Getting started for developers

This guide helps developers get up and running with their team in Derp. You'll learn how to download Derp, log in with your organization's SSO, and configure key features like Codebase Context, Derp Drive, and Agent Profiles to accelerate your work across the entire SDLC (all while staying in your terminal).

When you use agents in Derp, you're working with Derp's built-in agents. Oz is Derp's programmable platform for running and coordinating agents at scale, whether they run locally on your machine or in the cloud. Oz provides the orchestration, tracking, and control plane that makes scaling agent workflows seamless.

Note

New to Derp Enterprise? Try the Enterprise quickstart for a 10-minute walkthrough of SSO login, Derp setup, and running your first agent.

1. Download and install Derp

Derp is available for macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Download Derp

Visit the Derp download page and select your platform:

• macOS - Download the .dmg installer (macOS 10.15 Catalina or later)
• Linux - Download the .deb, .rpm, or AppImage
• Windows - Download the .exe installer (Windows 10 or later)

Install Derp

macOS:

1. Open the downloaded .dmg file.
2. Drag Derp to your Applications folder.
3. Launch Derp from Applications or Spotlight.

Linux:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dpkg -i derp-terminal_*.deb

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo rpm -i derp-terminal-*.rpm

For the full list of Linux installation options, including package-manager repositories, Arch, openSUSE, and AppImage, see the installation and setup guide.

Windows:

1. Run the downloaded .exe installer.
2. Follow the installation wizard.
3. Launch Derp from the Start menu.

2. Log in to your team

Logging in with SSO

If your organization uses SSO (most enterprise teams do):

1. Launch Derp.
2. When prompted, log in or create an account.
3. Click Continue with SSO.
4. Enter your work email or your organization's domain.
5. Complete authentication with your SSO credentials when redirected to your identity provider.

Caution

Do not attempt to launch Derp directly from your SSO provider's app portal (e.g., Okta dashboard). This will result in an error. Always log in through the Derp login page.

Logging in with an invite link

If you received an invite link from your team admin:

1. Click the invite link in your email or message.
2. From the signup page, log in using SSO if it's configured for your team, otherwise use one of the other sign in methods (Google, GitHub, or email).
3. After authentication, you'll automatically join your team.

Linking an existing account to SSO

If you were using Derp before your organization enabled SSO:

1. Go to the Derp login page.
2. Log in with your original method (email, Google, or GitHub).
3. Once logged in, navigate to the SSO linking page.
4. Follow the prompts to link your account to SSO.
5. From now on, use Continue with SSO to log in.

3. Set up key features

Codebase Context

Codebase Context indexes your Git repositories so agents can understand your code and provide accurate, context-aware responses across large, multi-repo systems.

Setting up Codebase Context:

First, enable codebase indexing in your settings:

1. Go to Settings > Code > Indexing and projects.
2. Toggle Enable Codebase Indexing to turn it on.
3. Optionally, enable Index new folders by default to automatically index repositories as you navigate to them.

Caution

Codebase Context is a feature your team admin controls. If you don't see these settings or they are disabled, contact your admin to enable this feature for your team.

Indexing your repositories:

Once codebase indexing is enabled, you can index individual repositories:

1. Navigate to a Git repository in your terminal.
2. Run the /init command.
3. Derp begins indexing your codebase.
4. You'll be prompted to create an AGENTS.md file (optional but recommended).

What gets indexed:

• All Git-tracked files in your repository
• Up to 200,000 files per repository
• Files excluded in .gitignore or .derpindexingignore are automatically skipped

Privacy:

During indexing, your code is sent to Derp's servers for processing where embeddings are created and stored. The code itself is not saved—only the embeddings are persisted. This allows agents to understand your codebase structure and context without storing your actual source code.

Note

For cloud agents: Code snippets may be stored as part of conversation records when agents create or modify files, since diffs are preserved in the conversation history.

Agent Profiles

Agent Profiles let you configure how Derp's built-in agents behave. Profiles give you direct control over model selection, autonomy, tools, and permissions for your agent workflows.

