# Multi-Agent System Quick Start
**5 minutes to running multi-agent coordination**
---
## Prerequisites
- Rust toolchain (1.70+)
- Node.js 18+ (for MCP plugin)
- Claude Code with plugin support
---
## 1. Build Components
```bash
# Envoy
cd /path/to/envoy
cargo build --release
# Atheneum
cd /path/to/atheneum
cargo build --release
```
---
## 2. Initialize Databases
```bash
# Atheneum (vector store)
/path/to/atheneum/target/release/atheneum init ~/.envoy/atheneum.db
```
Expected output:
```
✅ Graph initialized successfully
Health: OK
```
---
## 3. Start Envoy Server
```bash
ATHENEUM_DB=~/.envoy/atheneum.db /path/to/envoy/target/release/envoy
```
You should see:
```
envoy server listening on 127.0.0.1:9876, db=~/.envoy/server.db
atheneum integration enabled: ~/.envoy/atheneum.db
```
---
## 4. Verify Installation
```bash
curl http://localhost:9876/health
```
Response:
```json
{
"status": "ok",
"atheneum_configured": true,
"agents_online": 0
}
```
---
## 5. Send First Message
```bash
# Register an agent
AGENT_ID=$(curl -s -X POST http://localhost:9876/agents \
-H "content-type: application/json" \
# Send a message
curl -X POST http://localhost:9876/messages \
-H "content-type: application/json" \
-d "{
\"type\": \"direct\",
\"from\": \"${AGENT_ID}\",
\"to\": \"${AGENT_ID}\",
\"parts\": [{\"text\": \"Hello, multi-agent world!\"}]
}"
# Receive messages
curl "http://localhost:9876/messages?to=${AGENT_ID}&since=0"
```
---
## Common Commands
| `curl http://localhost:9876/health` | Check server health |
| `curl http://localhost:9876/agents` | List all agents |
| `curl http://localhost:9876/stats` | Message statistics |
| `curl "http://localhost:9876/messages?to=<id>&since=0"` | Poll for messages |
---
## Environment Variables
| `ENVOY_DB` | `~/.envoy/server.db` | Envoy database location |
| `ENVOY_PORT` | `9876` | HTTP server port |
| `ATHENEUM_DB` | (none) | Atheneum database for semantic search |
---
## Next Steps
- Read [MULTI_AGENT_SYSTEM_MANUAL.md](./MULTI_AGENT_SYSTEM_MANUAL.md) for full documentation
- Explore [Envoy API.md](../API.md) for complete API reference
- Check Atheneum documentation for vector search capabilities
---
## Troubleshooting
**Port 9876 already in use:**
```bash
lsof -i :9876
kill <PID>
```
**Atheneum not configured:**
```bash
rm ~/.envoy/atheneum.db
/path/to/atheneum/target/release/atheneum init ~/.envoy/atheneum.db
```
**Database locked:**
```bash
# Stop envoy, remove lock file, restart
pkill envoy
rm ~/.envoy/server.db-shm ~/.envoy/server.db-wal
ATHENEUM_DB=~/.envoy/atheneum.db envoy
```