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Choose Your Path

Pick the row that matches your goal. Each path has its own reading order and first commands.

Quick-reference decision table​

GoalTime investmentStart with
See it work in 5 minutesMinimalPath 1 — First run
Host the runtime on your own machineLow–mediumPath 2 — Loopback-hosted runtime
Remote runtime with authMediumPath 3 — Remote runtime auth
MCP integrationsMediumPath 4 — MCP
Enterprise evaluationHighPath 5 — Enterprise

1. First successful run​

Choose this if: You want the smallest possible setup and a working command tree in minutes.

What you get: A generated CLI from a sample OpenAPI file, running through a locally hosted open-cli-toolbox runtime.

Reading order:

  1. Installation — install the two binaries
  2. Quickstart — create a config, start the runtime, run catalog list, inspect the generated command tree

First commands to run:

open-cli-toolbox --config ./.cli.json --addr 127.0.0.1:8765
open-cli --runtime http://127.0.0.1:8765 --config ./.cli.json catalog list --format pretty

Read this next: CLI overview to understand the full command model.

2. Loopback-hosted runtime​

Choose this if: You are evaluating the supported hosted-runtime model on a laptop or single machine before moving it to shared infrastructure.

What you get: open-cli-toolbox hosted on loopback; open-cli still points at it by URL, so the contract matches every other deployment.

Reading order:

  1. Complete Path 1 first
  2. Runtime overview
  3. Deployment models
  4. Operations overview

Read this next: Tracing and instances to understand state directories, audit paths, and runtime metadata.

3. Remote runtime auth and scoped access​

Choose this if: The runtime is hosted separately and access must be authenticated (bearer tokens, scoped catalogs, browser login).

What you get: Runtime bearer auth, catalog filtering, and Authentik-based login working together around open-cli-toolbox.

Reading order:

  1. Complete Path 2 first
  2. Security overview
  3. Authentik reference proof

Read this next: Fleet validation to see which auth paths are CI-reproducible.

4. MCP integrations​

Choose this if: You care about MCP stdio or streamable HTTP servers connecting through open-cli-toolbox.

What you get: Understanding of which MCP paths are available, which are proven in CI, and how to configure them.

Reading order:

  1. Complete Path 2 first
  2. Discovery & Catalog overview
  3. Deployment models
  4. Fleet validation — especially important here, as it shows which MCP paths are CI-reproducible vs. needing live proof

Read this next: Operations overview for runtime observability alongside MCP.

5. Enterprise readiness evaluation​

Choose this if: You need a review path you can hand to operators, security reviewers, or buyers — covering hosted deployment, proof of functionality, and audit trails.

What you get: A structured path through real auth, runtime, validation, and policy evidence.

Reading order:

  1. Enterprise readiness — capabilities overview for evaluators
  2. Authentik reference proof — real auth flow evidence
  3. Fleet validation — CI-reproducible end-to-end proof
  4. Security overview — policy, secrets, and audit logging

Read this next: Deployment models for the supported hosted-runtime topologies.