. The tunnel encrypts traffic between your computer and the remote host. See the browser manual for tunneling, request-origin checks, and workspace-file access.

Open the URL printed by the server and choose New session. Ask for a bounded first task, such as “Explain the entry points in this repository.” Myco reads project guidance from AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md at session start.

Enter submits a message; Shift-Enter or Alt-Enter inserts a newline. The Cancel button stops a running turn. Closing a tab leaves it running; Ctrl-C in the launching terminal stops the server and all its sessions. Next, read everyday use and sessions.