Get CodeSpar running in under 5 minutes with Slack and start issuing commands to your first AI coding agent.

Quickstart

This guide gets you from zero to a working CodeSpar agent in under 5 minutes. By the end, you will have a running instance connected to Slack, ready to accept @codespar commands.

Prerequisites

Node.js 22+ and npm 11+
A Slack workspace where you can install apps
An Anthropic API key (get one here)

Steps

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/codespar/codespar.git
cd codespar

2. Install dependencies

npm install

This installs all packages across the Turborepo monorepo.

3. Configure environment variables

cp .env.example .env

Open .env and set your Anthropic API key:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

4. Start CodeSpar with Slack

Run the server with Slack enabled, passing your Slack credentials:

ENABLE_SLACK=true \
SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-your-bot-token \
SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET=your-signing-secret \
npm run start

You should see output confirming the server is running and the Slack channel is connected:

[codespar] Server listening on http://localhost:3000
[codespar] Slack channel connected ✓

5. Send your first command

In any Slack channel where the CodeSpar bot is present, type:

@codespar status

The agent responds with its current state, linked repositories, and autonomy level.

Minimum Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Yes	Your Anthropic API key for LLM access
`ENABLE_SLACK`	No	Set to `true` to enable the Slack channel (default: `false`)
`SLACK_BOT_TOKEN`	If Slack enabled	Bot token from your Slack app (`xoxb-...`)
`SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET`	If Slack enabled	Signing secret from your Slack app settings
`ENABLE_DISCORD`	No	Set to `true` to enable the Discord channel (default: `false`)
`DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN`	If Discord enabled	Bot token from your Discord application
`ENABLE_TELEGRAM`	No	Set to `true` to enable the Telegram channel (default: `false`)
`TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`	If Telegram enabled	Bot token from BotFather
`ENABLE_WHATSAPP`	No	Set to `true` to enable the WhatsApp channel (default: `false`)
`WHATSAPP_API_TOKEN`	If WhatsApp enabled	API token from WhatsApp Business Platform
`GITHUB_TOKEN`	Recommended	GitHub personal access token for repo operations
`LOG_LEVEL`	No	Logging verbosity: `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error` (default: `info`)

What Just Happened?

When you started CodeSpar:

The core server started on port 3000
The Slack bridge connected using Socket Mode via your bot token
A Project Agent was initialized, waiting for commands
When you typed @codespar status, the Slack bridge routed the message to the Project Agent, which responded with its state

Next Steps

Installation guide — Docker Compose, Railway deploy, and production configuration
First Agent tutorial — link a repo, execute tasks, and review PRs from Slack

Quickstart

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