Configuring Agent Brain

Installation and configuration for Agent Brain document search with pluggable providers.

•Quick Setup
•Prerequisites
•Installation
•Provider Configuration
•Project Initialization
•Verification
•When Not to Use
•Reference Documentation

Quick Setup

Option A: Local with Ollama (FREE, No API Keys)

bash

# 1. Install packages
pip install agent-brain-rag agent-brain-cli

# 2. Install and start Ollama
brew install ollama  # macOS
ollama serve &
ollama pull nomic-embed-text
ollama pull llama3.2

# 3. Configure for Ollama
export EMBEDDING_PROVIDER=ollama
export EMBEDDING_MODEL=nomic-embed-text
export SUMMARIZATION_PROVIDER=ollama
export SUMMARIZATION_MODEL=llama3.2

# 4. Initialize and start
agent-brain init
agent-brain start
agent-brain status

Option B: Cloud Providers (Best Quality)

bash

# 1. Install packages
pip install agent-brain-rag agent-brain-cli

# 2. Configure API keys
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-proj-..."       # For embeddings
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."     # For summarization (optional)

# 3. Initialize and start
agent-brain init
agent-brain start
agent-brain status

Validation: After each step, verify success before proceeding to the next.

Prerequisites

Required

•Python 3.10+: Verify with python --version
•pip: Python package manager

Provider-Dependent

•OpenAI API Key: Required for OpenAI embeddings
•Ollama: Required for local/private deployments (no API key needed)

System Requirements

•~500MB RAM for typical document collections
•~1GB RAM with GraphRAG enabled
•Disk space for ChromaDB vector store

Installation

Standard Installation

bash

pip install agent-brain-rag agent-brain-cli

Verify installation succeeded:

bash

agent-brain --version

Expected: Version number displayed (e.g., 3.0.0 or current version)

With GraphRAG Support

bash

pip install "agent-brain-rag[graphrag]" agent-brain-cli
# Kuzu backend (optional):
pip install "agent-brain-rag[graphrag-kuzu]" agent-brain-cli

Enable GraphRAG (server)

bash

export ENABLE_GRAPH_INDEX=true            # Master switch (default: false)
export GRAPH_STORE_TYPE=simple            # or kuzu
export GRAPH_INDEX_PATH=./graph_index
export GRAPH_USE_CODE_METADATA=true       # Extract from AST metadata
export GRAPH_USE_LLM_EXTRACTION=true      # Use LLM extractor when available
export GRAPH_MAX_TRIPLETS_PER_CHUNK=10    # Triplet cap per chunk
export GRAPH_TRAVERSAL_DEPTH=2            # Default traversal depth
export GRAPH_EXTRACTION_MODEL=claude-haiku-4-5

Add the same values to your .env if you prefer file-based config.

Virtual Environment (Recommended)

bash

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # macOS/Linux
pip install agent-brain-rag agent-brain-cli

Installation Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
`pip not found`	Run `python -m ensurepip`
Permission denied	Use `pip install --user` or virtual env
Module not found after install	Restart terminal or activate venv
Wrong Python version	Use `python3.10 -m pip install`

Counter-example - Wrong approach:

bash

# DO NOT use sudo with pip
sudo pip install agent-brain-rag  # Wrong - creates permission issues

Correct approach:

bash

pip install --user agent-brain-rag  # Correct - user installation
# OR use virtual environment

Provider Configuration

Agent Brain supports pluggable providers with two configuration methods.

