Setup

Guide20-30 min

Complete setup instructions with troubleshooting for each step.

First-time setup guide for beginners. For the quick version, see Quickstart.
You only do this once — detailed help is available in the accordions below.

What This Guide Covers

This is the expanded version of Quickstart. Same three steps, but with detailed instructions and troubleshooting for first-time developers. If you've set up Node.js projects before, the Quickstart may be faster.

1Create your repo
2Run /setup command
3Start building

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have a GitHub account and access to the Catalyst repository. The setup process will install everything else you need.

Don't have access to the repo?

Contact RIVER Group to get access.

Contact RIVER Group

Step 1: Create Your Repo

Use the GitHub template to create your own copy of Catalyst. Never clone directly — your commits would target the wrong repo.

Option A: GitHub Web

  1. Open Catalyst on GitHub
  2. Click Use this template → Create a new repository
  3. Name your project, choose visibility, and create
  4. Clone your new repo to your machine

Option B: GitHub CLI

gh repo create my-project --template WEARERIVER/catalyst-ai-dev-kit --private --clone

Step 2: Run /setup

The /setup command handles everything. It checks prerequisites, installs dependencies, creates your environment file, starts the dev server, and initializes project context.

  1. Open your project folder in VS Code
  2. Open Copilot Chat (Ctrl+Shift+I)
  3. Type /setup and follow the instructions

Success: You should see localhost:3000

Open localhost:3000 in your browser to see the Catalyst landing page.

Step 3: Start Building

Use /code to start coding sessions. This command loads project context, conventions, and guardrails so the AI writes code that matches the codebase.

/code

After priming with /code, describe what you want to build. The AI will follow Catalyst conventions automatically.

Troubleshooting

You only do setup once. After this, development is just opening your project, running pnpm dev, and using /code to start coding with AI.

Next Steps

Now that you're set up:

Standards

Coding conventions and AI-friendly patterns.

Workflow

Understand the delivery process and stages.

Customisation

Make Catalyst look like your project.

Prompts

AI commands for common tasks.