---
title: "Quickstart"
description: "guide to getting started with rowboat"
icon: "rocket"
---
---
# Cloud Setup

Using the open-source version of Rowboat requires more technical skill to set up and navigate. For the smoothest experience, we recommend using our [hosted version](https://dev.rowboatlabs.com/)

---

# Local Setup

<Note>Pre-requisite: Ensure Docker is installed on your machine. You'll also need an OpenAI account and API key to use the Copilot and agents.</Note>


<Steps>
  <Step title="Set your OpenAI key">
    Export your OpenAI API key in your terminal:

    ```bash
    export OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set up Composio for tools and triggers (optional)">
    To use external tools and triggers, export your Composio API key:

    ```bash
    export COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your-composio-api-key
    export COMPOSIO_TRIGGERS_WEBHOOK_SECRET=your-webhook-secret
    ```

    <Note>For more detailed setup instructions, see the [Triggers](/docs/using-rowboat/triggers#local-setup) page.</Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Clone the repository and start Rowboat Docker">
    Clone the Rowboat repository and start the app using Docker:

    ```bash
    git clone git@github.com:rowboatlabs/rowboat.git
    cd rowboat
    ./start.sh
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Access the app">
    Once Docker is running, open your browser and go to:

    [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000)
  </Step>
</Steps>


<Info>See the [Using custom LLM providers](#using-custom-llm-providers) section below for using custom providers like OpenRouter and LiteLLM. </Info>

---

## Demo
{/* (would be better to change this to a Getiing Started Tutorial) */}

#### Create a multi-agent assistant with MCP tools by chatting with Rowboat
[![Screenshot 2025-04-23 at 00 25 31](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c8a41622-8e0e-459f-becb-767503489866)](https://youtu.be/YRTCw9UHRbU)

---

## Integrate with Rowboat agents

There are 2 ways to integrate with the agents you create in Rowboat

<Columns cols={2}>

  <Card title="Using the API" icon="code" horizontal href="/docs/api-sdk/using_the_api">
    Guide on using the HTTP API 
  </Card>

  <Card title="Using the SDK" icon="toolbox" horizontal href="/docs/api-sdk/using_the_sdk">
    Guide on using the Python SDK
  </Card>

</Columns>

---

## Using custom LLM providers
By default, Rowboat uses OpenAI LLMs (gpt-4o, gpt-4.1, etc.) for both agents and copilot, when you export your OPENAI_API_KEY. 

However, you can also configure custom LLM providers (e.g. LiteLLM, OpenRouter) to use any of the hundreds of available LLMs beyond OpenAI, such as Claude, DeepSeek, Ollama LLMs and so on.

Check out our page on customising
  <Card title="Customise" icon="sliders" horizontal href="/docs/using-rowboat/customise">
    Learn more about customising your Rowboat experience here
  </Card>