capsul quickstart: install, first run, first numbers
Install capsul, check the environment, open a session and send your first task.
1. Install
npm i -g @penra/capsulNode 20 or newer.
2. Check the environment
doctor reports which agent CLIs it can see, which credentials are configured, and where things are stored. It shows you where they live without ever showing what they are.
capsul doctorIf your agent CLI is not detected here, nothing else will work. Fix this step before going further.
3. Start a session
Open the interactive session and choose the agent CLI you have already configured. It does not send a model request until you enter a task.
capsul4. Send a task
Your request goes to the agent CLI you are signed into, and your existing Claude or ChatGPT plan is what answers. No API key to paste and no second model bill.
capsul ask 'fix the redirect loop' --budget 3000Afterwards
capsul statscumulates tokens saved over time. The ledger is a plain file on your own disk.capsul burnbreaks local spend down by agent, model and project.--model haikufor mechanical work: renames, formatting, single-file edits.--budget <n>sets a hard ceiling on context. Nothing spills over it silently.
Questions
Do I need an API key?
No. capsul drives the agent CLI you are already signed into, so your existing subscription answers. An API key is an optional per-session choice, available on every plan.
Which agents does it work with?
Claude and Codex. The budget, the approval prompts and the savings ledger are the same whichever one answers.
What does it send to the model?
Your task, the files you point at, and short extracts of the repository you are in. Never the whole thing. Your keys stay in your OS keychain and the ledger is a plain file on your own disk.
What if the budget is too low for my task?
It stops at the ceiling and tells you what it left out. Nothing spills over quietly. Raise it with --budget, or name the file you care about with --open.
$ npm i -g @penra/capsul