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Posted on Jul 10 • Originally published at Medium on Jul 9

Zero AI Coding Agent: The Complete Installation & Setup Guide (Local Models, OpenAI, Ollama, MCP…

#aiagentdevelopment #aiagentsinaction #agents #terminalcommands

Zero AI Coding Agent: The Complete Installation & Setup Guide (Local Models, OpenAI, Ollama, MCP, Plugins & More)

AI coding agents have transformed the way developers build software. Instead of simply generating snippets of code, modern AI agents can understand an entire codebase, edit files, execute terminal commands, run tests, search repositories, and even automate complex development workflows — all without leaving your terminal.

Zero is one of the newest open-source AI coding agents designed specifically for developers who prefer working from the command line. Unlike traditional AI assistants, Zero combines an interactive terminal interface with powerful automation capabilities, allowing you to inspect repositories, modify code, execute shell commands, manage long-running sessions, and integrate with external tools — all while keeping you in complete control through its built-in permissions and sandbox system.

One of Zero’s biggest strengths is its flexibility. It isn’t tied to a single AI provider. You can use cloud models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, xAI, Mistral, GitHub Models, and many others, or run everything locally with Ollama and LM Studio. This gives you the freedom to choose the model that best fits your budget, performance requirements, and privacy preferences.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn everything you need to get started with Zero. We’ll walk through the installation process, configure your first AI provider, explore the interactive Terminal User Interface (TUI), send your first prompts, and understand how Zero’s safety model works. As the guide progresses, we’ll also cover advanced features such as zero exec, worktrees, session management, MCP servers, plugins, hooks, skills, specialist agents, repository analysis, sandboxing, and real-world development workflows.

Whether you’re a beginner looking for your first AI coding assistant or an experienced developer searching for a powerful terminal-native alternative to tools like Claude Code, Codex CLI, or Gemini CLI, this guide will help you become productive with Zero from the ground up.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to:

Install Zero on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Configure cloud or local AI providers.
Connect OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, OpenRouter, Ollama, LM Studio, and more.
Understand the Zero Terminal User Interface (TUI).
Use zero exec For automation and scripting.
Work with sessions, repository context, and worktrees.
Configure MCP servers, plugins, hooks, skills, and specialist agents.
Understand Zero’s permission model and sandbox system.
Build real-world AI-powered development workflows directly from your terminal.

Step 1: Install Zero AI Coding Agent

Before exploring Zero’s features, you need to install it on your system. Zero is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows and supports both x64 and ARM64 architectures.

The easiest installation method is through npm , which automatically downloads the correct native Zero binary for your operating system.

Install using npm

npm install -g @gitlawb/zero

If the installation completes successfully, verify it by checking the installed version:

zero --version

You should see the installed Zero version printed in your terminal.

Verify Your Installation

Zero also includes a built-in diagnostic command that checks whether everything is configured correctly.

zero doctor

This command verifies your installation, checks for any missing dependencies, detects available AI providers, and reports potential configuration issues before you start using the tool.

Note: Installing the npm package downloads the appropriate native Zero binary for your platform from GitHub Releases, so you don't need to build the project from source unless you plan to contribute to its development.

Step 2: Verify Your Installation with zero doctor

After installing Zero, the next step is to verify that everything is working correctly. Zero includes a built-in diagnostic tool called doctor That checks your installation and highlights anything that still needs to be configured.

Run the following command:

zero doctor

For a fresh installation, you’ll likely see an output similar to this:

Zero doctor report
Overall: fail

Don’t panic if the overall status says fail. This is completely normal on a fresh installation because Zero hasn’t been connected to an AI provider yet.

Runtime Check

[pass] runtime.go - Zero Go runtime is available (go).

This confirms that Zero is installed correctly and its Go runtime is working as expected. No action is required here.

Configuration Check

[warn] config.files - No explicit Zero config files were inspected.
[warn] config.validation - No Zero config files were available to validate.

These warnings simply mean that Zero hasn’t created any configuration files yet. Since this is your first time running the tool, there are no settings to validate.

Once you complete the setup wizard, Zero will automatically generate the required configuration files.

Provider Configuration

[fail] provider.config - No LLM provider is configured.

This is the most important message in the report and the primary reason why the overall health check fails.

