> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.nvidia.com/openshell/llms.txt.
> For full documentation content, see https://docs.nvidia.com/openshell/llms-full.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.nvidia.com/openshell/_mcp/server.

# Quickstart

> Install the OpenShell CLI, connect to a gateway, and create your first sandboxed AI agent.

This page gets you from a reachable OpenShell gateway to a running, policy-enforced sandbox.

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

* A reachable OpenShell gateway.
* At least one compute driver configured for the gateway: Kubernetes, Docker, Podman, or MicroVM.
* The OpenShell CLI installed on your workstation.

For a complete list of requirements, refer to [Support Matrix](/reference/support-matrix).
If you have not chosen a compute driver yet, refer to [Installation](/about/installation).

## Install the OpenShell CLI

Run the install script:

```shell
curl -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/main/install.sh | sh
```

The install script uses Homebrew, RPM, or a Debian package based on your machine. It starts the local gateway server after installation.

If you prefer [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/):

```shell
uv tool install -U openshell
```

After installing the CLI, run `openshell --help` in your terminal to view the full CLI reference.

You can also clone the [NVIDIA OpenShell GitHub repository](https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell) and use the `/openshell-cli` skill to load the CLI reference into your agent.

## Create Your First OpenShell Sandbox

Create a sandbox and launch an agent inside it.
Choose the tab that matches your agent:

Run the following command to create a sandbox with Claude Code:

```shell
openshell sandbox create -- claude
```

The CLI prompts you to create a provider from local credentials.
Type `yes` to continue.
If `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` is set in your environment, the CLI picks it up automatically.
If not, you can configure it from inside the sandbox after it launches.

`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` is an API key from [console.anthropic.com](https://console.anthropic.com), not a subscription token. Subscription users must generate a separate API key.

Run the following command to create a sandbox with OpenCode:

```shell
openshell sandbox create -- opencode
```

The CLI prompts you to create a provider from local credentials.
Type `yes` to continue.
If `OPENAI_API_KEY` or `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` is set in your environment, the CLI picks it up automatically.
If not, you can configure it from inside the sandbox after it launches.

Run the following command to create a sandbox with Codex:

```shell
openshell sandbox create -- codex
```

The CLI prompts you to create a provider from local credentials.
Type `yes` to continue.
If `OPENAI_API_KEY` is set in your environment, the CLI picks it up automatically.
If not, you can configure it from inside the sandbox after it launches.

Use the `--from` flag to create a sandbox from the base container:

```shell
openshell sandbox create --from base
```