Quick start

1. Install the CLI

go install github.com/google/ax/cmd/ax@latest

This puts the ax binary in $(go env GOPATH)/bin. Make sure that directory is on your PATH.

2. Deploy the control plane

You need a Kubernetes cluster, ko (brew install ko), a container registry your cluster can pull from, and a reachable Agent Substrate Control API (in-cluster default: api.ate-system.svc.cluster.local:443).

make deploy AX_IMAGE_REPO=<your-registry>

This deploys Redis, then builds and deploys the control plane images with ko. Everything lands in the ax-system namespace.

3. Run your first task

Write a Workspace that clones a repository and a Task that binds it. The goal on the binding tells the runner what a ready environment looks like; an agent finishes the setup on first boot.

# task.yaml
apiVersion: ax.io/v1alpha1
kind: Workspace
metadata:
  name: golang
spec:
  git:
    - repo: https://github.com/golang/go.git
      branch: "my-fix"
---
apiVersion: ax.io/v1alpha1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: test
spec:
  workspaces:
    - name: golang
      goal: "Ensure that Go tool chain is available and is built from source"
  debug: true   # enable ssh'ing

Then apply it, watch it come up, and look over the agent’s shoulder:

ax apply -f task.yaml
ax watch task test
ax ssh test -- ls -al /workspace

The repository also ships a complete example with a Task, Workspace, Gateway, and Model in one file:

ax apply -f examples/task.yaml       # Task + Workspace + Gateway + Model in one file
ax get tasks
# NAME      ATESPACE   PHASE     ACTOR           WORKER-IP    AGE
# task123   default    Running   task123         10.20.3.67   1m

ax watch task task123                # stream phase and condition changes live
ax ssh task123 -- ls -la /workspace  # poke around inside the sandbox
ax suspend task task123              # checkpoint and pause
ax resume task task123               # pick up where it left off

Want to see the whole lifecycle end to end? Run ./demo.sh. It applies a custom workspace, waits for readiness, runs commands over ax ssh, and suspends the task.

Next steps

• Learn what each resource does in Concepts.
• Write your own YAML with the annotated examples in Manifests.
• See every verb the CLI supports in the CLI reference.