# Try Loopgate on your laptop At the end, Loopgate runs on your laptop and has done a first task on your code. No sign-in, no team. ## At a glance **Time:** 5 minutes with Node, 15 with Docker. **What you need:** - Node 22 or newer and Git, or Docker instead - A coding tool you already use (Claude Code, Codex or pi), or a ChatGPT or Claude subscription - A folder of code, or a repository address **Steps:** 1. Start Loopgate 2. Check your coding tools 3. Add a workspace 4. Give it a first task ## Steps ### The quick way, with Node 1. **Install Node 22 or newer** from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org). > You also need Git. A Mac offers to install it the first time you type `git`. 2. **Open a Terminal and start Loopgate.** ```sh npx loopgate ui ``` You should see: your browser open on Loopgate's Tasks page, asking what needs doing. > Loopgate keeps running in the background, with its data in your user folder (on a Mac, `~/Library/Application Support/Loopgate`). Run `npx loopgate ui` again whenever you want the page back. 3. **Open Settings → Engines.** You should see: the Claude Code, Codex or pi you already use, each saying Ready when you are signed in to it. Loopgate uses them as they are. > None there? Press **Install pi** on its row, or run `npx loopgate engines install pi`, then **Sign in with ChatGPT** or **Sign in with Claude**. 4. **Choose Add a workspace**, type the path of a folder of your code, such as `~/code/my-app`, and press **Add**. Or paste a repository address and press **Clone**. > The agents work on a branch of their own, in a folder beside yours. 5. **On Tasks, type what you want done** and press **Run**, with **Who** left on **Auto**. For example: "Add a README that explains how to run this project". You should see: the copilot's proposal: who works it, the steps, and what each is told. 6. **Press Start**, then watch it work. You should see: every step's message in the conversation, what it was sent and what it said back. > Type in the box at the foot to steer it. Only your laptop reaches Loopgate, never your network. **Workflows** lists the built-in templates; **Open in builder** shows one as a track and **Simulate** walks every route without spending anything. **Agents** lists the agents you can give a task to alone. `npx loopgate --help` lists every command. ### Without Node, in Docker The laptop needs about 2 GB of free memory and 5 GB of free disk, plus room for your code. 1. **Install Docker.** On a Mac or Windows, install [Docker Desktop](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/) and open it once. On Linux, install Docker Engine with the Compose plugin. You should see: on a Mac or Windows, the whale icon in the menu bar or the taskbar. 2. **In a Terminal, make a folder for Loopgate and download Loopgate's file for laptops into it.** ```sh mkdir loopgate && cd loopgate && curl -fsSLO https://loopgate.dev/runner/laptop.compose.yaml ``` > On a Mac, Terminal is in Applications → Utilities. On Windows, open Terminal from the Start menu. 3. **Start Loopgate.** ```sh docker compose -f laptop.compose.yaml up -d ``` You should see: the download progress, then `Container loopgate-laptop-loopgate-1 Started`. The first download is about 170 MB. 4. **Find the launch link.** ```sh docker compose -f laptop.compose.yaml logs loopgate ``` You should see: a line that starts `http://127.0.0.1:4312/#token=`. 5. **Open that link in your browser within a minute.** You should see: Loopgate's Tasks page, asking what needs doing. Your browser stays signed in from then on. 6. **Open Settings → Engines and press Sign in with ChatGPT or Sign in with Claude** on pi's row. Open the address the page shows and enter the code it shows. With Claude, paste the code Claude shows back into the page. You should see: pi's row says Ready. > Codex or Claude Code too? Press **Install Codex** or **Install Claude Code** on its row, then **Sign in**. [Sign in to your own subscriptions](sign-in.md) has the details; on a laptop, use `docker compose -f laptop.compose.yaml exec` where it says `docker compose exec`, and `loopgate` where it says `runner`. 7. **Choose Add a workspace, paste a public repository address and press Clone**, such as `https://github.com//`. Or type a name and press **Create** for an empty folder. You should see: `Cloning …` with git's progress, then the workspace chosen. > Your own folder instead: in `laptop.compose.yaml`, remove the `#` in front of `- ~/code:/repos/code`, with your folder in place of `~/code`, then run `docker compose -f laptop.compose.yaml up -d`, open a new launch link (step 5), and add `/repos/code` as the folder path. The agents change your own files there, on a branch of their own. 8. **Give it a first task**, as in steps 5 and 6 of the quick way. ## Check Your task is listed with how it ended (in Docker, `docker compose -f laptop.compose.yaml exec loopgate loopgate runs`): ```sh npx loopgate runs ``` ## Next Ready for your team and Slack? [Set it up for your team](team.md). Curious what else it does first? [Your first workflow](first-workflow.md). ## If something is off - **The launch link no longer opens Loopgate.** Each link works for a minute, and a new one appears on every start. Get a fresh one with `docker compose -f laptop.compose.yaml exec loopgate loopgate ui --no-open`. - **It is slow on an Apple Silicon Mac, in Docker.** The image is built for x86 processors, so Docker runs it under emulation. The Node way does not. - **No engine says Ready.** Press **Sign in** on its row in Settings → Engines. ## Stop or remove it - Stop it: `docker compose -f laptop.compose.yaml down`. Your workspaces and sign-ins stay. - Remove everything, including your workspaces and sign-ins: `docker compose -f laptop.compose.yaml down -v`. ## Doing it by hand For a runner your team shares, [By hand](by-hand.md) sets one up from files.