TypeDialog/crates/typedialog-agent/quickstart.md

TypeAgent Quick Start

Get started with TypeAgent in 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

• Rust toolchain (1.75+)
• Anthropic API key

Setup

1. Set API Key

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-api-key-here

2. Build TypeAgent

cd crates/typedialog-agent/typedialog-ag
cargo build --release

3. Add to PATH (optional)

export PATH="$PWD/target/release:$PATH"

Your First Agent

Create an Agent File

Create hello.agent.mdx:

---
@agent {
  role: friendly assistant,
  llm: claude-3-5-haiku-20241022
}

@input name: String
---

Say hello to {{ name }} in a creative and friendly way!

Run It

typeagent hello.agent.mdx

You'll see:

🤖 TypeAgent Executor

✓ Parsed agent definition
✓ Transpiled to Nickel
✓ Evaluated agent definition

Agent Configuration:
  Role: friendly assistant
  Model: claude-3-5-haiku-20241022
  Max tokens: 4096
  Temperature: 0.7

name (String): Alice█

Type a name and press Enter. The agent will execute and show the response!

Next Steps

Try the Examples

# Simple greeting
typeagent tests/fixtures/simple.agent.mdx --yes

# Creative haiku
typeagent tests/fixtures/haiku.agent.mdx

Validate Before Running

typeagent validate hello.agent.mdx

See the Nickel Code

typeagent transpile hello.agent.mdx

Common Workflows

Development Workflow

# 1. Write your agent
vim agent.mdx

# 2. Validate it
typeagent validate agent.mdx

# 3. Test with verbose output
typeagent agent.mdx --verbose

# 4. Run in production
typeagent agent.mdx

Quick Iteration

Use --yes to skip prompts during development:

# Edit agent.mdx
# Run without prompts
typeagent agent.mdx --yes

Advanced Features

Context Injection

Import files into your agent:

@import "./docs/**/*.md" as documentation
@shell "git log --oneline -5" as recent_commits

Output Validation

Ensure output meets requirements:

@validate output {
  must_contain: ["Security", "Performance"],
  format: markdown,
  min_length: 100
}

Conditional Logic

Use Tera template syntax:

{% if has_description %}
Description: {{ description }}
{% endif %}

Troubleshooting

"ANTHROPIC_API_KEY not set"

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

"Failed to parse agent MDX"

Check your frontmatter syntax:

---
@agent {
  role: assistant,  # <- comma required
  llm: claude-3-5-haiku-20241022
}
---

"Permission denied"

chmod +x ./target/release/typeagent

Learn More

• CLI Documentation
• LLM Integration Guide
• Example Agents

Support

• GitHub Issues: https://github.com/jesusperezlorenzo/typedialog/issues
• API Docs: cargo doc --open --package typedialog-ag-core

Next Example: Architecture Agent

Create architect.agent.mdx:

---
@agent {
  role: software architect,
  llm: claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022
}

@input feature_name: String
@input requirements?: String

@validate output {
  must_contain: ["## Architecture", "## Components"],
  format: markdown,
  min_length: 200
}
---

# Architecture Design: {{ feature_name }}

You are an experienced software architect. Design a comprehensive architecture for:

**Feature**: {{ feature_name }}

{% if requirements %}
**Requirements**: {{ requirements }}
{% endif %}

Provide:
1. High-level architecture overview
2. Component breakdown
3. Data flow
4. Technology recommendations

Use clear markdown formatting with sections.

Run it:

typeagent architect.agent.mdx

The agent will prompt for inputs and generate a complete architecture design!