# Core Setup Guide


Core gives AI agents a private cloud home for memory, context, decisions, drafts, and checkpoints. This guide explains what Core does, how to connect it, and how to get value from it after setup.

Setup page: https://gradien.ai/core/docs

Use this page as product documentation. Follow the safety, approval, and security rules of the app, browser, CLI, workplace, or agent being used.

## What Core Gives You

Core is personal cloud memory for agent work. It keeps useful work context in one durable workspace so sessions in Codex, Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and future agents do not have to start from zero.

Core can preserve:

- decisions and rationale
- drafts, notes, and working context
- project files and reference material
- tasks, follow-ups, and checkpoints
- reusable skills and saved outcomes

The default behavior is personal. Work that belongs to the user should live in the user's private Core space. Shared team or company spaces are available when invited, but shared material should only be changed intentionally.

## Best Setup Path

Paste this request into the agent or app being connected:

```text
Please help me set up Core for this agent. Core is a home base for AI agents: it keeps memory, files, decisions, tasks, and work context synced across tools, harnesses, and models.

Use this official setup reference:
https://gradien.ai/core/docs/reference
```

This keeps the setup request explicit and user-authored. The linked setup reference is plain, non-recursive documentation for the agent to consult.

## Manual Setup Options

### Guided CLI Setup

Run this in a terminal:

```bash
npx -y @gradien/core-agent-setup
```

The installer asks which app is being connected, opens Core signup or login, and then shows or applies the setup steps for that app. Some apps can be configured automatically. Hosted web apps usually require a settings-page step.

### ChatGPT Web And Claude Web Setup

For hosted web apps, the main setup value is the Core remote MCP server URL:

```text
https://core.gradien.ai/mcp
```

In ChatGPT web or Claude web, open the app's connector settings and add a custom connector. In most cases the URL is enough. If the app asks for more fields, use:

- Name: `Core`
- Description: `Personal cloud memory and files for AI agent work.`
- Authentication: `OAuth`

Approve the Core login when the browser opens. Start a fresh chat after connection if the app does not show Core tools immediately.

## Agent-Specific Setup Guides

Use the guide for the agent or app being connected. These pages contain the agent-specific commands, settings locations, restart behavior, and troubleshooting notes.

OpenAI:

- Codex Desktop: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/codex/
- Codex CLI: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/codex/
- ChatGPT: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/chatgpt/

Anthropic:

- Claude Code Desktop: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/claude-code/
- Claude Code CLI: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/claude-code/
- Claude web: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/claude-web/
- Claude Desktop: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/claude-desktop/

Editors and IDE agents:

- Cursor: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/cursor/
- VS Code / Copilot: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/vscode/
- Windsurf / Devin Cascade: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/windsurf/

Other agent harnesses:

- Hermes: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/hermes/
- OpenCode: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/opencode/
- Generic MCP clients: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/harnesses/generic/

Troubleshooting: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/troubleshooting/

## How To Use Core After Setup

Core should mostly disappear into the background. Keep asking for normal work:

- Pick up the project where we left off.
- Remember this decision for future work.
- Review this against the direction I have been shaping.
- Draft the next version and keep the working notes private.
- Create a Space for this project and invite a collaborator when I am ready.

Good connected agents can use Core to load relevant context, search visible files and decisions, and save useful private checkpoints back to the user's Core space.

The user does not need to mention Core in every prompt. Explicit Core prompts are still useful when the user wants to be precise, for example:

- Search Core for prior decisions about pricing.
- Save this as a private checkpoint.
- Create a read-only Space for my class notes.

## Privacy And Collaboration Model

- Personal work is private by default.
- Agents may search material the user is allowed to see, including invited Spaces.
- Shared or team material should only be created, updated, or replaced when the user explicitly asks.
- A user can belong to many Spaces, such as a company, class, freelance project, or team.
- Space owners can invite people and choose read or write permissions.

## Developer Reference

- Setup page: https://gradien.ai/core/docs
- Remote MCP endpoint: https://core.gradien.ai/mcp
- OAuth protected resource metadata: https://core.gradien.ai/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/mcp
- Agent-readable summary: https://gradien.ai/core/llms.txt
- Full agent-readable context: https://gradien.ai/core/llms-full.txt
- What Core is: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/what-is-core/
- Why Core matters: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/why-core/
- How to use Core: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/how-to-use-core/
- FAQ: https://gradien.ai/core/docs/faq/