> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.merionlabs.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Link the development CLI, initialize a factory, and capture one genuine work episode.

# Capture your first real-work episode

This workflow is intentionally small. The first milestone is not a benchmark dashboard—it is one task whose real outcome you can defend.

## Prerequisites

* Node.js 22
* pnpm 10
* A local checkout of the Merion repository
* A real task that has not already been solved

## 1. Link the private-alpha CLI

From the Merion repository root:

```bash theme={null}
pnpm install
pnpm cli:link
merion --version
```

The linked `merion` command works from any folder. While changing CLI source, keep this command running in the repository:

```bash theme={null}
pnpm cli:dev
```

## 2. Initialize a factory

A factory is the durable learning boundary for one real workflow. It can begin in a missing folder, an ordinary directory, or a Git repository.

```bash theme={null}
merion init ~/my-first-factory
```

For an explicit, agent-friendly setup:

```bash theme={null}
merion init ~/ocr-factory \
  --purpose "Improve PDF OCR extraction and correction" \
  --harness codex \
  --json
```

Initialization creates private `.merion` state. It does not initialize Git, create a GitHub remote, or publish your evidence.

## 3. Ask Merion what comes next

```bash theme={null}
cd ~/my-first-factory
merion next
```

`merion next` returns one evidence-backed action, why it is next, and any decision that must remain human-accountable.

## 4. Start genuine work

Start the episode before its solution is known:

```bash theme={null}
merion work start
```

Merion asks for the original task, workflow family, recurrence, economic value, and harness. Continue doing the work in your existing harness.

For an agentic caller:

```bash theme={null}
merion work start \
  --title "Extract the invoice fields from this supplier PDF" \
  --family document-processing \
  --value "Avoid fifteen minutes of manual entry" \
  --recurrence daily \
  --harness codex \
  --json
```

## 5. Close the outcome loop

After the work is complete:

```bash theme={null}
merion work close
merion next
```

The closure interview records whether the result was accepted, what required correction, what would have made it unacceptable, and how an independent reviewer could recognize success.

## Success criterion

You are done when the episode contains a defensible starting state, a real trajectory, and human-reviewed outcome evidence. Continue with [capturing real work](/guides/capture-real-work) to understand what makes an episode useful for evaluation engineering.