Getting Started

Get from zero to a running agent in under 5 minutes.

Install

Note: Aether Forge is not yet published to PyPI. Until then, install directly from GitHub.

Install from GitHub (recommended for now)


# Full install with all extras
pip install 'aether-forge[all] @ git+https://github.com/HeyElsa/aether-forge.git'
 
# Or clone and install locally
git clone https://github.com/HeyElsa/aether-forge.git
cd aether-forge
pip install -e '.[all]'

Install from PyPI (coming soon)


# Full install — wallet + memory + encryption + A2A + MCP
pip install 'aether-forge[all]'
 
# Or pick extras individually
pip install 'aether-forge[wallet]'      # Real OWS wallets across 9 chains
pip install 'aether-forge[knowledge]'   # MemPalace long-term memory layer
pip install 'aether-forge[security]'    # cryptography for encrypted backups
pip install aether-forge                # Core only — heuristic planner

Requires Python 3.12+. Single core dependency (jsonschema).

Verify


forge doctor


[  ok] Python version: Python 3.12.13
[  ok] jsonschema: jsonschema 4.26.0
[  ok] OWS SDK: open-wallet-standard installed
[  ok] cryptography: cryptography 46.0.7
[  ok] Ollama: Connected (3 models)
[  ok] Memory store (SQLite): round-trip ok
[  ok] Knowledge layer (MemPalace): round-trip ok

  Healthy — 8/8 ok

Every check is a functional round-trip, not just an import test.

Choose Your LLM

Aether Forge auto-detects the best available LLM in this priority:

Ollama (local, free, private) — gemma4:latest, llama3.3, etc.
Anthropic — claude-sonnet-4.5, claude-opus-4-6
OpenAI — gpt-4o, gpt-4.1
Google — gemini-2.5-flash
OpenRouter — any of 200+ models
Heuristic — rule-based fallback (no LLM needed)

Set your API key for whichever provider you want:


# Option A — Local Ollama (free)
ollama pull gemma4:latest
 
# Option B — OpenRouter (200+ models)
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-v1-...
 
# Option C — Anthropic
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

Generate Your First Agent


forge generate-fast \
  --name "My First Agent" \
  --idea "ETH swing trader" \
  --wallet --autonomous \
  --output ./my-agent


[planner] auto-detected: mode=ollama model=gemma4:latest
  Wallet: 0xE8D0...081d5 (Base)
  Attestation: self-attested
Generated at ./my-agent

This creates a complete agent directory with:

agent-spec.json — agent contract
capability-manifest.json — declared capabilities
policy-bundle.json — safety rules
scenario-pack.json — test scenarios
aether-forge.json — runtime config (LLM, data sources, MCP)
wallet.json — wallet addresses
attestation.json — EIP-712 self-attestation

Validate


forge validate ./my-agent
# Validated 5 artifacts in ./my-agent

Run


# Paper trading — real prices, simulated orders
forge run ./my-agent --mode paper --auto-approve
 
# With self-improvement and knowledge layer
forge run ./my-agent --mode paper --auto-approve --autoresearch --knowledge
 
# With A2A server for inter-agent communication
forge run ./my-agent --mode paper --auto-approve --a2a-port 9001

Next Steps

Build a Custom Agent — choose your LLM, add data sources, wire MCP servers
LLM Planner — how the LLM drives every tick
Memory Architecture — four layers of typed memory
CLI Reference — every forge command