Prerequisites
Otomat coordinates tools you already have. It ships none of them and stores none of their credentials.
Git
git on your PATH, with the repositories you want to work on cloned locally and able to reach their remote without an interactive prompt. A launch fetches the base branch from its remote, so a remote that asks for a password in the terminal refuses the launch in Otomat too — configure an SSH key or a credential helper first.
An agent runtime
At least one of:
- Claude Code — the
claudeCLI, signed in with your subscription or API key. - Codex — the
codexCLI, signed in.
Otomat detects the installed binaries and what each one supports (models, permission modes, reasoning levels) by reading their own help output; nothing is assumed across versions. Settings → Reference → Runtimes shows what was detected on the active host. Upgrading a CLI is picked up on the next launch.
Each runtime's own configuration still applies: Claude Code's settings and hooks, Codex's config.toml, project and managed rules. Otomat disables none of it.
GitHub CLI
gh (2.63 or newer), authenticated with gh auth login, is what Otomat uses to open pull requests, publish review comments, read pull-request state and merge. Without it you can still run agents and review diffs locally; the pull-request panel explains what is missing.
Linear (optional)
Otomat works with local issues alone. To mirror Linear issues, create a personal API key in Linear (under your account's Security & access settings) and add it under Settings → All hosts → Integrations. The key is stored as described under Credentials. Mapping a project to a Linear team happens per project — see Add a project.
Project readiness
Settings → Project → This project has a Run health check that probes every input a launch reads on the host that owns the project: repository path, remote and base branch, worktrees root, GitHub, Linear, runtimes, agent profiles and their skills. Each check names the one action that clears it. It installs, connects and repairs nothing.