Method 1: Configuration File (Recommended)

Create a config.yaml file in one of these locations:

•Project-level: .claude/agent-brain/config.yaml
•User-level: ~/.agent-brain/config.yaml
•XDG config: ~/.config/agent-brain/config.yaml
•Current directory: ./config.yaml or ./agent-brain.yaml

yaml

# ~/.agent-brain/config.yaml
server:
  url: "http://127.0.0.1:8000"
  port: 8000

project:
  state_dir: null  # null = use default (.claude/agent-brain)

embedding:
  provider: "openai"
  model: "text-embedding-3-large"
  api_key: "sk-proj-..."  # Direct key, OR use api_key_env
  # api_key_env: "OPENAI_API_KEY"  # Read from env var

summarization:
  provider: "anthropic"
  model: "claude-haiku-4-5-20251001"
  api_key: "sk-ant-..."  # Direct key, OR use api_key_env
  # api_key_env: "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"

Config file search order: AGENT_BRAIN_CONFIG env → current dir → project dir → user home

Security: If storing API keys in config file:

•Set file permissions: chmod 600 ~/.agent-brain/config.yaml
•Add to .gitignore: config.yaml
•Never commit API keys to version control

Method 2: Environment Variables

Set variables in shell or .env file:

bash

export EMBEDDING_PROVIDER=openai
export EMBEDDING_MODEL=text-embedding-3-large
export SUMMARIZATION_PROVIDER=anthropic
export SUMMARIZATION_MODEL=claude-haiku-4-5-20251001
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-proj-..."
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."

Precedence order: CLI options → environment variables → config file → defaults

Provider Profiles

Fully Local with Ollama (No API Keys)

Best for privacy, air-gapped environments:

Config file (~/.agent-brain/config.yaml):

yaml

embedding:
  provider: "ollama"
  model: "nomic-embed-text"
  base_url: "http://localhost:11434/v1"

summarization:
  provider: "ollama"
  model: "llama3.2"
  base_url: "http://localhost:11434/v1"

Or environment variables:

bash

export EMBEDDING_PROVIDER=ollama
export EMBEDDING_MODEL=nomic-embed-text
export SUMMARIZATION_PROVIDER=ollama
export SUMMARIZATION_MODEL=llama3.2

Prerequisite: Ollama must be installed and running with models pulled.

Cloud (Best Quality)

Config file:

yaml

embedding:
  provider: "openai"
  model: "text-embedding-3-large"
  api_key: "sk-proj-..."

summarization:
  provider: "anthropic"
  model: "claude-haiku-4-5-20251001"
  api_key: "sk-ant-..."

Or environment variables:

bash

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-proj-..."
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."

Mixed (Balance Quality and Privacy)

yaml

embedding:
  provider: "openai"
  model: "text-embedding-3-large"
  api_key: "sk-proj-..."

summarization:
  provider: "ollama"
  model: "llama3.2"

Verify Configuration

bash

agent-brain verify

Counter-example - Common mistake:

bash

# DO NOT put keys in shell command history
OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-proj-abc123" agent-brain start  # Wrong - key in history

Correct approaches:

bash

# Use config file (keys are in file, not command line)
agent-brain start

# Or use environment from shell profile
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-proj-..."  # In ~/.bashrc
agent-brain start

Project Initialization

Initialize Project

Navigate to the project root and run:

bash

agent-brain init

Verify initialization succeeded:

bash

ls .claude/agent-brain/config.json

Expected: File exists

Start Server

bash

agent-brain start

Verify server started:

bash

agent-brain status

Expected output:

code

Server Status: healthy
Port: 49321
Documents: 0
Mode: project

Index Documents

bash

agent-brain index ./docs

Verify indexing succeeded:

bash

agent-brain status

Expected: Documents count > 0

Test Search

bash

agent-brain query "test query" --mode hybrid

Expected: Search results or "No results" (not an error)

Verification

Full Verification Checklist

Run each command and verify expected output:

• agent-brain --version shows version number
• echo ${OPENAI_API_KEY:+SET} shows "SET" (if using OpenAI)
• ls .claude/agent-brain/config.json file exists
• agent-brain status shows "healthy"
• agent-brain status shows document count > 0
• agent-brain query "test" returns results or "no matches"

GraphRAG Verification (if enabled)

• echo ${ENABLE_GRAPH_INDEX} shows "true"
• agent-brain status --json | jq '.graph_index' shows graph index info
• agent-brain query "class relationships" --mode graph returns results or graceful error
• agent-brain query "how it works" --mode multi returns fused results

Automated Verification

bash

agent-brain verify

This runs all checks and reports any issues.

