By the end of this guide, you will have a valid Salambo project with instructions, a model, built-in tools, and deployment credentials.

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Prerequisites

  • A Salambo workspace
  • Node.js 22 or later
  • The Salambo CLI
  • A scoped Salambo API key
  • A provider key such as OPENAI_API_KEY
For this workflow, the Salambo key needs agents:read, agents:write, env_vars:read, env_vars:write, models:read, and responses:write.

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1. Create the project

salambo init support-agent
cd support-agent
The command clones the supported starter project and writes a deployment-specific salambo.yaml.

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2. Understand the minimum project

support-agent/
├── agent/
│   ├── settings.json
│   ├── system.md
│   ├── skills/
│   ├── prompts/
│   └── extensions/
├── sandbox/
│   └── workspace/
└── salambo.yaml
Salambo owns the model loop and run lifecycle. Your project supplies instructions, declared resources, extensions, workspace seed files, and deployment configuration.

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3. Write the first instruction

Replace agent/system.md with: 
# Customer support agent

Help support engineers investigate customer reports.

- Read available workspace files before answering.
- Separate confirmed facts from assumptions.
- Save investigation notes in `/workspace/notes.md`.
- Never include credentials or secret values in a response.

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4. Select the model and tools

Edit agent/settings.json: 
{
  "model": {
    "provider": "openai",
    "model": "gpt-5.2",
    "thinkingLevel": "medium"
  },
  "tools": ["read", "write", "edit", "grep", "find", "ls"]
}
The tool list is explicit: only these built-in or declared extension tools start active.

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5. Authenticate the CLI

salambo auth set --api-url https://YOUR_SALAMBO_HOST
salambo auth set --key "$SALAMBO_API_KEY"
salambo auth whoami
The CLI stores the selected profile locally. Do not commit API keys.

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6. Provide the model credential

The generated salambo.yaml reads the provider key from your environment: 
export OPENAI_API_KEY="YOUR_PROVIDER_KEY"
Secret values belong in the deployer’s environment, never in salambo.yaml or agent instructions.

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7. Validate the project

salambo doctor
salambo manifest --path . --json
doctor checks local prerequisites and declared secrets. manifest imports and validates agent resources and extension declarations without deploying them. You now have a deployable agent project. Next, understand the project structure, then write production instructions.