Start

Spin up a Glow instance from zero and make your first authenticated request. Pinned Glow API v1.0.52 · CLI v1.0.6 (see api-versions.json for the live pin).

1 — Install the CLI

The glow CLI is the canonical entry point for deploying and operating an instance. Install via Homebrew (macOS / Linux):


brew install learnloopllc/glow/glow
glow --version  # → glow 1.0.0

Build-from-source instructions live in the glow-academic-cli README.

2 — Scaffold + deploy an instance


# Interactive wizard — writes ~/.glow/instances/<name>/glow-deploy.yaml
glow init my-school
 
# First-time deploy (pulls images, brings up postgres / api / client / keycloak)
glow deploy my-school
 
# Verify all containers are healthy
glow status my-school

The wizard collects the origin URL, AI provider + key, seed template, and optional OIDC. Re-running glow init <name> overwrites the yaml idempotently.

Lifecycle commands you’ll use most:

Command	Purpose
`glow deploy <name>`	first-time bring-up
`glow redeploy <name>`	roll a new version (auto-backup + blue/green swap)
`glow stop <name>` / `start <name>`	pause/resume (data + network intact)
`glow destroy <name>`	tear down containers + volumes (asks twice)
`glow status <name>`	container state + per-service health
`glow logs <name> [-f]`	tail `docker compose logs`
`glow backup <name>`	manage local `pg_dump` snapshots

3 — Authenticate


# Opens a browser → Keycloak login → drops a token into ~/.config/glow
glow login --instance-url https://my-school.example.com

After login, every command uses the stored bearer token automatically. Details + service-account flow: see Authentication.

4 — Make your first call

The CLI dispatches every artifact action through a generic plural-name pattern: glow <plural-resource> <action>. There is no top-level /v5, /generate, /stream, or /health route — those are reached through their owning artifact.


# List personas
glow personas search
 
# Get one
glow personas get --body '{"persona_id": "your-persona-uuid"}'
 
# Real health artifact (POST /system/health, returns rich status)
glow system health
 
# Who am I? (POST /<any-artifact>/context returns ComposedContextResponse)
glow profiles context

Equivalent raw HTTP (no /v5 prefix, singular paths). Export $GLOW_INSTANCE_URL + $GLOW_TOKEN once and the examples throughout these docs are copy-paste-ready — see Authentication:


curl -X POST $GLOW_INSTANCE_URL/persona/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GLOW_TOKEN" \
  -d '{}'

CLI global flags

Flag	Env	Purpose
`--instance-url <url>`	`GLOW_INSTANCE_URL`	override the active instance URL
`--client-id <id>`	`GLOW_CLIENT_ID`	override the OAuth client ID
`--json`	—	machine-readable output
`-y`, `--yes`	—	skip confirmation prompts for destructive actions

(Legacy --api-url and --license-key flags have been removed — the license key now lives in ~/.glow/instances/<name>/glow-deploy.yaml and the instance URL replaces what --api-url used to do.)

How It Works — the simulation / persona / scenario / attempt loop
Tutorial — build your first simulation end-to-end
CLI Reference — every command, auto-generated
API Reference — every endpoint, auto-generated