Zero requires access to an AI model before it can perform tasks like:

Answering coding questions
Editing files
Generating code
Running agent workflows
Executing zero exec

Until you configure a provider such as OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, Ollama, Gemini, or another supported service, Zero has no model to communicate with.

You’ll configure this in the next step using the built-in setup wizard.

Provider Validation Skipped

[warn] provider.model - Model validity was skipped because provider config is unavailable.

[warn] provider.connectivity - Connectivity check was skipped because provider runtime did not resolve.

Since no AI provider has been configured, Zero can’t verify whether your selected model exists or whether it can successfully connect to the provider’s API.

These warnings will disappear once you finish the provider setup.

Sandbox Support

[pass] sandbox.backend - Native sandbox backend macos-seatbelt is available.

This indicates that Zero successfully detected macOS’s native sandboxing system.

The sandbox helps protect your system by controlling file access, shell commands, network requests, and other potentially destructive operations. Instead of allowing unrestricted access, Zero asks for permission before performing sensitive actions.

This is one of Zero’s key security features and helps prevent accidental or unintended changes to your machine.

Language Server Warning

[warn] lsp.servers - 3 language server(s) missing from PATH

Zero also checks whether Language Server Protocol (LSP) tools are installed for popular programming languages.

In this example, the following language servers are missing:

gopls for Go
pyright-langserver for Python
typescript-language-server for JavaScript and TypeScript

Without these language servers, Zero can still read, edit, and generate code. However, advanced IDE-like features — such as symbol navigation, intelligent refactoring, accurate code understanding, and language-aware edits — may be limited.

If you work with these languages regularly, you can install them using the recommended commands:

# Go
go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest

# Python
npm install -g pyright

# JavaScript / TypeScript
npm install -g typescript typescript-language-server

Step 3: Configure Your First AI Provider

Now that Zero is installed and you’ve verified the installation using zero doctorThe next step is to configure an AI provider. Zero supports a wide range of cloud and local AI providers, allowing you to choose the model that best suits your workflow.

To launch the interactive setup wizard, run the following command:

zero setup

The setup wizard will walk you through the initial configuration process, including selecting your preferred AI provider, choosing a model, and saving the configuration for future use.

Note: If you’re using a cloud provider such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or OpenRouter, make sure you have a valid API key. If you’re using local providers like Ollama or LM Studio, ensure the local server is running before starting the setup.

Here’s what running the setup command looks like in the terminal:

Once you execute the command, Zero will launch its interactive setup wizard, where you’ll configure your provider in just a few steps. In the next section, we’ll walk through each screen of the setup process and configure Zero using an AI provider.

Step 3.1: Launch the Zero Setup Wizard

After running the zero setup Command Zero launches its interactive onboarding wizard. This wizard guides you through the initial configuration process, making it easy to connect to an AI provider and start using the agent without manually editing configuration files.

When the wizard starts, you’ll see a welcome screen similar to the one below:

The welcome screen introduces Zero as a terminal AI coding agent capable of planning changes, editing code with approval, running verification checks, and resuming previous sessions.

At the bottom of the screen, you’ll notice “1/7” , indicating that the setup consists of seven guided steps. To begin the configuration process, simply press the Space key.

Tip: The setup wizard only needs to be completed once. After your provider and model are configured, Zero automatically saves your settings and uses them for future sessions.

In the next step, we’ll choose the AI provider that Zero will use for code generation, reasoning, and terminal assistance.

Step 3.2: Choose How You Want to Connect

After pressing Space , Zero asks how you would like to connect to an AI provider. This is where you’ll choose the authentication method that best fits your workflow.

You’ll see a screen similar to the following:

Zero provides two ways to connect:

1. Sign in with OAuth

This option lets you authenticate through your web browser without manually copying or pasting an API key. It’s a convenient choice if your preferred provider supports OAuth authentication.

2. Paste an API Key / Browse Providers

This option allows you to configure Zero using an API key or connect to one of the many supported AI providers. It also supports local AI runtimes such as Ollama and LM Studio , making it the most flexible option for developers.

Since we’ll be configuring Zero with our own AI provider, select Paste an API Key / Browse Providers using the ↑/↓ arrow keys , then press Enter to continue.

