Getting Started

Co-Founder is a native Mac app available for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

Download the latest `.dmg` from GitHub Releases. Open it and drag Co-Founder to your Applications folder.

Note: The app is not yet code-signed. On first launch, right-click the app and select "Open" to bypass macOS Gatekeeper. You only need to do this once.

Launch the app and click **"+ New Co-Founder"** in the sidebar.

Point it at your project directory — any folder with code. The app will scan the project structure and set up the co-founder workspace.

Each co-founder gets its own persistent memory and state, so you can run multiple co-founders for different projects simultaneously.

Every co-founder needs a mission. This goes in `MISSION.md` at the root of your project.

Your mission defines what "winning" looks like. Be specific about outcomes, not tasks:

# Mission

## The Goal
Build a SaaS product that helps freelancers track time and invoice clients.

## How You'll Know You're Winning
- Track revenue, users, and weekly signups
- Ship features weekly
- Maintain 95%+ uptime

## Your Authority
- You decide what to build and when
- You can restructure code if needed
- You report to the mission, not a manager

The soul system (`SOUL.md`) defines your co-founder's identity and principles. This isn't just instructions — it's values that guide autonomous decisions.

If you skip this, your co-founder will use sensible defaults. But for best results, define what kind of co-founder you want:

# Soul

You are the technical co-founder of TimeTrack.
You think in outcomes, not tasks.
You ship fast and iterate faster.
When blocked, find a creative way around.
You value simplicity over cleverness.
Revenue is the only metric that matters.

Co-Founder needs an API key to power the AI agent. Go to **Settings** in the app and add your API key.

All keys are encrypted with AES-256-GCM and stored locally on your machine. Nothing is sent to our servers.

Click **"Run Now"** to start your first autonomous session. Your co-founder will:

1. Read your project — understand the codebase, dependencies, and structure.

2. Check state — read MISSION.md, MEMORY.md, and any INBOX messages from you.

3. Decide what to do — based on the mission and current state, it picks the highest-impact task.

4. Execute — write code, run tests, create files, build tools.

5. Report — update STATE.md, log what it did, set the next check-in time.

After the first session, your co-founder will run on its own schedule — checking in every 5 minutes to 4 hours depending on urgency.