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dx docs

Getting started

dx runs coding agents in the cloud. Each conversation with an agent is a Thread, and each Thread runs in its own Orb, a Linux sandbox on an Orb provider you connect. You bring the model and the Orb provider. This page takes you from sign-in to a running Thread.

Sign in

Section titled “Sign in”

Open dx and sign in. The sign-in page shows the methods your deployment offers: an email link, a password, or Continue with Google.

New accounts depend on the deployment’s admission policy:

  • With an invite link from a workspace admin, the page reads Join workspace on dx and signing in accepts the invite.
  • On a deployment with a waitlist, an unknown email joins the waitlist and dx shows You’re on the waitlist. You can sign in once an admin approves your email.
  • On a deployment that is invite-only, an unknown email gets “No dx account uses this email. Ask a workspace admin for an invite link.”

Open Settings

Section titled “Open Settings”

Settings has two levels. Open the account menu in the sidebar and choose Personal Settings for your own connections, or Workspace Settings for connections everyone in the workspace uses. Workspace admins manage the workspace’s connections.

Connect a model

Section titled “Connect a model”

In Personal Settings → Model Routing, choose Add and pick one of:

  • Claude Pro/Max to run Claude Code in your Threads on your Claude plan.
  • GitHub Copilot to serve the models your Copilot subscription includes.
  • Custom URL for any endpoint that speaks the OpenAI or Anthropic API, with your API key.

See Connecting a model for each one.

Connect an Orb provider

Section titled “Connect an Orb provider”

In Personal Settings → Orb Providers, choose Connect next to E2B, Cloudflare Containers, Freestyle, or Docker Cloud Sandboxes and enter the key or token it asks for. dx then prepares your account, which takes a few minutes for most providers and about ten for Freestyle. The provider’s row shows each step while it runs.

A provider listed as Provided by this deployment already works and needs no connection. See Connecting an Orb provider.

Create a project

Section titled “Create a project”

A project is the repository your Threads work in.

  1. Go to Projects and choose New Project.
  2. Choose Start From Scratch for a blank repository that dx manages, or Use an Existing Repository to search the repositories your GitHub or Bitbucket connection can reach or paste a Git URL. With an existing repository, pick it and choose Continue.
  3. Enter a Project Name and choose the Owner: your workspace or Private. Optionally add a Description or Additional Repositories.
  4. Choose Create Project.

Public repositories need no GitHub or Bitbucket connection.

Start a Thread

Section titled “Start a Thread”

Open the project and choose New Thread. Below the prompt box you choose:

  • Mode or model. The dx modes are Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. The Claude Code row runs Claude Code on your Claude Pro/Max plan, with its own model and effort. The Raw Models tab lists every model your connections serve, except Claude Code’s.
  • Orb. Pick a provider and a size, shown as CPU and memory. If no provider is available, the picker shows Connect an Orb provider, which opens Settings.

Write a small task you can check, such as “Add a test for the date parser and run it”, and send it. dx starts the Orb, clones the project’s repository into ~/workspace/repo, and the agent starts work. The mode and Orb are fixed when the Thread starts.

Work alongside the agent

Section titled “Work alongside the agent”

When the Orb is ready, the Thread’s side pane has these views:

View What it shows
Files The Orb’s files
Changes What changed in the repository
Portal Web servers listening in the Orb, at their own URLs
Terminal A tmux session you share with the agent
Desktop A Linux desktop with Chromium the agent can drive

Portal appears only when the deployment has a Portal domain. See Terminal, Desktop, and Portal.

By default an Orb pauses after five minutes without activity, and dx resumes it when the Thread needs it again, such as when you send the next message. What a pause keeps depends on the provider.

Source

Section titled “Source”