Quickstart

Sign In and Access the Projects Page

After signing in with GitHub, you land on the Projects page.

If this is your first time, the workspace will be empty and display an option to Import New Project.

From here, you can:

• Import an existing GitHub repository
• Clone a starter template

Projects are organized in Grid or List view, and can be filtered or sorted by repo owner.

Create a New Project

You will choose one of two starting points:

Option A: Import from GitHub

If your GitHub account is connected, Origin will display repositories you have access to.

You can:

• Search by repository name
• Select a repository
• Choose a branch (default is usually main)

Once selected, Origin creates a project-scoped clone inside the workspace.

The original GitHub repository is never modified directly unless you explicitly create a pull request or push changes.

Example Use Cases

• Import a production backend API to add automated tests
• Import a frontend application to implement new UI features
• Import a monorepo to analyze architecture and refactor services

If you do not have GitHub access to a repository, you cannot open it in Origin.

Option B: Use a Template

Templates provide preconfigured starter projects.

Examples include:

• A Next.js starter
• A SaaS boilerplate
• Demo applications

Selecting a template creates a new repository instance inside Origin. After deployment, it behaves like a normal imported project.

Use templates when:

• Prototyping a new product
• Testing Origin capabilities
• Creating internal demos
• Evaluating agent workflows

Configure the Workspace

After selecting your repository or template, you configure the Workspace.

Configure details like:

• Repo name
• Location (the owner/org of the repository)
• Visibility (private or public)
• Environment Variables (optional)

All workspaces are TDX encrypted by default ensuring hardware-backed confidentiality.

Environment Variables (Optional During Setup)

Before deployment, you can expand Environment Variables and add runtime configuration.

Examples:

• DATABASE_URL
• JWT_SECRET
• OPENAI_API_KEY
• REDIS_URL

These values are injected into the sandbox at runtime.

They are not committed to GitHub and remain scoped to the project workspace.

You can also manage secrets later from the Secrets tab if needed.

Deploy the Project

After configuration, click Deploy.

Origin provisions the environment in real time:

• Creating project container
• Provisioning workspace
• Cloning repository
• Installing dependencies
• Indexing the codebase
• Preparing agent runtime

You can monitor progress directly in the UI.

Once deployment completes:

• The repository is cloned
• The workspace is running
• The codebase is indexed
• Agents are ready

Open the Project

Click the project card to enter the project workspace.

From here, you can:

• Manage tasks
• Discovery with AI
• Set milestones
• Create cycles
• Add tasks
• Track open PRs
• Create/continue Trials

Discovery with AI scans the indexed repository and proposes actionable tasks, such as missing tests, refactoring opportunities, architectural improvements, or potential issues. This is useful when onboarding a new codebase or identifying areas for improvement.

If the workspace is stopped, you can manually restart it from the project view.

Start Your First Trial

Trials are the core working units in Origin.

When you create or select a task, Origin creates a trial. You can also manually start a new trial.

Inside a trial:

• The agent has access to the indexed repository
• All execution runs inside the provisioned workspace
• Changes are isolated to a session branch
• You interact with the agent via chat

To select a specific file, type @ inside the chat input.

Example Instructions

• “Add JWT authentication to the API.”
• “Create integration tests for the payment flow.”
• “Explain how the caching layer works.”
• “Refactor this component for readability.”

After indexing, Origin may suggest tasks such as:

• “Add missing E2E tests.”
• “Refactor duplicated logic.”
• “Fix potential type safety issues.”

Understand the Workspace Panels

Inside a trial, the side panel includes:

• Explorer – Browse repository files
• Task – View task details and metadata
• Context – Manage indexed documents and references
• Todos – Track structured execution steps
• Changes – Review file modifications
• Terminal – Run commands inside the workspace

These panels update dynamically as work progresses.

Review and Manage Changes

All file modifications appear in Changes.

Before creating a pull request, you can:

• Review diffs
• Inspect added and removed lines
• Validate agent edits
• Run tests inside the workspace

Changes remain isolated to the trial branch until you explicitly promote them.

Nothing is pushed to GitHub automatically.