> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://athanor.alexisbouchez.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quick Start

> Get Athanor running as a CI server in 5 minutes

## 1. Deploy

Build the binary and copy it to your server (see [Installation](/getting-started/installation) for full details):

```bash theme={null}
make build-linux
scp bin/athanor-linux-amd64 root@your-server:/usr/local/bin/athanor
```

Run the setup script on the server:

```bash theme={null}
ssh root@your-server 'bash -s' < scripts/setup-vps.sh
```

## 2. Configure

Create a GitHub Personal Access Token at [github.com/settings/tokens](https://github.com/settings/tokens) with `repo:status` scope.

Generate a webhook secret:

```bash theme={null}
openssl rand -hex 32
```

Write the config on the server:

```bash theme={null}
cat > /etc/athanor/env << 'EOF'
GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_token
WEBHOOK_SECRET=your_secret
LISTEN_ADDR=:8080
KERNEL_PATH=/var/lib/athanor/vmlinux
EOF
```

Start the service:

```bash theme={null}
systemctl start athanor
```

## 3. Set Up the Webhook

On your GitHub repository, go to **Settings > Webhooks > Add webhook**:

| Field        | Value                                |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------ |
| Payload URL  | `http://your-server-ip:8080/webhook` |
| Content type | `application/json`                   |
| Secret       | The secret you generated             |
| Events       | `push` and `pull_request`            |

Or use the GitHub CLI:

```bash theme={null}
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/hooks --method POST --input - << EOF
{
  "config": {
    "url": "http://your-server-ip:8080/webhook",
    "content_type": "json",
    "secret": "your_secret"
  },
  "events": ["push", "pull_request"],
  "active": true
}
EOF
```

## 4. Push and Watch

Push a commit. The webhook fires, Athanor spins up a microVM, runs your workflow, and reports the result.

Check the web dashboard at `http://your-server-ip:8080/` to see the run in real time.

Check the commit on GitHub. You'll see an Athanor status check.

## 5. (Optional) Enable the Checks API

For full log output on GitHub (not just pass/fail), set up a GitHub App. See [GitHub App Setup](/guides/github-app).

## Local Mode

You can also run workflows locally with the terminal UI:

```bash theme={null}
# Interactive - pick a workflow
athanor

# Run a specific file
athanor --workflow .github/workflows/ci.yml
```

The TUI shows a split-panel view with the job/step tree on the left and scrollable log output on the right.