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Prerequisites

  • ByteRover account (sign up)
  • An active team and space in ByteRover’s web app
  • Node.js 20+
  • Your coding agent IDE (Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf, etc.) with a project opened and a terminal created to run brv commands

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Step 1: Install

npm install -g byterover-cli
Verify the installation: 
brv --version

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Step 2: Authenticate

Navigate to your project directory and start the ByteRover REPL: 
cd path/to/your/project
brv
For the firs time, Byterover prompt you to complete authentication on the browser: ByteRover TUI Follow the browser prompt to complete authentication. Later, if you want re-authenticate, type this: 
/login

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Step 3: Initialize your project

After authentication, you’ll see this wecome message: ByteRover Welcome Hit Enter and you’ll complete a quick setup:
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Select your team

2

Select your space

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Choose your coding agent

After completing the setup, ByteRover will sync your remote context and based on your chosen coding agent, a default connector is selected. You can also re-initialize your project by using this slash command: 
/init
To view or change your connectors, use the /connectors command: 
/connectors
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View your current connectors

Manage Connectors
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Select an agent to view and switch its connector type

Select Connector Type
For more details on connector types and supported agents, see Coding Agent Connectors.

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Step 4: Add your first context

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Via your coding agent

Prompt your coding agent (Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf, etc.): 
> Use brv curate command to curate essential contexts of this project's unit testing strategy. Make sure that unit tests run fast and run completely in memory.
Your coding agent will analyze the codebase and use brv curate to add context automatically. You can view the operation in progress in Byterover’s TUI. For full detail, use Ctrl + o to view the full response: Curate Knowledge - Curate Operation

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Manual

Use the /curate command for more intentional curation: 
/curate make sure that unit tests run fast and run completely in memory

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Context Tree

In this example, ByteRover organizes it into testing, one of the structured domains (structure, database, and backend, etc.) in the context tree (located at .brv/context-tree). Context Tree - Curate Operation To learn more about the context tree structure, see Local Context Tree Structure.

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Step 5: Verify it worked

Check your context tree with: 
/status
Check Status You’ll see your newly curated context added to the local context tree, ready to be synced to your remote space.

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Step 6: Query context

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Via your coding agent

Prompt your coding agent to retrieve context before implementing: 
> Use brv query command to check what unit testing strategies are in this project
Your coding agent will run brv query, asking what it needs for its task, and get the precise context. ByteRover will retrieve the exact context curated earlier—unit testing strategies for the coding agent. Query Knowledge - Query Operation

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Manual

In the TUI, use the /query command: 
/query "What are unit testing strategies in this project?"
To view the operation in progress, use Ctrl + o for full response mode:
Codex users: Network access requiredCodex runs in a sandboxed mode without internet access by default. To use ByteRover CLI commands:
  1. Switch to Agent (full access) mode, OR
  2. Add to your prompt: “You can ask me about network access and I will allow it”
  3. Approve network access when prompted
You’re all set! You now know the core ByteRover commands. Continue learning how to collaborate with your team and integrate ByteRover into your complete workflow.

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Next steps

Team Context Sync

Sync context with your team and see the complete workflow cycle

Curate Context

Learn best practices for adding context effectively

Query Context

Master context retrieval techniques

Onboard Context

Quick patterns for onboarding new projects