> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.steerholm.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Get from zero to a policy-controlled agent in 2 minutes.

These five steps take you from a fresh install to an agent that can only reach what
you allow — a server to expose, an agent to authorize, and a scoped grant between
them. [Install Steerholm](/getting-started/installation) first if you haven't.

## 1. Add an MCP server

```bash theme={null}
holm add server git --command "uvx mcp-server-git"
```

This registers the [git MCP server](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/tree/main/src/git) —
structured git tools (history, diffs, commits) your agent can't get from a plain
shell. It runs via `uvx`, which ships with [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/). For
remote servers and more, see [Add a server](/guides/add-a-server).

## 2. Add an agent

```bash theme={null}
holm add agent my-agent
```

<Warning>
  Save the access key — it's shown only once.
</Warning>

## 3. Grant access

```bash theme={null}
holm grant my-agent git \
  --tool "git_log" --args "repo_path=/home/user/projects/**"
```

This lets `my-agent` read commit history (`git_log`) — but only for repos under
`/home/user/projects/`. Every other tool (`git_commit`, `git_reset`, …) is denied
by default, so the agent can inspect history but structurally cannot change it.

## 4. Connect your agent

Point your agent at the endpoint, with the access key as the Bearer token. For
example, Claude Code's `.mcp.json`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "steerholm": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:4767/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer steer_sk_..."
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Each client stores this differently — see [Add an agent](/guides/add-an-agent) for
VS Code, Cursor, and OpenCode. The agent sees only the servers and tools its policy
allows.

<Note>
  Configuring the agent with the key is the current manual step of adding an
  agent — Steerholm will set this connection up for you in a future release.
</Note>

## 5. Verify it works

Confirm the server is running and see the tools it exposes:

```bash theme={null}
holm show server git
```

Your agent should now list the tools its policy allows. If none appear,
see [Troubleshooting](/guides/troubleshooting).

## What happens at runtime

```
Agent sends: call_tool("git_log", {"repo_path": "/home/user/projects/app"})
  → the agent sends an HTTP request to http://127.0.0.1:4767/mcp
  → daemon resolves the agent from the Bearer token
  → daemon checks policy: git allowed, git_log granted, repo_path matches /home/user/projects/**
  → forwards to the git MCP server
  → returns the commit log to the agent
```

If the agent tries something unauthorized:

```
Agent sends: call_tool("git_commit", {"repo_path": "/home/user/projects/app", "message": "..."})
  → policy check fails: git_commit is not granted
  → returns AUTHORIZATION_DENIED (-31001)
  → agent receives error, does not retry
```