# Getting started (/docs/cli/quick-start)

Tell your agent what you want and manage everything through chat.

Describe your request in chat, review the result, and ask for changes. The agent handles installation, task queries, project exports, and other operations. You authorize your account and confirm actions that cost credits or overwrite content.

## Ask your agent to install Reela

Open an **agent that can run commands and read and write files**, such as Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor in agent mode. A text-only chat cannot operate Reela CLI. If your agent says it cannot execute commands, switch to a tool or mode with those capabilities.

Copy this message into the agent's chat:

```text
Please help me install and sign in to Reela CLI.
Read https://get.reela.com/cli/install.txt and follow its steps to check the environment, install, and sign in.
When I need to authorize in the browser, give me the link and instructions.
Afterward, check the signed-in account and status to confirm everything is ready.
```

The agent will guide you to the Reela authorization page. Sign in with your Reela account, enter the code if requested, and approve authorization.

Reela CLI supports Linux, macOS, and Windows x64, but not Windows ARM64.

## Sign in to multiple accounts

Reela CLI can keep multiple accounts signed in through separate profiles, such as personal and work accounts.

Ask your agent to add another account:

```text
Keep my current account signed in and add a separate profile named work for my work account.
```

Before approving authorization in your browser, check the account shown and select the account you want to use.

To use a particular account, specify it in chat:

```text
For this task, use the work profile to work on this video:
[Paste the Reela video editor page link]
```

If you want to use your work account by default, tell the agent: “Set work as my default profile.”

## What you can do with Reela CLI

You can ask the agent to handle all the operations below through chat. For an existing video or Show, copy its page link from Reela, paste it into chat, and describe what you want to do. Replace the bracketed placeholders in the examples below with your actual links.

### Create videos

Describe your video: its subject, audience, duration, layout, and style. The agent can prepare a brief using text, images, existing footage, or avatars, help you choose a generation option, estimate credits, and submit after your approval. You can then ask it to check progress and download the finished video.

```text
Help me turn these product images into a 30-second portrait introduction video with a clean style.
```

Generating a video can consume credits. For more guidance on preparing your request, see [Prompt writing](/docs/cli/prompts) and [Prepare materials](/docs/cli/media).

### Export video projects and customize freely

You can export a standalone project, or have the agent make changes that you can continue previewing and rendering in Reela.

**Export a standalone project.** Ask the agent to export your video as a Remotion project, download the source files and accompanying resources, and customize it based on your feedback. You do not need to write the code yourself; describe your changes to the agent.

```text
Export this video as a standalone Remotion project:
I want to ask you for changes through chat, then preview and render locally.
[Paste the Reela video editor page link]
```

The exported project is edited and rendered locally and cannot be imported back into Reela. If you want to keep working in Reela after making changes, choose the next option instead.

**Continue editing in Reela.** The agent can export the video's editable content, make your changes, and give you a preview link. Open the link to review the result and keep editing in the Reela editor. Once you approve, ask the agent to start rendering or render it yourself in Reela.

```text
Make the changes we just discussed to this video, keeping it editable in Reela:
Save a draft and send me the Reela preview link first. Wait for my approval before rendering.
[Paste the Reela video editor page link]
```

### Edit and manage episodes

Ask the agent to find an existing Show, review its Subjects and Episodes, edit scripts, or download, replace, or regenerate Subject images.

```text
Review this Show and summarize its existing Subjects and Episodes:
I want to revise the second Episode's script. Show me the proposed changes first.
[Paste the Reela Show page link]
```

Submitting an update overwrites the corresponding editable content in Reela. Have the agent explain the changes and any deletions before you approve submission. Regenerating images can also consume credits.

### Automate your workflow

Ask your agent to build a continuously running video production workflow around Reela CLI: gather new information from selected sources, choose topics, prepare media, write production prompts, generate videos, and deliver the results. You define the content direction, production rules, and budget. The workflow keeps producing within those rules.

Custom scripts connect video production to your other tools: when a video finishes, they can automatically download it, apply brand packaging, or call downstream tools. You do not need to write code yourself; ask your agent to write the script, configure the subscription, and test the whole flow.

```text
Help me build a video production workflow that runs automatically over time.
Gather new content about [topic] from [sources], select topics, create videos, and use a custom script to deliver completed results to [destination].
Confirm the video requirements, production frequency, runtime environment, and budget with me, then write the script, configure its video-completion subscription, and test before enabling it.
```

Your agent builds source collection, scheduling, and production rules. Reela CLI provides video creation, queries, and delivery.

Ongoing operation needs a suitable runtime environment. The CLI's background automatic delivery is available on Linux and macOS and must stay running and connected. Windows x64 supports queries and downloads, but not this background automatic delivery.

See [automatic delivery and custom scripts](/docs/cli/automation#automatic-delivery) for subscription setup and integration details.