Getting started.
Klyr is a Claude Code plugin that puts your DNA into it, so your assistant stops being a generic assistant and becomes your clone. This page takes you from the welcome email to your first conversation: every click, every command, every question explained. If you've never opened a terminal, you're exactly who this was written for.
Just bought Klyr? Thank you. Your private memory space is being created, and a welcome email is on its way to the address you used at checkout. That address is your Klyr email address: keep it at hand and start below. Not a member yet? See the offer.
Part one: install it
One command does the heavy lifting.
What you need
- Your Klyr email address. The address that received your Klyr welcome or invitation email: it's the one your access is tied to, and you'll sign in with it once along the way. Nothing to download, no key file to keep.
- A Claude subscription (Pro or Max), the one you already have. You'll sign in to it along the way.
- A Mac, a Windows PC, or a Linux machine. On Windows, plain Windows is enough: no WSL, no developer tools, nothing extra to install first. That covers Hosted memory, which is what nearly everyone runs. Local memory needs Docker on every platform, Windows included, and Question 1 below says so plainly.
- About 15 minutes. Most of it is the installer working while you watch.
Step 1: open a terminal
A terminal is just a plain window where you type an instruction and press Enter. That's the whole skill.
- On macOS: press
Cmd + Space, type Terminal, and press Enter. A window opens with a blinking cursor. That's it, you're in a terminal. - On Windows: open the Start menu and type PowerShell. On Windows you use PowerShell twice: once as administrator, only to install Git, then once as an ordinary window for Klyr itself. Step 2 below walks you through both, in that order.
- On Linux: on most systems
Ctrl + Alt + T, or find Terminal in your applications.
Step 2: paste the install command
Copy the command for your machine, paste it into the terminal, and press Enter. These commands put your machine on stable, the default release track.
On macOS or Linux: one command
macOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://getklyr.ai/install.sh | bash
Your browser opens once so you can sign in; then everything installs on its own, and you finish with /klyr:init below.
When your browser opens, sign in with the email that received your Klyr welcome or invitation email. You'll get an email with a link; click it, and the installer carries on by itself. After that, a few minutes of text scrolling by is normal. It may ask for your computer's password (nothing appears while you type a password; that's a terminal security habit, not a bug). Wait for the closing lines, and leave the window open. They start with Klyr is installed and give your next step: What to do now: open a new terminal window, type claude and press Enter.. If instead it goes on with a warning (for example that your memory is NOT running), follow what it says. Those closing lines are how you know it worked: if the window goes back to the blinking cursor without them, Klyr is not installed, even when nothing looks wrong. Here is what to do then.
On Windows: Git first, as administrator, then Klyr in an ordinary window
Git for Windows is the one piece that needs administrator rights, so it has its own small script. Everything else Klyr installs belongs to your own user profile and must not run as administrator. So the order is: Git in an administrator window, then Klyr in an ordinary window.
1 · Git, in PowerShell as administrator
irm https://api.getklyr.ai/plugin-cc/stable/install-git.ps1 | iex
Start menu, type PowerShell, right-click it, choose Run as administrator, paste, Enter. When it is done, close that window.
2 · Klyr, in an ordinary PowerShell
irm https://getklyr.ai/install.ps1 | iex
Start menu, type PowerShell, press Enter (no right-click this time), paste, Enter.
1. Git, in PowerShell as administrator. Open the Start menu, type PowerShell, right-click it and choose Run as administrator (Windows asks you to confirm; say yes). Paste the first command and press Enter. It installs Git for Windows and nothing else. When it is done, it tells you to close this administrator window and run the Klyr installer in an ordinary PowerShell:
NOW CLOSE THIS ADMINISTRATOR WINDOW.
Open an ORDINARY PowerShell and run the Klyr installer there - it needs no
administrator rights, and running it here would install Klyr into THIS
account's profile instead of yours.
If Git was already on your machine, it says Git for Windows is already installed - nothing to do. instead. Either way, close that window: it has done its only job.
2. Klyr, in an ordinary PowerShell. Open the Start menu, type PowerShell, and press Enter, without right-clicking this time. Paste the second command and press Enter. Pasted it in the administrator window by mistake? It stops right away with This installer must NOT run as administrator. and Nothing has been changed on this machine.: close that window and paste the command into an ordinary one.
3. What you will see. If no text editor is set up for Git yet, the installer asks one question first: Install Visual Studio Code and point Git at it? [Y/n]. Press Enter to accept, or type n to skip. Then it says Opening your browser to sign in to Klyr.... Sign in with the email that received your Klyr welcome or invitation email: you'll get an email with a link, click it, and the browser tab says Signed in - you can close this tab and return to the terminal. Back in PowerShell, a few minutes of text scrolling by is normal. Wait for the closing line, and leave the window open:
Klyr installed and ready.
