unmute init

Create an agent package your coding assistant can complete within your company’s rules. The manifest sets the allowed choices. init copies that contract into a package; the assistant writes the use case. Create, complete, check is the whole workflow. The CLI does not call a language model for you. On this page:

Quickstart - start from a saved manifest
Choose the contract - named selection and defaults
Create the draft - what the command writes
Give the assistant the brief - complete the same package
Check the result - validation, compilation and runtime tests
Command reference - flags and help
Advanced - guided setup and ordinary scaffolding
Troubleshooting - symptoms, causes and fixes
Where to go next

Quickstart

Start in your project folder with a saved manifest named acme-corp. If it does not exist, create and save it first. Use a new directory name for the agent. These are the complete setup commands:

Terminal — project folder

unmute skill install
unmute init hotel-agent --manifest acme-corp --draft

Then give your coding assistant this brief:

Prompt for your coding assistant

Use the Unmute skill to complete the existing hotel-agent
draft.
Read hotel-agent/manifest first and preserve it and its
link unchanged.
Build a hotel information assistant that answers questions
about opening hours and amenities. Ask me for the hotel's
facts instead of inventing them.
Choose permitted models and infrastructure. Write the
conversation instructions, then run validation and
compilation and fix any errors.
Tell me what still needs runtime testing.

This creates an unfinished package, not a running voice agent. The prompt asks the coding assistant to edit that package. Do not run init again to complete it.

1. Choose the contract

acme-corp is the manifest’s saved name on this computer. It can differ from the company name written inside the file.

Selection	What happens
`--manifest acme-corp`	Use that saved contract, regardless of the default
`--from-manifest`	Open a picker for guided creation
Neither flag	Use the saved default, if one exists

Direct selection does not change the default. A missing or invalid named manifest stops creation before any package files are written. A broken default stops creation only when you have not selected a manifest by name. --draft requires both an agent directory and explicit --manifest. It cannot use --from-manifest, and it never asks questions through stdin.

2. Create the draft

The quickstart command writes six files under hotel-agent/:

File	Starting contents
`agent.yaml`	Package name, manifest link and a starter agent pointing to its prompt
`targets.yaml`	No targets selected
`instructions.md`	Starter prompt for the assistant to replace with the use case
`.gitignore`	Excludes local credentials and generated output
`.env.example`	Empty; no credentials are chosen
`manifest`	Exact copy of the selected contract, including comments

No models or channels are selected. No tools or tracing are added. The assistant must fill in the required choices before validation can pass. Commit the finished package and its manifest together. Validation and compilation read that local copy, so another computer needs no saved manifest. Editing the saved source later does not update existing packages.

3. Give the assistant the brief

The quickstart brief keeps the agent small: hotel facts and no booking system. The assistant reads the copied manifest before choosing models, targets, languages, regions, tools or tracing. It then edits the package files. For SLNG-served models, the provider remains slng even when a model ID names Cartesia or Deepgram. An explicit allowlist limits the IDs the assistant can choose. Allow all models permits any ID from that service; target support and provider requirements still apply. The skill explains conflicts instead of loosening the contract. It should ask for missing business facts or tool interfaces, not invent them. See model choices and tools when the brief needs more than the native workflow. If you already created my-new-agent, use its name in the quickstart brief. Skip the init command and have the assistant complete those existing files.

4. Check the result

After the assistant finishes its edits, these are the complete check commands:

Terminal — project folder

unmute validate hotel-agent
unmute compile hotel-agent

Fix validation errors in the package. Do not remove a company rule to make an error disappear. Compilation writes target artifacts under hotel-agent/build/; it does not prove that the conversation works with real providers.

Target	Next runtime check
LiveKit or Pipecat	Run the browser loop with `unmute dev hotel-agent`
SLNG	Follow the deployment workflow; SLNG has no `unmute dev`

Phone calls require a deployed agent and a real carrier. See the telephony guide when your brief needs phone access.

Command reference

Terminal — unmute init --help

$ unmute init --help
Scaffold a new v1 agent package.

Usage:
  unmute init [name] [flags]

Flags:
      --draft             Write an unfinished package without prompts (requires name and --manifest).
      --from-manifest     Choose a saved organization manifest.
  -h, --help              help for init
      --manifest string   Use a saved organization manifest by name.

The agent name is also its directory. An occupied directory is refused. Plain init without a name asks for one in a terminal; outside a terminal, you must supply the name.

Advanced

Use guided setup instead

For a fresh package, this complete command selects the same contract and opens the interactive agent setup:

Terminal — alternative to the draft workflow

unmute init guided-hotel-agent --manifest acme-corp

Guided setup collects choices and checks the package before saving. The manifest picker is an alternative to named selection, not a name-taking flag:

Terminal — choose a saved contract interactively

unmute init another-hotel-agent --from-manifest

The creation console cannot collect custom model endpoints or SLNG Context Router upstream settings. Use the draft workflow for those bindings, then follow the relevant model reference.

Start without a company contract

When no saved default exists, unmute init <name> writes the ordinary scaffold. It selects LiveKit, SLNG speech models, an OpenAI reasoning model, a browser channel and an end_call tool. With a default present, it opens guided setup under that contract instead. The scaffold’s .env.example lists starter environment names. After compiling, build/<target>/.env.example lists the values needed by that target. Follow credentials and targets to finish setup.

Refresh the assistant’s instructions

After updating the CLI, run unmute skill install again in the project folder. The skill ships in the binary. Review local edits before replacing them with --force; see skill installation.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
`accepts at most 1 arg(s), received 2`	An older binary treats the word after `--from-manifest` as another agent argument	Update the binary and use `--manifest acme-corp`
Creation opens a TUI	`--draft` was omitted	Add `--draft` for coding-assistant setup without prompts
`validate: no targets selected`	The draft is still incomplete	Have the assistant finish models, targets and channels, then validate again
Creation reports a missing manifest	The name is not saved on this computer	Use the correct saved name or create it with `unmute manifest create`
The assistant tries to weaken a rule	The brief conflicts with the contract	Change the agent design or ask the contract owner to resolve the conflict
The destination is not empty	The package already exists	Complete those files, or choose a fresh directory
The assistant does not know `--draft`	Its installed skill is older than the CLI	Update the CLI and rerun `unmute skill install`

Where to go next

Company manifests

Understand the contract the assistant must preserve.

The Unmute skill

Install the workflow your coding assistant follows.

Validate the package

Read and fix errors before compilation.

Choose the agent structure

Add tasks or handoffs when the use case needs them.

Get started

Build the agent

Best practices

Run and observe

Optimization

Deploy

Phone calls

Targets and models

Configuration files

CLI

Community

Releases

Quickstart

1. Choose the contract

2. Create the draft

3. Give the assistant the brief

4. Check the result

Command reference

Advanced

Use guided setup instead

Start without a company contract

Refresh the assistant’s instructions

Troubleshooting

Where to go next

Company manifests

The Unmute skill

Validate the package

Choose the agent structure

​Quickstart

​1. Choose the contract

​2. Create the draft

​3. Give the assistant the brief

​4. Check the result

​Command reference

​Advanced

​Use guided setup instead

​Start without a company contract

​Refresh the assistant’s instructions

​Troubleshooting

​Where to go next

Company manifests

The Unmute skill

Validate the package

Choose the agent structure

Quickstart

1. Choose the contract

2. Create the draft

3. Give the assistant the brief

4. Check the result

Command reference

Advanced

Use guided setup instead

Start without a company contract

Refresh the assistant’s instructions

Troubleshooting

Where to go next