# Quick Start

> Get started with OpenHands CLI in minutes

## Overview

The OpenHands CLI provides multiple ways to interact with the OpenHands AI agent:

| Mode                                                 | Command                | Best For                |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | ----------------------- |
| [Terminal (TUI)](/openhands/usage/cli/terminal)      | `openhands`            | Interactive development |
| [Headless](/openhands/usage/cli/headless)            | `openhands --headless` | Scripts & automation    |
| [Web Interface](/openhands/usage/cli/web-interface)  | `openhands web`        | Browser-based TUI       |
| [GUI Server](/openhands/usage/cli/gui-server)        | `openhands serve`      | Full web GUI            |
| [IDE Integration](/openhands/usage/cli/ide/overview) | `openhands acp`        | Zed, VS Code, JetBrains |

<iframe className="w-full aspect-video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PfvIx4y8h7w" title="OpenHands CLI Tutorial" frameBorder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen />

## Your First Conversation

**Set up your account** (first time only):

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="OpenHands Cloud (recommended)">
    ```bash  theme={null}
    openhands login
    ```

    This authenticates with OpenHands Cloud and fetches your settings. First-time users get **\$10 in free credits**.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Configure manually">
    The CLI will prompt you to configure your LLM provider and API key on first run.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

1. **Start the CLI:**
   ```bash  theme={null}
   openhands
   ```

2. **Enter a task:**
   ```
   Create a Python script that prints "Hello, World!"
   ```

3. **Watch OpenHands work:**
   The agent will create the file and show you the results.

## Controls

Once inside the CLI, use these controls:

| Control             | Description                                        |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| `Ctrl+P`            | Open command palette (access Settings, MCP status) |
| `Esc`               | Pause the running agent                            |
| `Ctrl+Q` or `/exit` | Exit the CLI                                       |

## Starting with a Task

You can start the CLI with an initial task:

```bash  theme={null}
# Start with a task
openhands -t "Fix the bug in auth.py"

# Start with a task from a file
openhands -f task.txt
```

## Resuming Conversations

Resume a previous conversation:

```bash  theme={null}
# List recent conversations and select one
openhands --resume

# Resume the most recent conversation
openhands --resume --last

# Resume a specific conversation by ID
openhands --resume abc123def456
```

For more details, see [Resume Conversations](/openhands/usage/cli/resume).

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Terminal Mode" icon="terminal" href="/openhands/usage/cli/terminal">
    Learn about the interactive terminal interface
  </Card>

  <Card title="IDE Integration" icon="code" href="/openhands/usage/cli/ide/overview">
    Use OpenHands in Zed, VS Code, or JetBrains
  </Card>

  <Card title="Headless Mode" icon="robot" href="/openhands/usage/cli/headless">
    Automate tasks with scripting
  </Card>

  <Card title="MCP Servers" icon="plug" href="/openhands/usage/cli/mcp-servers">
    Add tools via Model Context Protocol
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


---

> To find navigation and other pages in this documentation, fetch the llms.txt file at: https://docs.openhands.dev/llms.txt