> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.bluetext.dev/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.bluetext.dev/cillers-coder/getting-started.md).

# Getting Started

To start using Cillers Coder, you'll need to install an API key which you can obtain by contacting Cillers at <hello@cillers.com>. Once you have your key, run `cillers set-api-key` and paste in the provided key when prompted. The key is stored in `~/.cillers/api_key.txt` and will be used across all your projects, so you only need to set it once.

If you are using Cillers Coder to develop your Cillers System, you can read more about how to do that in the section about that[ here](/cillers-coder/using-cillers-coder-to-develop-your-cillers-system.md). Cillers Coder is integrated in new Cillers Systems out of the box.

You can also use Cillers Coder to develop any software project. To initialize Cillers Coder for your code project, call `cillers coder-init` in the root source code directory of your project. That will result in a `.cillers/coder` directory being created with the needed files and directories.&#x20;

Open the `.cillers/coder/instructions` file and specify what you want to build or change. Save the file and run `cillers implement` or `cillers i` for short. You will then be presented with a Change Proposal that you can review before applying it to your project.&#x20;

You will get a sense of which types of instructions work best. We recommend that you request relatively small and simple code changes first and then challenge Cillers Coder with larger and more advanced changes to learn what works best. Here are some examples of instructions that have worked well.

```
Change PrepareCommitMsg function to truncate the diffOutput string to 
contain a maximum of 500000 characters. 
Truncate at the last \n character before the 500000 character limit.
```

```
Move the helper functions in coder_init.go file to the lib package. 
```

```
Change the ProcessResponseImplement function. 
It should copy the ResponseTime from the AnthropicResponse to the 
responseImplement.Log.ResponseTime property.
```

```
Change the location of the API Key to a folder called .cillers in the 
users home directory. No need to support legacy location of API Key. 
Check that the API key exists. 
Create a new command 'set-api-key' that installs the API Key in the new 
location. Update the help command accordingly.
Remove the step to install the API Key as part of the 'coder-init' command. 
```

Just try it out and learn along the way! Happy prompting!&#x20;