Install MARS, prepare local inference, and run one target repo.

Before You Start

Install The Command

1. Clone MARS

   git clone https://github.com/greaveselliott/MARS.git
   cd MARS

   This repository is the software factory source. The installed command can manage other target repositories from any working directory.

2. Install from the checkout

   make install
   mars version

   make install installs the command into the Go bin directory and refreshes supported shell PATH setup.

3. Open a fresh terminal if needed

   hash -r
   mars path setup

   Use hash -r when your current shell cached an older binary. Use mars path setup to repair profile snippets directly. For shell-specific reload and completion recipes, open the Shell Integration Reference.

Prepare Local Inference

mars setup
mars doctor

gh auth login
mars auth github setup
mars auth github check

mars setup --dry-run
mars setup --skip-download
mars setup --inference defer

What setup creates

For a deeper model and hardware explanation, open the Models And Inference Guide. For complete ownership rules, open the Files And State Reference. For every setup flag and auth path, open the Install And Setup Reference.

Bootstrap A Target Repository

1. Choose your application repo

   cd /path/to/target-repo
   git status --short --branch

   The target repo is the product MARS will help build, test, document, and release.

2. Initialize the deployed harness

   mars init --repo /path/to/target-repo

   init writes the repo-owned harness, operating docs, release files, and starter guidance.

3. Review generated files

   git -C /path/to/target-repo status --short
   git -C /path/to/target-repo diff --stat

   Generated prompts, manifest, guardrails, tickets, goals, and docs are user-owned after init.

Inspect Before Agents Mutate

mars run engineer --repo /path/to/target-repo --dry-run

mars run engineer --repo /path/to/legacy-repo --dry-run --no-init

mars tools list --json
mars mcp serve --repo /path/to/target-repo --trust observer

Run Agents

mars run engineer --repo /path/to/target-repo \
  --execution-profile host --acknowledge-host-execution
mars run qa --repo /path/to/target-repo --debug \
  --execution-profile host --acknowledge-host-execution

mars start --repo /path/to/target-repo \
  --execution-profile host --acknowledge-host-execution

mars register --repo /path/to/target-repo --remote owner/repo
mars serve --addr 127.0.0.1:9091 --concurrency 2 \
  --execution-profile host --acknowledge-host-execution

Useful first-run flags

Open The Dashboard

mars start and mars serve expose local dashboard and control surfaces. The dashboard shows repositories, queue state, active jobs, traces, controls, and health information. Observation is available on loopback, but every browser mutation requires a configured MARS_DASHBOARD_CONTROL_SECRET and authenticated session with exact Host/Origin and CSRF.

open http://localhost:9090

curl http://localhost:9091/healthz

What Changed In The Target Repo

The first init/start creates a deployed harness and durable operating record inside the target repo. Review these files before allowing broad autonomous work.

.
|-- AGENTS.md
|-- VERSION
|-- CHANGELOG.md
|-- .harness/
|   |-- manifest.yaml
|   |-- roles/
|   |-- guardrails/
|   |-- knowledge/
|   +-- skills/
+-- docs/
    |-- goals/
    |-- exec-plans/
    |-- features/
    |-- tickets/
    |-- design-docs/
    |-- references/
    +-- QUALITY_SCORE.md

mars upgrade --repo /path/to/target-repo fills missing defaults after a MARS upgrade while preserving user-owned prompts, manifests, tickets, plans, and docs. mars eject previews removal before deleting the deployed harness and per-repo database. See the Files And State Reference for the full preservation and cleanup contract.

Update Later

cd /path/to/MARS
make update-tool
mars version

mars update check --repo /path/to/target-repo --json

mars update harness --repo /path/to/target-repo

Next Steps

First-Run Troubleshooting

For the full symptom matrix, open the Troubleshooting Guide.