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fb7f30a | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 | # Getting started with REA
These steps follow the official [REA Get Started guide](https://rea.tools/get-started/). Commands can change between releases, so check the official guide if anything here doesn't work. This repository was tested with `rea-agents` 6.7.0 and Node.js 22.
## What you need
- **Node.js 22.19+, 24.11+ or 26+** (npm is included). Check with:
```bash
node -v
npm -v
```
- **A coding agent** that supports local MCP servers, such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code or OpenCode
- **A terminal:** PowerShell on Windows, Terminal on macOS, any terminal on Linux
- **For native binaries only:** an existing Hopper, Ghidra or IDA installation. JavaScript and .NET inspection don't need one.
## 1. Install Node.js (if needed)
**Windows (PowerShell)**
```powershell
winget install --exact --id OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS
```
**macOS**
```bash
brew install node
```
Or install the LTS `.pkg` from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org/).
**Linux** (from the official guide, using fnm)
```bash
curl -fsSL https://fnm.vercel.app/install | bash
# reopen the terminal, then:
fnm install 24
fnm use 24
fnm default 24
```
## 2. Connect REA to your agent
```bash
npx rea-agents@latest setup
```
To set up one specific client:
```bash
npx rea-agents@latest setup --client codex
```
On Windows, if PowerShell blocks scripts:
```powershell
npx.cmd rea-agents@latest setup
```
Setup shows you a plan first and changes nothing until you approve. It adds the MCP connection and an investigation skill, and backs up your existing configuration.
Then **fully restart your agent**: start a new terminal session, or quit and reopen the desktop app.
## 3. Check the connection
Replace `codex` with your client's setup ID:
```bash
npx -y rea-agents@latest doctor --client codex --json
```
A healthy setup reports `"healthy": true`. Then ask your agent:
> Check that REA is connected and show me which REA tools you can use.
## 4. Try it
- Follow this repo's [hands-on walkthrough](../walkthrough/README.md), or
- Try the official [Notes example app](https://rea.tools/examples/notes-example.zip)
You can also analyse a JavaScript or Electron app directly from the terminal, without an agent:
```bash
npx -y rea-agents@latest analyze-javascript-application "/absolute/path/to/app" --json
```
## Updating
- Global install: `rea update`
- npx setup: run `npx rea-agents@latest setup` again, then restart your agent
## Troubleshooting
- **Tools don't show up in the agent:** run the `doctor` command above, then rerun setup for that client and restart it.
- **Output is huge:** REA's JSON evidence can be very large. Save it to a file and use `demo/scripts/summarize-rea-output.js` for JavaScript/Electron results.
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