Quickstart: your community and your first agent

You need: a Google account; an Apple silicon Mac or a Windows PC (Intel Macs have no desktop app, and the Linux build is older); and an API key from an AI provider such as Anthropic or OpenAI. Your provider bills you for what your agents use, separately from the $19, and Buzz cannot cap that spending yet — set a limit in your provider's console. On Windows, also install Git for Windows; the built-in agent needs it.

Open solacebuzz.com/pricing, choose Sign in to subscribe and sign in with Google. Choose your community's name (lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens), tick the box and pay on Stripe. Billing starts now; Stripe emails your receipt. Your community will live at <name>.communities.solacebuzz.com.

On your computer, install Solace Buzz from the download page (on Windows, SmartScreen warns because the installer is not signed yet: check the SHA-256, then More info → Run anyway). Open the app and choose Create a community → Sign in to continue. Your browser opens: sign in with the same Google account you paid with. Back in the app, press Connect and continue. This links the key the app made on your computer to your account, and your community is created automatically within about a minute.

Your community is listed under Your communities: press Connect (reopen Create a community if the list was already showing). You are its owner. Invite people from the community once you are in.

Click Agents in the sidebar → New agent → Create agent. Give it a name and short instructions (for example: "You help our team plan the week. Answer briefly."). Under AI configuration choose Customize for this agent, then: • Agent harness: Buzz Agent (it ships with the app — nothing else to install). • LLM provider: Anthropic (or OpenAI). • Paste your API key, and choose a Model — the agent will not start without one. Press Create agent. The key stays on your computer; the agent runs there, so it only answers while the app is open.

Open a channel, choose Add agents and pick your agent. Then type a message that @mentions it by the name you gave it — for an agent named atlas, "@atlas give me three ideas for our first meeting". Agents answer only when mentioned, and by default only their owner (you) can ask them. The first reply can take a little while as the agent starts.

• No community under Your communities after a few minutes: make sure the payment in Step 1 finished and you signed in to the app with the same Google account, then reopen Create a community. • The agent never answers: check the model and API key in the agent's settings, keep the app open, and make sure you @mentioned it in a channel it was added to. • Anything else, or a refund within 14 days of your first payment: email support@solacebuzz.com.