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# Quick Start
No setup is required. beachcomber's daemon starts automatically on the first `comb` query and shuts down after an idle period. You don't start or stop it yourself.
## Your first query
Inside a git repository, run:
```sh
comb get git.branch .
```
You should see the branch name (e.g. `main`).
What just happened:
- `get` — read a cached value (short form: `g`).
- `git.branch` — the key. Keys are `provider.field`. `git` is the provider; `branch` is the field.
- `.` — the path to query. `git` is a **path-scoped** provider, so it needs to know which repo you mean. `.` means the current directory.
Output is plain text by default — just the value, no JSON envelope. That's designed for shell substitution like `branch=$(comb g git.branch .)`.
Now query a **global** provider (no path needed):
```sh
comb get battery.percent
```
You should see a number like `87`.
## The short form
Every command has a one-letter alias. These are equivalent:
```sh
comb get git.branch .
comb g git.branch .
```
When you need a different output format, append a suffix:
| _(none)_ | plain text (default) |
| `.j` | JSON envelope (with `age_ms`, `stale`, etc.) |
| `.s` | shell `key=value` lines — sourceable |
| `.c` / `.C` | CSV (optionally with header) |
| `.t` / `.T` | TSV (optionally with header) |
| `.f` | template string with `{field}` placeholders |
See the [CLI reference](../reference/cli-commands.md) for the full list. Examples:
```sh
comb g.j git.branch . # JSON envelope
comb g.s git . # all git fields as key=value
comb g.f '{branch} ({dirty})' git . # templated
```
## What's running
The daemon started in the background. Ask it what it's doing:
```sh
comb s # status — uptime, cache entries, watcher count
comb l # list — every cache entry and its age
```
You can stop the daemon at any time with `comb kill` (short form `comb k`). The next `comb` query will start a fresh one. You rarely need to do this.
## Try it in your prompt
Put this in your `~/.zshrc`:
```zsh
precmd() {
PS1="%F{blue}$(comb g git.branch . 2>/dev/null)%f %# "
}
```
Source your `.zshrc` and open a few more shells in the same repo. Run `comb s` — you'll see the cache entry is shared across every shell, with a single filesystem watcher covering all of them.
## Next steps
- **[What's Available](./whats-available.md)** — the 19 built-in providers and what they expose.
- **[How It Works](./how-it-works.md)** — the daemon architecture in one page.
- **[Integrations](../integrations/shell.md)** — wire beachcomber into your prompt, status bar, or editor.