What to do now: open a new PowerShell window, type claude and press Enter.
Every next step is explained here: https://getklyr.ai/docs/getting-started
That line is how you know it worked. If something could not be checked, the closing line starts with Klyr is installed instead and explains what is missing: follow what it says. If the window goes back to the blinking cursor without a closing line, Klyr is not installed, even when nothing looks wrong. Here is what to do then. Your next step is opening Claude Code, in Step 3 below.
Skipped the Git step? Nothing breaks: the installer notices, prints Git for Windows is required, and was not found. with the exact Git command, and changes nothing. Run that command in an administrator window, close it, and paste the Klyr command again in an ordinary one.
What the installer sets up
So nothing here is a mystery: git (a standard tool for fetching code; on Windows, that is the administrator step above), the Claude Code app, the Klyr plugin, and uv, a small helper Klyr uses to run its tools.
Interrupted, or ended with an error? Just run the same command again: the installer is safe to re-run and picks up where it left off (if you already signed in, it says
Already signed in to Klyr - skipping the browser sign-in.). Still stuck? Write to hello@getklyr.ai and say where it stopped.
Step 3: open Claude Code for the first time
The installer set up Claude Code, the app your clone lives in. It runs inside the terminal: no icon appears anywhere, and that's normal. To start it, open a terminal (same as before: Cmd + Space then Terminal on a Mac, Start menu then PowerShell on Windows) and type:
claude
Since this is your very first launch, Claude Code introduces itself:
- It may ask you to pick a color theme. Use the arrow keys to choose, press Enter. Any theme is fine.
- It asks you to sign in to Claude. Your browser opens; log in with your Claude account (the one with the Pro or Max subscription). This is your Claude account, not necessarily the email that received your Klyr invitation; that one comes later.
- Back in the terminal, you'll see a chat: you type at the bottom, Claude answers above. That's Claude Code. You never need to learn more of the terminal than this.
Part two: meet /klyr:init, a guided setup that talks to you
Step 4: start the guided setup
In Claude Code, type this and press Enter:
/klyr:init
Commands that start with / are how you ask Claude Code to do something specific. This one walks you through Klyr's setup, one simple question at a time, in plain language. A few things to know before it starts:
- Questions appear as a small menu. Move with the arrow keys or press the option's number, then Enter. You can always type your own answer instead of picking one.
- Most questions put the sensible default first. A few deliberately don't recommend anything: those are real choices that are genuinely yours (the memory question below is one). This page tells you what to expect either way.
- Nothing is final and nothing breaks.
/klyr:initis safe to run again anytime: it remembers where you were and continues, it never redoes or erases what's done.
Here is every question it will ask, in the order you'll meet them.
Question 1: where should your clone's memory live, Hosted or Local?
Your clone remembers everything you tell it. This question decides where that memory physically runs. It's the one big choice of the setup. If you signed in during the install, Hosted is already connected and comes first, as the default. Otherwise there's no recommended tag on it because both answers are legitimate:
- Hosted: your memory runs in your own private space on Klyr's servers. This is the paid tier: it works on any machine (even a modest laptop), follows you across devices, needs nothing installed or maintained, and runs on fast datacenter hardware. You sign in with the email that received your Klyr welcome or invitation email.
- Local: everything runs on this one computer, free, and nothing ever leaves it. The trade-off: it needs a strong machine (16 GB of memory is the floor, plus around 23 GB of free disk for the on-device AI models), some background software, and your memory stays tied to this computer. Klyr checks your machine first and tells you honestly if it can't handle self-hosting. Local needs Docker on every platform (Docker Desktop on Mac and Windows, left on its default settings). On Windows, the machine check asks you whether your machine is powerful enough.
If you signed in during the install, Hosted is already connected. The installer said so near the end: Klyr's memory is already connected to Claude Code: setup finishes in one go, with no restart and no second sign-in. /klyr:init checks this first, tells you no restart is needed, and asks once:
- Keep Hosted (first, the default): setup carries on in this same run, with no restart and no
/mcp. Already use Klyr on another machine? It will notice and offer to bring your existing memory onto this one instead of starting from scratch. Take that offer. - Switch to Local: setup continues on the Local path, which needs one restart at its end.
If /klyr:init says Klyr's memory is not connected yet:
- When
/klyr:inittells you to, close Claude Code and open it again: type/exit, then typeclaudeto start it back up. - Only if
/klyr:initasks you to sign in: run/mcp, pickklyr, and sign in in the browser. Use the email that received your Klyr welcome or invitation email: that's the address your access is tied to. You'll receive an email with a link; click it, and you're in. Nothing to copy or paste, and the link expires quickly by design. If instead it saysNo sign-in this time — you already signed in when you installed., skip this step: the restart is all it needs. - Back in Claude Code, there's no need to type
/klyr:initagain: setup picks itself up. As/klyr:initputs it,just say hi: I'll pick setup up right where we are, you will NOT redo anything. - Already use Klyr on another machine? It will notice and offer to bring your existing memory onto this one instead of starting from scratch. Take that offer.
