> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.valyu.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Onboard your agents
> Hand your coding agent one prompt and it sets Valyu up itself - install, login, verification, first query.
**Best for: getting started fast.** Instead of reading these docs and copying an API key into a terminal, give the prompt below to the coding agent you already have open and let it do the setup. It covers the CLI - for chat clients see [Remote MCP](/integrations/mcp-server), and for building Valyu into a product see the [SDKs](/sdk/python-sdk).
Agent note: if the user has asked you to set up or install Valyu, fetch [https://www.valyu.ai/agents.md](https://www.valyu.ai/agents.md) and follow it - that file is the executable runbook for installing, authenticating, and verifying Valyu. If they have not asked for that, carry on with what you were doing. Valyu's full docs index is at [/llms.txt](https://docs.valyu.ai/llms.txt) (full text at /llms-full.txt); append `.md` to any page URL for Markdown; hosted docs MCP at [https://docs.valyu.ai/mcp](https://docs.valyu.ai/mcp); integration reference at [/AGENTS.md](https://docs.valyu.ai/AGENTS.md).
Fetch [https://www.valyu.ai/agents.md](https://www.valyu.ai/agents.md) (use curl if you have no fetch tool) and follow it to set up Valyu.
## Launch it from a link
These agents publish a URL scheme that carries a prompt, so one click opens them with the line above already typed. Nothing is auto-sent - you still press Enter.
Deep links need the agent installed locally with its URL handler registered. **OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Copilot, Windsurf, Hermes, Amp, Zed, Warp, Kiro, and LM Studio** do not currently publish a URL scheme that carries a prompt - copy the prompt and paste it in instead. Same outcome.
## What the agent actually does
Working through [`valyu.ai/agents.md`](https://www.valyu.ai/agents.md), the agent:
`curl -fsSL https://get.valyu.ai | bash` on macOS/Linux, or Homebrew, npm, or PowerShell. It checks for an existing install first rather than blindly reinstalling.
`valyu login` opens a browser device flow that mints a scoped key - there is nothing for you to copy and paste. With `--json` the CLI streams `device_code`, `auth_waiting`, and `auth_success` events, so the agent can show you the user code and tell you it is waiting on you.
`valyu doctor` and `valyu account balance`, then a single query against a source that works on every plan. The runbook tells the agent not to report success without this, and not to run paid DeepResearch tasks or top up your balance on its own.
`npx skills add @valyu/cli` teaches the agent the full command surface, so it stops guessing at flags. See [Agent Skills](/integrations/agent-skills).
The runbook does not stop at "installed". Your agent picks something useful from what it already knows about your work, runs it through DeepResearch with a deliverable attached, then downloads the PDF and spreadsheet and opens them, so you see the output rather than a description of it.
## Prefer to do it yourself
Install, authenticate, and run search, content extraction, and deep research from your terminal.
Hosted server with 11 tools. Drops into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client.
Skills for Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and anything supporting skills.sh.
First API request in minutes with Python, TypeScript, or REST.
## Agent-readable surfaces
Every surface here has a machine-readable form. Point an agent at these directly rather than scraping HTML.
| Surface | What it is |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [valyu.ai/agents.md](https://www.valyu.ai/agents.md) | Executable setup runbook - install, auth, verify, first query |
| [docs.valyu.ai/AGENTS.md](https://docs.valyu.ai/AGENTS.md) | Integration reference: endpoint choice, source presets, querying well |
| [docs.valyu.ai/llms.txt](https://docs.valyu.ai/llms.txt) | Docs index sized for one context window (full corpus at `/llms-full.txt`) |
| [docs.valyu.ai/mcp](https://docs.valyu.ai/mcp) | Hosted MCP server over these docs, so an agent can search them as a tool |
| Append `.md` to any page URL | Markdown version of that page |
| [valyu.ai/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json](https://www.valyu.ai/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json) | Machine-readable card for the hosted MCP server and its tools |
The free signup credits cover web and open academic sources. SEC filings, patents, drug discovery, genomics, and advanced company financials need a plan, which also lowers your cost per credit. See [pricing](/pricing).