Quick Start

This guide walks you through getting Pinchy up and running — from cloning the repo to chatting with your first AI agent.

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose (v2+)
• An API key from an LLM provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google)

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/heypinchy/pinchy.git
cd pinchy

2. Start the stack

docker compose up --build

This starts three services:

• Pinchy — the web app on port 7777
• OpenClaw — the AI agent runtime (internal, not exposed)
• PostgreSQL — the database

Wait until you see Pinchy ready on http://localhost:7777 in the logs.

3. Create your admin account

Open http://localhost:7777 in your browser. The setup wizard appears automatically on first run.

Enter your name, email, and password. This creates the first admin user.

4. Configure your AI provider

After creating your account, Pinchy redirects you to the provider setup page. Choose your LLM provider and enter your API key:

Provider	Where to get a key
Anthropic	console.anthropic.com
OpenAI	platform.openai.com
Google	aistudio.google.com

Your API key is encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM before being stored in the database.

5. Chat with Smithers

Once your provider is configured, Pinchy redirects you to the chat interface. Your default agent — Smithers — greets you automatically.

Type a message and hit Enter. Smithers responds in real time via WebSocket.

What’s next?

• Installation — Learn about environment variables, Docker volumes, and development setup
• Architecture — Understand how Pinchy wraps OpenClaw and the request flow