Quick Start

This guide gets you from a fresh install to a live, shareable session.

Check your setup

Make sure taiku is installed and authenticated:

taiku --version
taiku login

If you have not done that yet, start with Installation.

Start a session

Run:

taiku

By default this opens the desktop app if it is installed. Otherwise it keeps the session in the terminal and prints the session URL.

taiku v0.4.3

session: https://taiku.live/s/abc1234xyz#Kj3mN9...
├─ 1 terminal window (↑↓ to switch)
└─ Ctrl-C to exit

The session secret lives in the URL fragment, so the browser can derive the terminal encryption key locally while the server only relays encrypted terminal traffic.

Send the session URL to anyone who should join. Depending on your viewer-auth setting, they may also need to sign in before the WebSocket connects.

If you want separate read-only and write links:

taiku --enable-readers

Explore the workspace

Inside the session, you can:

split panes
create more workspaces
open tunnels with --tunnel 3000
use built-in chat

End the session

Press Ctrl-C in the terminal running taiku, or close the desktop window. The session stays around briefly for reconnection, then shuts down.

Common flags

Flag	What it does
`--no-app`	Run in CLI-only mode without opening the desktop app
`--tunnel 3000`	Expose local port 3000 as an HTTP tunnel visible in the session
`--enable-readers`	Generate separate reader, writer, and admin URLs; writer/admin links carry an extra access secret
`--no-viewer-auth`	Disable viewer OAuth for the session; viewers still need the URL fragment to decrypt terminal traffic (Pro)
`--shell /bin/zsh`	Use a specific shell instead of your system default
`--sandbox .`	Restrict the session's filesystem access to the current directory

For the full flag list, see the CLI reference.

Next steps

Once your first session is up, these are the next docs to read:

Share a Session: how links, roles, reconnection, and access control work.
HTTP Tunnels: expose local web servers and APIs to your collaborators.
Collaboration: split panes, hand off shells, and work together effectively.
Workspaces: manage multiple workspaces and tiled layouts.
Security: understand the encryption model and what the server can and cannot see.