Note: Zero supports more than 20 AI providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, OpenRouter, Groq, DeepSeek, xAI, Mistral, GitHub Models, Ollama, LM Studio, and other OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible endpoints.

Step 3.3: Configure Your Credentials

After selecting your AI provider, Zero will display a credentials screen based on the provider you’ve chosen. Since we’re using Ollama in this guide, Zero recognizes that it runs locally and doesn’t require an API key.

You’ll see a screen similar to the following:

Unlike cloud providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini, Ollama runs entirely on your local machine , so there’s no need to enter an API key or authenticate with an online service.

The setup wizard simply reminds you of one important requirement:

Start the Ollama server before sending prompts to Zero.

If Ollama isn’t already running, start it before continuing. You can verify that the server is available by running:

ollama list

If the command returns your installed models, the Ollama server is ready to use with Zero.

Once you’ve confirmed that Ollama is running, press Space to continue to the next step of the setup wizard, where you’ll select the model that Zero should use for your coding sessions.

Step 3.4: Select Your AI Model

After configuring your provider, Zero will detect the available models and ask you to choose which one you’d like to use as your default coding assistant.

In this example, Zero automatically detects the locally installed Ollama models.

Use the ↑/↓ arrow keys to navigate through the available models and press Enter to select one.

You can also use the search box at the top of the screen to quickly filter models if you have many installed.

In this guide, we’ll select qwen2.5:1.5b , but you can choose any model available in your Ollama installation.

Tip: If your preferred model doesn’t appear in the list, install it first using Ollama. For example:

ollama pull qwen2.5:7b

Then restart the setup wizard, and the newly installed model will be available for selection.

After selecting your model, press Enter to continue.

Step 3.5: Review Zero’s Safety Settings

The final step of the setup wizard introduces Zero’s safety model.

Unlike many autonomous AI coding agents, Zero is designed to keep you in control. By default, it asks for confirmation before performing actions that could modify your system or project.

This includes operations such as:

Running shell commands
Editing or creating files
Executing potentially risky operations
Performing actions outside your current workspace

As shown on the screen, the default behavior is:

Ask before risky work.

This means Zero will always request your approval before executing actions that could have side effects, helping prevent accidental changes to your codebase.

Simply press Space to continue and complete the setup wizard.

Step 3.6: Complete the Setup and Launch Zero

You’re now at the final step of the setup wizard. Before saving your configuration, Zero displays a summary of the settings you’ve selected.

This confirmation screen shows the configuration that Zero will use for future sessions. In our example, the selected settings are:

Provider: Ollama Local
Model: qwen2.5:1.5b
Credentials: Not required (because Ollama runs locally)
Configuration File: ~/.config/zero/config.json

Zero stores these settings in its configuration file, so you only need to complete the setup once. Every time you launch Zero in the future, it will automatically use this saved configuration unless you choose to change it later.

You’ll also notice a few helpful slash commands at the bottom of the screen:

/provider – Change your AI provider or model.
/doctor – Run a diagnostic check to verify your configuration and installation.
/help – Display available commands and usage information.

Once you’ve reviewed the configuration, press Enter to save your settings and launch Zero.

Congratulations! You’ve completed the initial setup process. In the next section, we’ll explore the Zero Terminal User Interface (TUI), learn how to navigate it, and send our first prompt to the AI coding agent.

Run Zero Completely Offline

If you prefer running AI models locally, TechLatest provides a ready-to-use Ollama + Open WebUI environment with DeepSeek, Qwen, Llama, Gemma, Mistral, and other open-source models that work seamlessly with Zero.

Techlatest.net - GPU Supported DeepSeek & Llama powered All-in-One LLM

Looking for an OpenAI-compatible local endpoint? Deploy LocalAI with TechLatest and connect it directly to Zero without changing your workflow.

Techlatest.net - LocalAI: Self-Hosted Alternative to OpenAI & Anthropic

Step 4: Launch the Zero Terminal Interface

After pressing Enter on the final setup screen, Zero saves your configuration and launches its interactive Terminal User Interface (TUI). This is where you’ll spend most of your time interacting with the AI coding agent.

When Zero starts successfully, you’ll see a screen similar to the following:

The interface is clean and designed to keep you focused on coding. Let’s take a quick tour of what you’re seeing.

Current Workspace

In the top-left corner, Zero displays the directory you’re currently working in.