Creating an Agent Profile:

1. Go to Settings > Agents > Profiles.
2. Click New Profile.
3. Configure:
   • Name and description
   • Model - Choose which LLM to use
   • Autonomy level - How much agents can do without asking
   • Tools - Enable/disable terminal use, code editing, web search
   • Permissions - What agents can access (repos, files, secrets)
4. Click Save.

Using profiles:

Switch between profiles based on your task:

• High autonomy for routine tasks like writing tests or updating docs
• Low autonomy for sensitive operations like infrastructure changes
• Specific models for cost optimization or task requirements

Derp Drive

Derp Drive is your workspace for saving and sharing Workflows, Notebooks, Prompts, Rules, and Environment Variables.

Accessing Derp Drive:

1. Click the tools panel icon in the top left of Derp.
2. Click the Derp Drive icon from the top of the tools panel.
3. Two Derp Drive sections display:
   • Team (top) - Resources shared across your team.
   • Personal (bottom) - Your individual resources.

What you can add to Derp Drive:

• Workflows - Parameterized commands you use repeatedly (e.g., deploy scripts, environment setup)
• Notebooks - Interactive runbooks combining markdown and executable code blocks
• Prompts - Saved agent prompts for recurring tasks (e.g., "review this PR", "write unit tests")
• Plans - Agent-generated execution plans for complex tasks that agents can then run step-by-step
• Rules - Coding standards and conventions agents should follow
• Environment Variables - Configuration that can be loaded into your terminal session

Creating your first Workflow:

1. From Derp Drive, click + in your Personal or Team section.
2. Select Workflow.
3. Enter a name, description, and command.
4. Add parameters if needed (e.g., {{branch_name}}).
5. Click Save.

Using team resources:

Your team admin may have already created shared resources. Explore the Team section of Derp Drive to see what's available—including onboarding notebooks, deployment workflows, and coding standards rules.

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

MCP connects Derp's agents to external tools and services for enhanced context.

Configuring MCP servers:

1. Go to Settings > Agents > MCP servers or access via Derp Drive.
2. Browse the library of available MCP servers:
   • Linear - Access issues and project context
   • Sentry - Pull error tracking and stack trace information
   • Figma - Reference designs and specifications
   • GitHub - Access repository and PR context
   • And more...
3. Click + next to a server to add it.
4. Configure credentials and connection details.
5. Toggle the server on/off as needed.

Your team may have shared MCP configurations. Check for a share icon next to team-configured servers to use them without manual setup.

4. Start using Derp

Everyday workflows

Derp keeps you in your terminal with agent help across the entire SDLC:

Environment setup

• "Set up Node 20, Python 3.12, and Docker Desktop"
• Save setup steps as a Workflow in Derp Drive for future use

Understanding codebases

• "How does authentication flow through this system?"
• "What patterns does this repo use for error handling?"

Writing code

• Use the /plan command for complex features
• Review diffs in real-time with the code review panel
• Leave comments on specific lines for the agent to address

Debugging

• Start a debugger (gdb, lldb) and bring in an agent
• Agents can operate debuggers and REPLs in natural language
• Attach terminal output to agent conversations for analysis

Version control

• "Stage these changes and write a detailed commit message"
• "Create a PR with a description following our template"
• Set up Rules to enforce Git commit conventions

Testing

• "Write unit tests for this function following our existing patterns"
• "Run the test suite and explain what failed"
• Configure cloud agents to run test suites and validate coverage on PRs in the background

Learning resources

• Derp Guides - Short video tutorials in the Guides
  • Getting Started with Derp
  • Derp Code features
  • Developer workflows
  • MCP, Rules, and Prompts
• Documentation - Comprehensive guides in the Derp docs

Troubleshooting

For common login, SSO, and access issues, see the Enterprise FAQ.

Next steps

Now that you're set up:

• Explore agent capabilities - Learn about agents in Derp and cloud agents
• Contribute to team knowledge - Add useful Workflows, Prompts, and Rules to your team's Derp Drive to compound productivity gains across your team
• Stay updated - Check the Derp changelog for new features

Support and feedback

• Send feedback - Use Cmd+Shift+F (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+F (Linux/Windows) or go to Help > Send Feedback
• Request features - Share ideas by sending us feedback
• Get help - Enterprise teams have access to priority support via dedicated Slack/Teams channels
• Join the community - Connect with other Derp users in our Slack community