# Quickstart

1. [Give your agent this prompt](#give-your-agent-this-prompt)
2. [Sign in and approve the agent](#sign-in-and-approve-the-agent)
3. [Fund the sandbox account](#fund-the-sandbox-account)
4. [Make a test payment](#make-a-test-payment)
5. [See it in the console](#see-it-in-the-console)

Each step shows a prompt for your agent. If you'd rather run the commands
yourself, choose the **Terminal** tab.

## Requirements

Before you start, you'll need an agent. This guide focuses on agents that can
run commands in a terminal (e.g., Claude Code or Codex) on macOS or Linux with
Node.js 20 or later, but any agent can connect to Catena, including apps like
Claude and ChatGPT and agents that run in the cloud. You'll find a setup guide
for each one under [Integrations](https://docs.catena.com/solutions.md#integrations).

## Give your agent this prompt

First, paste this prompt into your agent:

```prompt
Read https://catena.com/llms.txt and connect yourself to my Catena account.
```

```sh
npm i -g @catena/cli
catena link --name "Quickstart agent"
```

From there, the agent installs the CLI, reads `catena guide`, and runs
`catena link`. The command prints an approval link and a short code, then exits,
and the agent sends you the link. The link is valid for 15 minutes. If it
expires, `catena link` will print a new one.

## Sign in and approve the agent

Next, open the link and sign in. If you're new to Catena, you can sign up from
the same link and finish setup there: accept the terms, set up a passkey, and
name your organization.

On the approval screen, check the code and click **Continue**. Then:

1. Under **Organization**, choose the organization tagged **Sandbox**. If you
   don't have a sandbox yet, open the organization menu at the top of the
   console's sidebar, choose **Switch to sandbox**, and then open the agent's
   link again (only an admin can create the sandbox).
2. Name the agent, and keep the **Default Policy** that **Assign policy**
   selects.
3. Click **Approve link**.

## Fund the sandbox account

Before the agent can pay anyone, the sandbox account needs some test money. In
the console, click **Deposit**. In the sandbox, **Deposit** requests test USDC
on Base Sepolia (in a live organization it shows deposit instructions instead),
and you can request test USDC once an hour.

Once the request goes through, ask your agent for the balance:

```prompt
What is the balance of my Catena sandbox account?
```

```sh
catena accounts list
catena accounts balance acct_...
```

`accounts balance` returns `.balances.total` and `.balances.available`, and we
recommend sizing a payment against `.balances.available`.

## Make a test payment

Now that the account has funds, let's send some of them. The sandbox has one
[counterparty](https://docs.catena.com/counterparties.md), **Catena**, and the Default Policy lets the
agent pay it:

```prompt
Send $1.00 to the Catena counterparty on-chain and tell me the status.
```

```sh
catena counterparties list
catena send --rail cpr_... --amount 1.00 --method on-chain
```

The agent finds the Catena counterparty's wallet rail (its `rails[].id`, which
starts with `cpr_`) and sends to it. The send returns an [intent](https://docs.catena.com/intents.md).

## See it in the console

Congrats on your agent's first payment! **Activity** in the console lists each
action the agent took, and the **Transactions** tab lists money movement. The
agent's own page shows its activity and its policy.

## Next steps

From here, consider the following:

- [Test each outcome](https://docs.catena.com/test-in-sandbox.md) in the sandbox, including approvals,
  denials, blocks, and retries.
- Write a [policy](https://docs.catena.com/policies.md) for real work, with the accounts, counterparties,
  and limits the agent needs, and which payments need your approval.
- [Connect an agent](https://docs.catena.com/connect.md) that runs somewhere else, such as a desktop app,
  a cloud sandbox, or a deployed service.
- Once your live organization is set up,
  [pay a vendor invoice](https://docs.catena.com/recipes/pay-a-vendor-invoice.md) with an approval step.

## Up next

[How Catena works](https://docs.catena.com/concepts.md): step 3 of 5 in Get started.