Quick Start · node9 documentation

Install the Node9 CLI globally via npm or Homebrew:

# Homebrew (macOS / Linux)
brew tap node9-ai/node9
brew install node9

# Or via npm
npm install -g node9-ai

Run node9 init: it detects every installed agent and wires the deepest control it supports: a pre-execution hook for Claude Code, Codex, Copilot CLI, Gemini CLI, Antigravity and Hermes, a plugin for OpenCode and Pi, and MCP governance for Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code and Claude Desktop:

node9 init   # one command, all detected agents

After init, every tool call routes through Node9 automatically. Use node9 doctor to verify the wiring afterwards.

Node9 ships with core protection always on (git, SQL, shell). Enable shields for the specific infrastructure your agent has access to. On a machine that follows a cloud workspace, shields are set in the workspace and local enables are ignored:

node9 shield enable postgres   # protect your database
node9 shield enable aws        # protect your cloud
node9 shield enable github     # protect your repos
node9 shield list              # see all available shields

For Mission Control, Policy Studio and a team audit trail, log in. Run it with no argument and node9 opens your browser to confirm the machine; nothing is copied and pasted.

node9 login

On a machine with no browser, or over SSH, print the link instead and open it wherever you are:

node9 login --no-browser

To connect a machine from the dashboard rather than from the machine, the dashboard issues a token and the same onboarding runs from it. A service or CI account still uses a key, which is what the optional key argument is for.

node9 connect <token>       # token from the dashboard
node9 login <service-key>   # service and CI accounts

To keep policy decisions on this machine, where the cloud never overrides them and only cost data syncs:

node9 login --local

A machine logged in this way stays unkeyed, so what you enable locally is what governs. On a machine that is keyed, it is the workspace that decides, and something you enabled here can read as enabled while the workspace has not turned it on. node9 shield list says which of the two you are looking at.

Run the health check to confirm binaries, config, and hooks are all correctly set up:

node9 doctor

Then start your agent and ask it to run a dangerous command. The review prompt appears inline in the agent (or as an OS dialog on agents without inline review). Check the audit log afterwards:

node9 audit

To manage multiple workspaces on the same machine, use named profiles:

# Save a named profile
node9 login --profile work
node9 login --profile personal

# Select active profile
export NODE9_PROFILE=work

The active profile determines which credentials and workspace are used. Defaults to the default profile if NODE9_PROFILE is not set.