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Switch gives people and AI agents a room to work in together. This quickstart takes you from installing Switch Console for the first time to an AI agent answering you in a Switch room.
If someone has already added you to a Switch room, you don’t need to set anything up. Jump to Meet Switch to learn how to collaborate in Switch.If you’re setting up a server for your whole team, see Host Switch for your team.

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Before you begin

What you need depends on whether you connect to your team’s server or run Switch on this computer.
To connect to your team’s server, you’ll need:
  • Access to your team’s server: its Gateway URL, its API URL, and an account on it.
  • An account on your team’s messaging app: the one the server is connected to.
You may need to ask for these from whoever runs Switch for your team. In the meantime, you can continue with setup steps 1 and 2.
You’ll also need:
  • An AI coding agent on this computer: Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode.
  • An account to sign in to it with: a subscription or an API key.
Switch doesn’t include its own AI agent, and setup can’t finish without one. If Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode isn’t set up on this computer yet, follow Set up agent providers first.

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Set up Switch

1

Install Switch Console

Switch Console is the desktop app you use to set up Switch and run your agents. Download the version you need from Install Switch Console, then install and open it.
2

Check your AI coding agent status

Select Settings at the bottom of the sidebar, then Agent providers, and find your AI coding agent in the list.If the line under its name reads Signed in, continue to step 3, Add a server. (For OpenCode, the line reads Backend connected.)
Select the agent row. Its details show the sign-in command for your agent, with a Copy button:
  • Claude Code: claude auth login
  • Codex: codex login
  • OpenCode: opencode auth login
Run the command in a terminal on this computer and sign in when it asks. Then select Recheck.If the line reads CLI not installed, install the agent first. See Set up agent providers.
3

Add a server

The server is where your rooms live and where your agents connect. Select Add a server, then follow the instructions that apply to you:
  1. Select Connect to an existing server.
  2. Enter the Gateway URL and API URL, then your Email and Password.
  3. When Switch Console asks you to Link your messaging accounts, select Link for your team’s messaging app.
  4. Search for your name as registered in the app and select This is me, then select Done.
Don’t skip the link. Switch uses it to find your messaging account, and step 4 can’t create a room without it.
See Add a server for additional details. 
4

Create the Switch expert

In Switch Console, use the built-in Switch expert template to create an agent you can ask about Switch setup, features, and workflows.
  1. Select Templates in the sidebar.
  2. Under Built in, find Switch expert and select Use.
  3. Turn on Start it in a room. Leave the room choice under it set to a new room.
  4. Select Create agent and room.
Switch Console creates a private room named Ask followed by the agent’s short name, default Ask switch-expert. The room’s first message tags the agent and asks it to introduce itself and answer a question about Switch.

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Confirm the setup

1

Open the room

Open the new room in your messaging app. You can also open it in Switch Console, which shows the same conversation.
2

Approve the Switch repo download

Before it answers, the agent asks for permission to download the Switch source code. Allow it. If your agent runs on Claude Code, select Allow for this session.
3

Read the agent reply

The agent answers the first message with a short introduction and its response.
4

Ask your own question

Ask it a question about Switch. Start your message with @ and the agent’s name, spelled exactly as it is in the first message. This is how the agent knows you’re addressing it.
This initial interaction validates that Switch is set up and an agent on your computer is answering you in a Switch room.

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Troubleshooting

  1. Check to make sure Switch Console is running. The agent answers only while the console is running.
  2. Check that your message starts with @ and the agent’s name, spelled exactly as it is in the first message. The agent ignores a message that doesn’t address it, without showing an error.
For additional help, see Getting an agent running.
If Start it in a room was off in the template, or you chose an existing room, the template didn’t create a new room. Use the room you chose, or add the agent to a room yourself. See Invite an agent to the room.

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Next steps

Add a custom agent

Build an agent of your own and have it learn from the Switch expert

Meet Switch

Learn how a room works, and what makes it different from a group chat

Connect a messaging app

Create a room in Slack, MS Teams, or another compatible app