Skip to main content

​
Guides

Guides answer “how do I do this task with Atomic” once Atomic is installed and authenticated. New to Atomic? Start with the ordered onboarding path in the Quickstart instead — it installs Atomic, authenticates a provider, runs a first session, and adds project instructions. Come back here when you want to go deeper on one task. Looking to extend or embed Atomic? Go to Build with Atomic. Looking up an exact flag, setting, event, or type? Go to the Reference index.
  1. Interactive use — the interactive loop, slash commands, and context files.
  2. Configure Atomic — write a settings file and override it per project.
  3. Sessions — save, resume, name, and branch sessions.
  4. Context and compaction — keep long sessions inside the context window.
  5. Providers — subscription logins, API keys, and cloud providers.
  6. Local models — run models locally with llama.cpp.
  7. Security — project trust and sandbox boundaries.
  8. Containerization — run Atomic inside a container.
For work that continues while you chat, follow Background tasks to launch, inspect, and stop agents or shells. If you use Herdr panes, Herdr explains Atomic’s status indicators and troubleshooting.

​
Start here

  • Quickstart - install, authenticate, and run a first session.
  • Using Atomic - interactive mode, slash commands, context files, and CLI reference.
  • Computer use - work in desktop apps, browsers, and terminals across macOS, Linux, and Windows.
  • Providers - subscription and API-key setup for built-in providers.
  • Environment variables - Atomic/Pi aliases, provider credentials, and bash session metadata.
  • Security - project trust, sandbox boundaries, and vulnerability reporting.
  • Containerization - sandbox Atomic with OpenShell, Gondolin, or Docker.
  • Settings - global and project settings.
  • Keybindings - default shortcuts and custom keybindings.
  • Sessions - session management, branching, and tree navigation.
  • Compaction - Verbatim Compaction, context management, and branch summarization.
  • Background tasks - run work in the background, inspect results, and stop owned tasks.
  • Herdr - report Atomic’s working, blocked, and idle states in Herdr panes.