CLI Prerequisites

Agent Grid spawns agent panes by running CLIs you already have on your PATH: claude for Claude Code, codex for OpenAI Codex, and agy for Google Antigravity. Install and sign in to each one before spawning that pane type.

Why this matters

A Claude, Codex, or Antigravity pane shells out to the matching CLI on spawn. If the CLI isn't on your PATH, the pane opens with an alert telling you what to install and won't start the agent.

Getting this right once unlocks the rest of Agent Grid. It's the most common onboarding hiccup, so this page covers each CLI plus what to do when Agent Grid still can't find one after you've installed it.

Claude Code (claude)

Powers every Claude pane and every Claude worker. Required for orchestration and for voice mode.

1. Install Claude Code following the official Claude Code install guide.

2. Verify it's on your PATH:

   claude --version

3. Sign in once — the CLI walks you through it:

   claude

   Authentication is cached in your user profile; Agent Grid reuses it.

Codex (codex)

Powers Codex panes and Codex workers.

1. Install the Codex CLI from npm:

   npm install -g @openai/codex

2. Verify:

   codex --version

3. Sign in:

   codex

If Agent Grid can't find codex, the spawn alert reads:

Codex CLI is not installed. Install it with: npm install -g @openai/codex

Run the command above, then try the spawn again.

Antigravity (agy)

Powers Antigravity panes.

1. Install the Antigravity CLI from antigravity.google.

2. Verify:

   agy --version

3. Sign in following the prompts the CLI shows on first run.

If Agent Grid can't find agy, the spawn alert reads:

Antigravity CLI (agy) is not installed. Install it from https://antigravity.google.

Troubleshooting "CLI not installed" after installing

If you installed the CLI but Agent Grid still shows the alert:

• Confirm the CLI is on the same PATH Agent Grid sees. Agent Grid inherits the environment it was launched in. On macOS, launching from the Dock vs. from a terminal can produce different PATHs.
• Restart Agent Grid after editing your shell profile so the new PATH is picked up.
• Check the binary name exactly. Agent Grid looks for claude, codex, and agy — not aliases or wrapped scripts under different names.
• On Linux AppImage, the launched PATH is whatever spawned the AppImage; consider the .deb package if you rely on a user-level PATH from ~/.profile.

What you don't need

You only need a CLI for the pane types you plan to spawn. Terminal, code editor, source control, browser, and note panes have no CLI prerequisite. The voice call feature uses an OpenAI API key configured in Agent Grid settings, not a CLI — see Voice mode.

Next steps

With at least claude installed, you're ready for the Quickstart.