~/projects/agentscli

This tells you which project Zero has access to. Any files it reads or edits will be within this workspace unless you explicitly grant access to additional directories.

Active Provider and Model

The top-right corner shows the currently selected AI provider and model.

ollama/qwen2.5:1.5b

This makes it easy to confirm which model Zero is using for your current session. If you ever need to switch models or providers, you can do so without leaving the interface.

Helpful Starter Prompts

In the center of the screen, Zero displays several example prompts to help you get started, such as:

Explain this codebase
Fix the failing test
Add a --json flag

These examples demonstrate common development tasks that Zero can perform, making it easy for new users to begin experimenting with the agent.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Zero also highlights a few useful shortcuts near the bottom of the screen:

? — View all keyboard shortcuts
/ — Open the slash command menu
Ctrl + B — Toggle the sidebar
Ctrl + E — Copy the latest response

As you continue using Zero, these shortcuts can significantly speed up your workflow.

If you’re looking beyond AI coding into personal automation, OpenClaw extends AI workflows to Telegram, WhatsApp, scheduled tasks, and personal productivity.

Techlatest.net - OpenClaw: AI Agent Automation Stack

Step 5: Send Your First Prompt

With Zero fully configured, you’re ready to start interacting with the AI coding agent. The prompt box at the bottom of the screen is where you’ll type your requests, ask questions, or assign coding tasks.

Simply type your prompt and press Enter.

For example, we asked Zero two simple questions:

Hello, how are you?
How many R’s are there in the word “Strawberry”?

Zero responded immediately within the terminal.

Understanding the Response

Each interaction follows a simple conversation format:

Your prompt appears at the top of the conversation.
Zero generates a response directly below it.
At the end of each response, Zero includes a brief recap , summarizing what it just accomplished or answered.

This recap becomes especially useful during longer coding sessions, as it provides a quick summary of previous interactions without needing to reread the entire conversation.

Asking Coding Questions

While general questions work as expected, Zero is designed primarily as a coding assistant. Once you’re inside a project, you can ask it to perform development tasks such as:

Explain how a codebase works.
Find and fix bugs.
Generate new features.
Refactor existing code.
Write unit tests.
Improve documentation.
Review pull requests.
Optimize performance.
Debug failing tests.

For example, instead of asking a general question, you could type prompts like:

Explain this codebase.

Find any bugs in this project.

Add authentication to this application.

Write unit tests for the API.

Refactor this project using best practices.

Continuing the Conversation

Unlike a traditional command-line tool, Zero maintains the context of your current session. This means you can ask follow-up questions without repeating previous information.

For example:

Explain this codebase.
Which file handles authentication?
Can you improve that implementation?
Write tests for the updated code.

Zero understands the conversation history and uses it to provide more relevant responses, making it feel like collaborating with an experienced developer directly from your terminal.

Now that you’ve successfully sent your first prompt, the next step is to explore Zero’s powerful built-in commands, starting with the interactive slash commands that allow you to switch models, manage sessions, inspect permissions, and much more.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully installed and configured Zero AI Coding Agent on your machine.

In this guide, we covered everything you need to get started — from installing Zero and verifying the installation to configuring an AI provider, selecting a model, completing the setup wizard, launching the Terminal User Interface (TUI), and sending your first prompt.

At this point, your Zero environment is fully configured and ready to assist with real-world development tasks. Whether you’re using a cloud provider like OpenAI or Anthropic, or running local models with Ollama or LM Studio, you now have a powerful AI coding assistant directly in your terminal.

However, we’ve only scratched the surface of what Zero can do. Beyond basic conversations, Zero offers a rich set of developer-focused features, including zero exec for headless automation, session management, repository analysis, worktrees, permission controls, sandboxing, MCP server integration, plugins, hooks, skills, specialist agents, and much more.

In the next part of this series, we’ll dive deep into these advanced capabilities and explore how to use Zero effectively in real development workflows. We’ll cover the Terminal UI in detail, learn the most useful slash commands, understand the permission model, automate coding tasks, integrate external tools, and discover how to get the most out of Zero as your everyday AI coding companion.

Until then, explore the interface, experiment with different prompts, and start using Zero on your own projects. The more you interact with it, the more you’ll appreciate how powerful a terminal-native AI coding agent can be.