quickstart.mdx

title	Quickstart
description	Get up and running with Kernel in one command.

import { YouTubeVideo } from '/snippets/youtube-video.mdx';

The fastest way to start

Paste this into your AI coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Goose, etc.) and let it handle the rest:

Install the Kernel CLI (brew install onkernel/tap/kernel), run kernel login, then kernel create to scaffold an app, and kernel deploy to deploy it. Use the Kernel docs at https://docs.kernel.sh for reference.

That's it. Your agent will install the CLI, authenticate you, scaffold a project from a template, and deploy it — all in one flow.

For an even deeper integration, install the [Kernel MCP server](/reference/mcp-server) to give your agent direct access to Kernel's browser tools: `kernel mcp install --target cursor` (or `claude-code`, `windsurf`, `vscode`, `goose`, `zed`).

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Manual setup

If you prefer to set things up yourself, follow these steps.

Already familiar with browser vendors? Skip to [creating a browser directly](/browsers/create-a-browser).

Prerequisites

• Kernel account

1. Install the Kernel CLI

# Using brew (recommended)
brew install onkernel/tap/kernel

# Using pnpm
pnpm install -g @onkernel/cli

# Using npm
npm install -g @onkernel/cli

Verify the installation:

which kernel

2. Authenticate

kernel login

This opens your browser to complete the OAuth flow. Credentials are stored and refreshed automatically.

3. Create an app

kernel create

The CLI walks you through picking a language (TypeScript or Python) and a template. To skip the prompts:

kernel create --name my-app --language ts --template sample-app

4. Deploy

```bash Typescript / Javascript cd my-app kernel deploy index.ts ```

cd my-app
kernel deploy main.py

Pass environment variables with --env-file .env if your template needs API keys.

5. Invoke

kernel invoke my-app get-page-title --payload '{"url": "https://www.google.com"}'

```bash Typescript / Javascript # CAPTCHA Solver kernel invoke ts-captcha-solver test-captcha-solver

Stagehand

kernel invoke ts-stagehand teamsize-task --payload '{"company": "Kernel"}'

Magnitude

kernel invoke ts-magnitude mag-url-extract --payload '{"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random"}'

Anthropic Computer Use

kernel invoke ts-anthropic-cua cua-task --payload '{"query": "Return the first url of a search result for NYC restaurant reviews Pete Wells"}'

OpenAI Computer Use

kernel invoke ts-openai-cua cua-task --payload '{"task": "Go to https://news.ycombinator.com and get the top 5 articles"}'

Gemini Computer Use

kernel invoke ts-gemini-cua gemini-cua-task --payload '{"startingUrl": "https://www.magnitasks.com/", "instruction": "Click the Tasks option in the left-side bar, and move the 5 items in the To Do and In Progress items to the Done section of the Kanban board"}'

```bash Python
# CAPTCHA Solver
kernel invoke python-captcha-solver test-captcha-solver

# Browser Use
kernel invoke python-bu bu-task --payload '{"task": "Compare the price of gpt-4o and DeepSeek-V3"}'

# Anthropic Computer Use
kernel invoke python-anthropic-cua cua-task --payload '{"query": "Return the first url of a search result for NYC restaurant reviews Pete Wells"}'

# OpenAI Computer Use
kernel invoke python-openai-cua cua-task --payload '{"task": "Go to https://news.ycombinator.com and get the top 5 articles"}'

# OpenAGI Computer Use
kernel invoke python-openagi-cua openagi-default-task --payload '{"instruction": "Navigate to https://agiopen.org and click the What is Computer Use? button", "record_replay": "True"}'

Next steps

• Install the MCP server to give AI agents direct access to Kernel browsers
• Learn about browser creation for SDK-level control
• Explore integrations with Browser Use, Stagehand, Anthropic CUA, and more
• Browse available sample apps below

Sample apps reference

These are the templates available when you run kernel create:

Template	Description	Framework
sample-app	Basic Kernel app with Playwright	Playwright
captcha-solver	Demo of Kernel's auto-CAPTCHA solving	Playwright
browser-use	AI-powered web automation with Browser Use	Browser Use
stagehand	Stagehand v3 SDK integration	Stagehand
anthropic-computer-use	Anthropic computer use agent	Anthropic Computer Use API
openai-computer-use	OpenAI computer use agent	OpenAI Computer Use API
gemini-computer-use	Gemini computer use agent	Gemini Computer Use API
openagi-computer-use	OpenAGI computer use agent	OpenAGI Computer Use API
magnitude	Magnitude.run SDK integration	Magnitude.run