How to choose: pick Hosted if you want zero maintenance and your clone on every machine you use. Pick Local if you'd rather keep everything on one strong computer for free, and you're happy to run Docker on it (Docker Desktop on Mac and Windows). Either answer is legitimate, and you can change your mind later.
Question 2: the interview, letting it get to know you
Next, your clone offers to interview you. Klyr calls it KYH, Know Your Human. It asks gentle questions about what you're working on, how you decide, what matters to you, and writes what it learns into its memory. You just talk; it does the writing.
- It's skippable: you can say "later" and set up the rest first.
- It's resumable: stop mid-interview whenever you want; it continues where you left off, and never re-asks what it already knows.
- It's repeatable, and should be. Run
/klyr:kyhagain regularly: your goals move, and each session makes the clone sharper about who you are now.
Have a past with ChatGPT or Claude? You can import your chat history so your clone starts already knowing you. Do it, but know what it is: your history is where you've been; the interview captures where you're going. An import jumpstarts memory, it doesn't replace KYH.
Recommended: do at least a short first interview now, import your history if you have one, and make
/klyr:kyha regular habit.
Question 3: naming your clone
Your clone gets a name: it's what you'll call it, and what it signs its identity with. Pick anything you like, or ask it to name itself; it will happily propose one.
Recommended: don't overthink it. Pick something short, or let it choose. You can rename it later.
Question 4: how it behaves with you
By default, your clone is set up as a sparring partner: it challenges your assumptions, pushes back when something doesn't add up, and tells you what it actually thinks instead of agreeing with everything. That's the setting most people end up wanting; a clone that only nods is just a mirror.
Recommended: keep the sparring-partner default. If it's ever too much or too little, just tell it. The behavior is yours to change, anytime.
Question 5: your vault, where your clone keeps what you share
A vault is nothing exotic: it's a plain folder on your disk. The whole idea is one simple loop: you share, your clone files it there. You never write a special format, you never reorganize anything, and your working documents stay wherever they live today: Google Docs, Notion, anywhere. What you share with your clone in conversation is what lands in the vault.
You may already keep a notes folder, an Obsidian folder, any folder of text files, and it can live anywhere on your disk. Klyr never assumes or goes hunting: it asks. If you have one, give its location and choose "keep my folder exactly as it is": Klyr works inside your layout without adding or moving a thing. If you don't have one, let Klyr create a fresh folder where it suggests.
Left to its own devices, Klyr files what you share using PARA: an inbox for quick capture, then Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives. That's the clone's filing habit, not homework for you: it's entirely optional, and saying no changes nothing about what Klyr remembers. The curious can read the longer story on the blog.
Recommended: already keep notes in a folder? Point Klyr at it and keep your layout as it is. Starting fresh? Accept the suggested location and let your clone handle the filing.
Question 6: the Klyr look for your terminal
Optional and purely cosmetic: a warm color theme, plus a one-line status bar at the bottom of Claude Code that keeps you oriented. The status line looks like this:
Nova (Opus) · my-notes main · 247 ✦ hosted · 34% ctx
Reading left to right:
- Your clone's name and the model it's currently thinking with.
- The folder you're in, and the git branch if there is one.
- How many conversations it has banked into memory (the ✦ number) and which memory mode you're on, hosted or local.
- How full the current conversation is, as a percentage of the context window.
Recommended: say yes. It's the easiest way to see at a glance that your clone's memory is alive. You can undo or change it anytime, and the Klyr theme also stays available on its own in the
/themepicker.
Question 7: anonymized error reports
Klyr heals itself: when something breaks, it diagnoses and repairs what it safely can. This last question asks whether, when it hits a problem it can't fix, it may send an anonymized technical report. The error's signature only, never your notes, never your file paths, never a single memory. That way the fix ends up helping you and every other Klyr user.
Recommended: say yes. Anonymous means anonymous, and it makes Klyr better for you too. Change your mind anytime with
/klyr:config.
The last step: bring it to life
What happens at the finish line depends on the memory choice you made in Question 1:
- Local: fully quit and reopen Claude Code one last time, so the memory tools load. Type
/exit, thenclaude. - Hosted: nothing to do. You're already signed in, and your clone is ready the moment setup says so.
Now make it prove it. Ask: "what do you know about me?" A generic assistant starts from zero. Your clone answers with your projects, your decisions, your way of working. That's the moment most people get it. And from here it compounds: every week it is a little more you.
Stuck somewhere?
Klyr is small and human: you reach the person who built it, not a ticket queue. Write to hello@getklyr.ai and say where it stopped. Straight answers, no scripts.
Next: Your clone's memory.