Getting Started

RootCX gives you a production-ready backend for every internal app and AI agent you build. Database, SSO, permissions, audit logs, integrations, deployment. All handled.

This guide gets you from zero to a live app in under five minutes.

1. Install the CLI

curl -fsSL https://rootcx.com/install.sh | sh

This installs the rootcx binary to ~/.rootcx/bin and adds it to your PATH.

2. Create your first project

rootcx init

The CLI walks you through three choices:

1. App name -- pick a name for your first application.
2. Where to run -- RootCX Cloud (free, managed) or self-hosted (Docker on your machine).
3. Sign in -- create an account or log in with existing credentials.

If you chose RootCX Cloud, the CLI provisions a dedicated workspace for you: database, networking, DNS, SSO. This takes about two minutes. You'll see a progress indicator.

Once provisioning completes, the CLI scaffolds your app, deploys it, and prints the live URL.

Your app is live!  https://<your-ref>.rootcx.com/apps/<app_name>

Already have a project?

If you created a project on rootcx.com or someone invited you to an existing workspace, sign in directly:

rootcx auth login https://<your-project>.rootcx.com

The CLI detects the auth mode (password, OIDC browser flow, or token) and prompts accordingly. Once signed in, scaffold and deploy:

rootcx new my_crm
cd my_crm
rootcx deploy

3. Start building

You have a running app. Now describe what you want to build.

With Claude Code

If you use Claude Code, add the RootCX skill and start prompting:

npx skills add rootcx/skills

Then describe what you need in plain language. Claude Code generates the manifest, frontend, backend, and deploys it to your project.

With RootCX Studio

Download RootCX Studio for macOS, Windows, or Linux. Open it, connect to your project URL, and use the AI Forge to describe what you want. Press Run to deploy.

With any editor

RootCX apps are standard code: a manifest.json, a React frontend, and an optional TypeScript backend. Edit with any tool you prefer, then run rootcx deploy to push changes.

What happens on deploy

When you run rootcx deploy (or press Run in Studio), the CLI executes a pipeline:

1. Install dependencies -- runs bun install if a package.json is present.
2. Build frontend -- runs bun run build if a src/ directory exists.
3. Install manifest -- sends manifest.json to the Core, which creates or updates database tables, columns, and permission keys.
4. Deploy backend -- uploads and starts the backend worker under the process supervisor.
5. Publish frontend -- uploads static assets to the Core, which serves them at /apps/{appId}/.

This pipeline is idempotent. Change anything, deploy again, and the Core applies the diff.

Self-hosting

Want to run the Core on your own infrastructure? See the self-hosting guide. You can also run locally with Docker:

git clone https://github.com/RootCX/RootCX.git
cd RootCX
docker compose up -d

Then connect the CLI:

rootcx auth login http://localhost:9100

Next steps

• Build an Application -- manifest format, frontend SDK, backend handlers.
• Build an AI Agent -- create autonomous agents that run on your Core.
• Managing Data -- entities, fields, and relationships.
• CLI Reference -- all available commands.