LouiseLM onboarding

This guide gets a first-time Neovim user from zero to a working LouiseLM chat. LouiseLM does not install Agents or create credentials for you. Choose an Agent, install it using its own documentation, authenticate it, then point LouiseLM at the executable.

If you want to explore Sessions, permission review, Resume, limits, and Handoff before installing anything, try LouiseLM in your browser. Its Agent behavior is scripted and no Provider is connected.

The shortest path is Codex. The included quickstart tracks LouiseLM main, so it is intended for this alpha project’s current onboarding flow.

Prerequisites¶

You need:

Neovim 0.12 or newer.
Git and network access for the first plugin download.
One installed and authenticated ACP Agent.

The quickstart does not modify your normal Neovim configuration. It downloads one Lua file and starts Neovim with that file as its configuration.

Quick start: Codex¶

If codex-acp is already available, keep it and continue. Otherwise install it by following its official installation instructions. Its default login is the provider-managed ChatGPT login; the adapter also documents CODEX_API_KEY/OPENAI_API_KEY authentication as alternatives. Complete one of those authentication paths before starting LouiseLM.

Download the quickstart file:

curl -fL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/euri10/louiselm/main/examples/quickstart.lua \
  -o quickstart.lua

Start the isolated onboarding Neovim:

nvim --clean -u quickstart.lua

Then run:

:checkhealth louiselm
:LouiselmTutor
:LouiselmChat

:LouiselmTutor is the in-editor tour. It explains the first prompt, permissions, context, cancellation, and Sessions without requiring an Agent to be configured. :LouiselmChat opens the actual chat after the health check shows that codex-acp is available.

If downloading a file is inconvenient, create quickstart.lua and paste this minimal version into it:

local nvim = vim

nvim.pack.add({
  {
    src = "https://github.com/euri10/louiselm.git",
    name = "louiselm.nvim",
  },
}, { confirm = false })

assert(require("louiselm").setup({
  agents = { codex = { command = "codex-acp", provider = "OpenAI" } },
}))

Choosing another Agent¶

The quickstart keeps Codex enabled so a newly downloaded file has one known default. To use another provider, install and authenticate it first, then replace the codex entry in quickstart.lua with one of the profiles below.

Claude Agent ACP: API key path¶

The official adapter package currently requires Node.js 22 or newer and installs the claude-agent-acp executable:

npm install --global @agentclientprotocol/claude-agent-acp
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key

Use this LouiseLM profile:

agents = {
  claude = { command = "claude-agent-acp", provider = "Anthropic" },
}

The key is read from the environment inherited by the adapter; it is not put in the Lua file. See Anthropic’s authentication documentation for key handling and the adapter’s package metadata for the executable and Node requirement.

The adapter also advertises Claude subscription and Console login flows through ACP terminal authentication. LouiseLM does not currently advertise the ACP terminal-auth client capability, so those flows are not presented as a working LouiseLM setup recipe. Use the API-key path above until that client capability is implemented.

DeepSeek through `acp-llm-adapter`¶

The official adapter documents a Rust installation and a DeepSeek backend:

cargo install acp-llm-adapter
export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=your-key

Use this LouiseLM profile:

local nvim = vim

agents = {
  deepseek = {
    provider = "DeepSeek",
    command = "acp-llm-adapter",
    args = { "serve", "--backend", "deepseek" },
    env = { LLM_API_KEY = assert(nvim.env.DEEPSEEK_API_KEY) },
  },
}

The adapter maps DEEPSEEK_API_KEY to the LLM_API_KEY it consumes. See its official installation and editor setup for the current command, backend name, and requirements.

Google Antigravity¶

Use Google’s Antigravity ACP server, distributed through the ACP registry. Download the archive for your platform and extract both files together: agy_acp_server.par and localharness_external on Linux. The server is a separate distribution from the agy terminal application.

For Linux x86-64, the checked version is 1.1.1:

curl -fL https://dl.google.com/agy-extensions/releases/linux/agy-acp-server-agy_acp_server_1.1.1-linux-x86_64.zip \
  -o antigravity-acp.zip
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/antigravity-acp/1.1.1
unzip -n antigravity-acp.zip -d ~/.local/share/antigravity-acp/1.1.1
chmod u+x ~/.local/share/antigravity-acp/1.1.1/agy_acp_server.par \
  ~/.local/share/antigravity-acp/1.1.1/localharness_external

Use this profile; Linux requires the empty --uid= argument listed in the registry. Other platforms use their registry entry’s executable and arguments.

agents = {
  antigravity = {
    provider = "Google Antigravity",
    command = vim.fn.expand("~/.local/share/antigravity-acp/1.1.1/agy_acp_server.par"),
    args = { "--uid=" },
  },
}

For personal Google-account access, set the server’s own ~/.gemini/antigravity-acp/settings.json to the following, preserving any other existing settings:

{ "auth": { "type": "oauth-personal" } }

The .gemini directory is Google’s storage location for Antigravity. This setting selects the login method; it contains no credentials. The server opens browser sign-in when it needs authentication, then caches credentials locally. See Google’s Antigravity authentication guidance for account eligibility and plans.

First login can exceed LouiseLM’s normal 20-second startup deadline. In an editor with LouiseLM loaded, run this one-time command with a three-minute deadline and complete the browser sign-in:

lua << EOF
local api = assert(require("louiselm.session").new({
  antigravity = {
    provider = "Google Antigravity",
    command = vim.fn.expand("~/.local/share/antigravity-acp/1.1.1/agy_acp_server.par"),
    args = { "--uid=" },
  },
}))
local session, err = api:create_session("antigravity", { start_timeout_ms = 180000 }, function(_, failure)
  api:dispose()
  vim.schedule(function() vim.notify(failure or "Antigravity sign-in completed") end)
end)
if not session then api:dispose(); error(err) end
EOF

Then select antigravity with :LouiselmSessionNew and check its executable with :checkhealth louiselm. The server advertises session loading/listing, image/audio prompts, and embedded context. A successful handshake alone does not verify authentication, tool permissions, or cancellation.

Checked with Antigravity ACP server 1.1.1 on 2026-09-16: authenticated text response, a bounded command with allow-once permission, cancellation, session loading, and disposal through LouiseLM’s headless Session API. Image/audio support is advertised but not tested. Keep permission choices explicit in the Agent’s supported controls and LouiseLM policy; this profile does not force auto-approval.

If the quickstart cannot download¶

The quickstart needs network access because vim.pack fetches LouiseLM on its first run. In a restricted environment, clone or otherwise place LouiseLM in a local Neovim package directory using your normal system or plugin-management procedure, then use the same require("louiselm").setup block from the copy/paste example. Agent installation and authentication remain separate steps handled by each Agent’s documentation.

After the first run¶

Once the isolated quickstart works, move the setup into your normal Neovim configuration or plugin manager. A minimal existing-configuration setup is:

vim.pack.add({
  {
    src = "https://github.com/euri10/louiselm.git",
    name = "louiselm.nvim",
  },
})

require("louiselm").setup({
  agents = { codex = { command = "codex-acp", provider = "OpenAI" } },
})

Keep any Agent environment setup outside the Lua file where practical, and use:

:checkhealth louiselm
:help louiselm

Verification date for the Codex, Claude, and DeepSeek recipes: 2026-08-28. Provider installers, executable names, authentication flows, and links can change while LouiseLM and these adapters are alpha software.