Beta setup check

Use your invited Google account for both the CLI and the desktop app.

Install and connect

Accept your invitation. If it expired, request a new invitation before signing in.
Install the CLI from the installation guide, then run chief login.
On an Apple-silicon Mac with macOS 15 or later, install the current Chief for Mac, launch it from Applications, and sign in to the same account.
In Settings → General → Local intelligence, select your installed, signed-in Claude Code or Codex account, then turn local intelligence on. This uses that account's model subscription.
In Settings → Connectors, enable the sources you want. Grant Full Disk Access for Messages and select your Obsidian vault when applicable.
Run chief skill --install and start a new agent session.

On Linux, steps 3 to 5 are:

Install the desktop runtime from the installation guide — curl -fsSL https://runchief.ai/desktop.sh | sh — then run chief-desktop login and sign in to the same account.
Run chief-desktop intelligence setup. It names the installed, signed-in Claude Code or Codex account it will use and asks for consent. This is the step that turns understanding on; installing alone does not, and it uses that account's model subscription.
Run chief-desktop connect <path-to-vault> for an Obsidian vault, then chief-desktop run (or chief-desktop install-service to run it at login). Run chief-desktop doctor before proceeding: it says what is wrong, in the order to fix it.

Intel Macs cannot run the Mac app. The CLI works there, and understanding needs an Apple-silicon Mac or a Linux machine.

Verify the whole path

chief status
chief source search calendar --since 0d --until +7d
chief recall "a project you know is in your connected sources" --limit 5

Replace the example recall question with a real project. Inspect a returned claim with chief show <claim-id>, or copy a passage's exact show command, and verify the source evidence. Read the separate claim and passage acquisition receipts before interpreting an empty result.

Service reachability proves the connection. A live source result proves the provider can be read. A successful local turn proves understanding ran. A source-backed claim you recognize proves the result is useful. Empty calendar or recall results alone do not prove that setup failed or succeeded.

Keep Chief open during initial catch-up. Look for a recent successful local turn and advancing sync timestamps. For Messages, compare the source cursor with the observed source head; an active connector can still be years behind. If Chief is under announced maintenance, wait for that maintenance to finish before judging the backlog. Reinstalling does not bypass server maintenance.

If something is stuck

Observation	Next step
Wrong account	Run `chief logout`, then `chief login` with the invited account; check the desktop account too.
Older CLI	Run `chief upgrade`, then `chief skill --install`; restart the agent session.
Older Mac app	Quit Chief, replace it with the current download, reopen it, and check local intelligence.
Older Linux runtime	Run `chief-desktop upgrade`, then `chief-desktop doctor`. A runtime older than 0.1.4 has no `upgrade`: re-run `curl -fsSL https://runchief.ai/desktop.sh \| sh` once — the installer replaces it in place and keeps the sign-in and vaults — then use `chief-desktop upgrade` from then on.
Structured turns unavailable	Check the selected harness is installed and signed in, then enable local intelligence: Settings → General → Local intelligence on the Mac, `chief-desktop intelligence setup` on Linux.
Desktop last seen is old	On the Mac, open Chief and confirm its account and connection; on Linux, run `chief-desktop status` and check that `chief-desktop run` or the service is running.
Messages cursor does not advance	Check Full Disk Access and connector errors in Chief; retain the existing cursor and queue.
Provider authorization failed	Reconnect the affected Google account in Chief.

For support, save chief status --json with the command that failed, when it happened, what you expected, and the relevant claim/source IDs. Review the report before sharing it: it contains account and device information. Do not send ~/.chief/config.json, credentials, or an entire source archive.