When Not to Use

This skill focuses on installation and configuration. Do NOT use for:

•Searching documents - Use using-agent-brain skill instead
•Query optimization - Use using-agent-brain skill instead
•Understanding search modes - Use using-agent-brain skill instead
•GraphRAG queries - Use using-agent-brain skill instead

Scope boundary: Once Agent Brain is installed, configured, initialized, and verified healthy, switch to the using-agent-brain skill for search operations.

Common Setup Issues

Issue: Module Not Found

bash

pip install --force-reinstall agent-brain-rag agent-brain-cli

Issue: API Key Not Working

bash

# Test OpenAI key
curl -s https://api.openai.com/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENAI_API_KEY" | head -c 100

Expected: JSON response (not error)

Issue: Server Won't Start

bash

# Check for stale state
rm -f .claude/agent-brain/runtime.json
rm -f .claude/agent-brain/lock.json
agent-brain start

Issue: Ollama Connection Failed

bash

# Verify Ollama is running
curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags

Expected: JSON with model list

Issue: No Search Results

bash

agent-brain status  # Check document count

If count is 0, index documents:

bash

agent-brain index ./docs

Environment Variables Reference

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`AGENT_BRAIN_CONFIG`	No	-	Path to config.yaml file
`AGENT_BRAIN_URL`	No	`http://127.0.0.1:8000`	Server URL for CLI
`AGENT_BRAIN_STATE_DIR`	No	`.claude/agent-brain`	State directory path
`EMBEDDING_PROVIDER`	No	`openai`	Provider: openai, cohere, ollama
`EMBEDDING_MODEL`	No	`text-embedding-3-large`	Model name
`SUMMARIZATION_PROVIDER`	No	`anthropic`	Provider: anthropic, openai, gemini, grok, ollama
`SUMMARIZATION_MODEL`	No	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	Model name
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	Conditional	-	Required if using OpenAI
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Conditional	-	Required if using Anthropic
`GOOGLE_API_KEY`	Conditional	-	Required if using Gemini
`XAI_API_KEY`	Conditional	-	Required if using Grok
`COHERE_API_KEY`	Conditional	-	Required if using Cohere

Note: Environment variables override config file values. Config file values override defaults.

Reference Documentation

Guide	Description
Configuration Guide	Config file format and locations
Installation Guide	Detailed installation options
Provider Configuration	All provider settings
Troubleshooting Guide	Extended issue resolution

Support

•Issues: https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/agent-brain-plugin/issues
•Documentation: Reference guides in this skill

Configuring Agent Brain

Contents

Quick Setup

Option A: Local with Ollama (FREE, No API Keys)

Option B: Cloud Providers (Best Quality)

Prerequisites

Required

Provider-Dependent

System Requirements

Installation

Standard Installation

With GraphRAG Support

Enable GraphRAG (server)

Virtual Environment (Recommended)

Installation Troubleshooting

Provider Configuration

Method 1: Configuration File (Recommended)

Method 2: Environment Variables

Provider Profiles

Fully Local with Ollama (No API Keys)

Cloud (Best Quality)

Mixed (Balance Quality and Privacy)

Verify Configuration

Project Initialization

Initialize Project

Start Server

Index Documents

Test Search

Verification

Full Verification Checklist

GraphRAG Verification (if enabled)

Automated Verification

When Not to Use

Common Setup Issues

Issue: Module Not Found

Issue: API Key Not Working

Issue: Server Won't Start

Issue: Ollama Connection Failed

Issue: No Search Results

Environment Variables Reference

Reference Documentation

Support