# First Five Minutes
This path gets from install to a useful graph result without reading source
files manually.
## 1. Install
```sh
npm install -g tessera-codegraph
# or: brew install iamsaquib8/tessera/tessera
# or: cargo install tessera-codegraph
```
## 2. Initialize and Index
```sh
cd path/to/project
tessera init --mcp-configs
tessera index .
tessera doctor
```
`doctor` checks the database, schema, snapshot, parser smoke tests, ignored-path
rules, and the MCP command to paste into an agent.
## 3. Ask the First Questions
```sh
tessera impact findById --explain
tessera validate findByIdd --explain
tessera connect handleRequest writeRow
tessera export --from findById --format mermaid
```
Use `--json` on any query when feeding another tool or script.
## 4. Keep It Fresh
```sh
tessera watch .
```
`watch` reuses the same incremental SHA-diff indexer as `index`, with polling and
debounce controls for daily editing.
## 5. Wire MCP
Use the generated snippets under `.tessera/mcp/`, or add this shape to your
agent config:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"tessera": {
"command": "tessera",
"args": ["mcp", "--db", ".tessera/tessera.db"]
}
}
}
```