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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/Conway-Research/automaton/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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Overview

The first time you run Conway Automaton, it launches an interactive setup wizard that guides you through creating your agent’s identity and configuration. This process takes about 5-10 minutes and establishes the foundational parameters for your autonomous agent.

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Launching the Setup Wizard

The wizard runs automatically on first launch: 
node dist/index.js --run
Or trigger it manually at any time: 
node dist/index.js --setup
Running --setup again will overwrite your existing configuration. Your wallet and database will be preserved.

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Setup Process

The wizard walks through six phases:

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Phase 1: Identity Generation

The automaton generates a new Ethereum wallet using viem: 
[1/6] Generating identity (wallet)...
Wallet created: 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEb1
Private key stored at: ~/.automaton/wallet.json
This wallet serves as your automaton’s:
  • Identity: Unique on-chain address
  • Authentication: Signs messages for Conway API access
  • Treasury: Holds USDC and receives payments
The private key in ~/.automaton/wallet.json is stored with 0600 permissions (owner read/write only). Never share this file. If lost, your automaton’s identity is unrecoverable.

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Phase 2: API Key Provisioning

The automaton authenticates with Conway API using Sign-In With Ethereum (SIWE): 
[2/6] Provisioning Conway API key (SIWE)...
API key provisioned: cnwy_k_...
1

Nonce request

The automaton requests a cryptographic nonce from https://api.conway.tech/v1/auth/nonce
2

Message signing

Constructs and signs a SIWE message with its wallet:
conway.tech wants you to sign in with your Ethereum account:
0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEb1

Sign in to Conway as an Automaton to provision an API key.

URI: https://api.conway.tech/v1/auth/verify
Version: 1
Chain ID: 8453
Nonce: ...
3

Verification

Submits the signed message to /v1/auth/verify and receives a JWT access token
4

Key creation

Uses the JWT to create an API key via /v1/auth/api-keys and saves it to ~/.automaton/config.json
If auto-provisioning fails (network issues, API downtime), you can enter an API key manually or skip this step.
Without a Conway API key, your automaton will have limited functionality—no sandboxes, no Conway inference, no x402 payments.

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Phase 3: Interactive Questions

The wizard prompts you for core configuration: 
[3/6] Setup questions

→ What do you want to name your automaton: MyAgent

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Name

A human-readable identifier for your automaton (e.g., “Researcher”, “DataBot”, “Alice”).

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Genesis Prompt

Enter the genesis prompt (system prompt) for your automaton.
Type your prompt, then press Enter twice to finish:
This is the seed instruction that defines your automaton’s purpose and behavior. It’s written to ~/.automaton/SOUL.md and used as the system prompt in every agent loop. Example genesis prompts: 
You are a research assistant automaton. Your purpose is to:
- Monitor academic papers on arXiv for relevant topics
- Summarize key findings and breakthroughs
- Publish weekly digests to a blog
- Earn income through subscriptions and sponsorships

Always cite sources. Prioritize accuracy over speed.

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Creator Address

Your automaton's address is 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEb1
Now enter YOUR wallet address (the human creator/owner).

→ Creator wallet address (0x...): 0x1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef12345678
This is your Ethereum address (as the human creator). The automaton registers you as its parent, granting you full audit rights to logs and inference calls.
Ensure this is an address you control. It cannot be changed after setup without re-running the wizard.

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Provider API Keys (Optional)

The wizard asks for optional inference provider keys: 
Optional: bring your own inference provider keys (press Enter to skip).

→ OpenAI API key (sk-..., optional):
→ Anthropic API key (sk-ant-..., optional):
→ Ollama base URL (http://localhost:11434, optional):
  • OpenAI: For GPT models (gpt-5.2, gpt-5-mini, etc.)
  • Anthropic: For Claude models (claude-4.5-sonnet, etc.)
  • Ollama: For local/self-hosted models
If you don’t provide these, the automaton defaults to Conway’s inference API.

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Phase 4: Treasury Policy

Configure financial safety limits to protect against unauthorized spending: 
Financial Safety Policy
These limits protect against unauthorized spending. Press Enter for defaults.

→ Max single transfer (cents) [500]:
→ Max hourly transfers (cents) [1000]:
→ Max daily transfers (cents) [5000]:
→ Minimum reserve (cents) [100]:
→ Max x402 payment (cents) [1000]:
→ Max daily inference spend (cents) [2000]:
→ Require confirmation above (cents) [100]:
These policies are enforced by the PolicyEngine:
  • maxSingleTransferCents: Maximum amount for one transfer
  • maxHourlyTransferCents: Rolling 60-minute spending cap
  • maxDailyTransferCents: Rolling 24-hour spending cap
  • minimumReserveCents: Always keep this much in reserve
  • maxX402PaymentCents: Maximum per x402 HTTP payment
  • maxInferenceDailyCents: Daily inference budget
  • requireConfirmationAboveCents: Amounts above this require explicit user approval
These limits prevent runaway spending if the agent is compromised or makes poor decisions. You can reconfigure them later with automaton --configure.

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Phase 5: Environment Detection

[4/6] Detecting environment...
Conway sandbox detected: sbx_1234567890abcdef
The wizard checks if it’s running inside a Conway Cloud sandbox. If detected, it saves the sandbox ID for API calls.

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Phase 6: Configuration Files

[5/6] Writing configuration...
automaton.json written
heartbeat.yml written
constitution.md installed (read-only)
SOUL.md written
Default skills installed (conway-compute, conway-payments, survival)
The wizard creates:
  • automaton.json: Runtime config (name, model, API keys, treasury policy)
  • heartbeat.yml: Scheduled task definitions
  • constitution.md: Immutable three-law constitution (copied from repo, chmod 444)
  • SOUL.md: Self-authored identity document (the automaton can edit this)
  • skills/: Default skill packages

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Summary Panel

After setup completes, the wizard displays your automaton’s wallet address and funding instructions: 
[6/6] Funding

╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│  Fund your automaton                                     │
│                                                          │
│  Address: 0x742d...0bEb1                                 │
│                                                          │
│  1. Transfer Conway credits                              │
│     conway credits transfer <address> <amount>           │
│                                                          │
│  2. Send USDC on Base directly to the address above      │
│                                                          │
│  3. Fund via Conway Cloud dashboard                      │
│     https://app.conway.tech                              │
│                                                          │
│  The automaton will start now. Fund it anytime —         │
│  the survival system handles zero-credit gracefully.     │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

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Next Steps

Your automaton is now configured and ready to run:

First Run

Launch your automaton and watch its first autonomous actions

Funding

Learn how to fund your automaton with USDC or Conway credits

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