CommandoQuickstart
Install Commando, configure an LLM provider, and run your first natural-language Sui command in under 5 minutes.
Quickstart
By the end of this page you'll have Commando installed, an LLM provider configured, a Sui testnet wallet, and a successful first prompt — on Windows, Linux, or macOS.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 20+ (Node 18 works but is not recommended).
- An OpenAI API key or an OpenRouter API key. (OpenRouter has free tiers — see LLM Setup.)
- ~900 MB free disk space for the upstream
sui/walrus/site-builderbinaries.
Commando is currently published under the beta dist-tag. Always install with @beta until 1.0 ships.
1. Install Commando
npm install -g sui-commando@betaThe postinstall hook detects your OS + arch, downloads the upstream binaries from GitHub releases into ~/.commando/bin/ (or %USERPROFILE%\.commando\bin\ on Windows), patches your shell PATH, and bootstraps the Sui wallet and Walrus client config.
For CI / Docker builds where you don't want a 900 MB download during npm install:
CMDO_SKIP_BOOTSTRAP=1 npm install -g sui-commando@beta
cmdo bootstrap # run later when readyOpen a new terminal after install so the updated PATH takes effect. On Linux/macOS you may need source ~/.bashrc or source ~/.zshrc.
Verify the install:
cmdo --version # commando 0.2.4-beta
cmdo doctorcmdo doctor should print your platform, the path to ~/.commando/bin, a green check that the bin folder is on PATH, and present (+x) (Unix) or present / sha256 ok (Windows) for each binary.
2. Configure an LLM provider
cmdo initThis is interactive: pick openai or openrouter, paste an API key, and choose a model. Defaults are sane (gpt-4o-mini for OpenAI, z-ai/glm-4.5-air:free for OpenRouter).
Prefer environment variables? Skip cmdo init and just export OPENAI_API_KEY or OPENROUTER_API_KEY. See LLM Setup for the full picker logic.
3. Get a Sui testnet wallet + gas
cmdo "create new sui address"
cmdo "give me testnet sui from faucet"
sui client gasThe first command initializes the Sui keystore (~/.sui/sui_config/) if it does not already exist; the faucet prompt hits the public testnet faucet directly so you do not have to remember the URL.
4. Run your first real command
Build a Move package
From any folder containing a Move.toml:
cmdo "build my move package"Commando will plan sui move build (not sui client publish — the prompt rules distinguish the verbs explicitly) and stream the compiler output.
Deploy to Walrus Sites
From a folder containing a built static site (e.g. ./dist):
cmdo "deploy static site in ./dist to walrus-sites" --site-builderThe planner will emit site-builder deploy --epochs 1 ./dist. If you do not yet have WAL or SUI coins on testnet, the runtime hint will tell you exactly which cmdo "..." to run next.
Try Walrus directly
cmdo "show walrus info" --walrus
cmdo "get wal" --walrus5. Demo / offline mode
No internet for the LLM call? Set the mock planner:
CMDO_LLM_MOCK=1 cmdo "show sui client active address" --suiUseful for hackathon demos where the network is unreliable. The mock covers the most common Sui / Walrus / Site-builder verbs.
CLI summary
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
cmdo <prompt> | Default — plan and execute a natural-language request |
cmdo init | Configure LLM provider, key, and model |
cmdo doctor | Print environment status and verify binaries |
cmdo bootstrap | Re-run the install (download binaries, patch PATH, regen skills) — idempotent |
cmdo update-skills | Regenerate ~/.commando/skills/AGENT.md from the current binaries |
cmdo --version | Print the installed version |
Routing flags: --sui, --walrus, --site-builder force the target binary and skip the keyword inference step.
Next steps
Installation deep dive
Cross-platform details, PATH patching, optional R2 mirror.
LLM Setup
OpenAI vs OpenRouter, models, and env vars.
Sui Cookbook
Wallet, faucet, build, publish, gas - every common prompt.
Walrus Sites
End-to-end static site deploy walkthrough.
Troubleshooting
What the runtime hints mean and how to fix them.
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