---
title: Quickstart
url: https://onadit.com/docs/quickstart
summary: Connect 1 agent, bring some history in, and run a first lookup. About 5 minutes.
last_updated: 2026-10-12
---

# Quickstart

Connect 1 agent, bring some history in, and run a first lookup. About 5 minutes.

## Before you start

[Install Onadit](https://onadit.com/docs/install.md). The steps below use the command line. Rift.app does the same things with buttons, and `rift onboard` walks you through steps 1 to 3 in one go.

The package does not put `rift` on your `PATH`. Run this first, in the terminal you will use:

```sh
export PATH="$HOME/.rift/bin:$PATH"
```

## 1. Bring some history in

Ask ChatGPT, Claude or Grok for an export of your data. It arrives as a zip. Then:

```sh
rift import ~/Downloads/chatgpt-export.zip
```

The default source is ChatGPT. For another one, name it:

```sh
rift import ~/Downloads/claude-export.zip --source claude_web
```

You can also drop the zip into `~/Library/Application Support/Rift/data/inbox/`. More in [Import](https://onadit.com/docs/import.md).

## 2. Find something

```sh
rift search "pricing" --top-k 3
```

Search works by keyword out of the box. Nothing leaves your Mac.

## 3. Connect an agent

```sh
rift mcp install --client claude-code
```

Use `claude-desktop`, `codex` or `cursor` for the others, or `--all` for every one found on this Mac. Restart the tool so it picks the change up. More in [Connect an agent](https://onadit.com/docs/connect.md).

Then ask the agent something only your history can answer:

```text In the agent
Use Rift. What did I decide about pricing, and when?
```

It should call `rift_context_pack` or `rift_search` and answer with the passage and its source.

## 4. Make it a habit

Add 1 line to `CLAUDE.md` or `AGENTS.md`, so the agent looks before it starts:

```md
Before a task, call rift_context_pack with a 1-line description of it.
```

More in [Agent instructions](https://onadit.com/docs/instructions.md).

## 5. Optional: turn Capture on

Capture files your new Claude Code and Codex sessions every hour. It is off until you turn it on, because it needs 2 things that send text out of your Mac:

- Search by meaning, which sends text to Voyage to be embedded.
- Claude Code or Codex, signed in, which reads each new session to judge and summarise it.

Search by meaning is a switch in Rift.app, under Privacy. Then turn Capture on from the command line:

```sh
rift onboard --advanced --enable-capture
```

Read [Capture](https://onadit.com/docs/capture.md) and [What leaves your Mac](https://onadit.com/docs/egress.md) first.

## Check it

```sh
rift status
```

The `MCP:` line shows which tools are connected, and the `Memory:` line shows how many conversations Onadit holds.