Project initialization
The devboy init command provides an interactive wizard to create a .devboy.toml configuration file and securely store API tokens in your OS keychain.
Basic usage
Interactive mode (recommended)
Run without arguments for a guided setup:
This will:
- Prompt you for a context name (defaults to current directory name)
- Let you select which providers to configure (GitHub, GitLab, ClickUp, Jira)
- Guide you through each provider's configuration
- Optionally store API tokens securely in your OS keychain
Non-interactive mode
For CI/CD or scripted setups, use the --yes flag:
This automatically detects your Git provider from the origin remote and creates a minimal configuration.
Command options
Examples
Preview what would be created
Output:
Initialize with Claude Code integration
This creates the configuration and registers devboy as an MCP server in Claude Code, enabling AI-assisted development workflows.
Force reinitialize with backup
If .devboy.toml already exists, this creates a timestamped backup (e.g., .devboy.toml.backup.20250316_143022) before overwriting.
Specify custom context name
Creates configuration with context named "production" instead of the directory name.
Initialize with MCP proxy server
This creates configuration with both the auto-detected Git provider and a proxy connection. The token is automatically stored in keychain as proxy.my-server.token.
You can also use a custom token key:
Initialize with proxy only (no Git provider)
If you only want to configure a proxy server without auto-detecting Git remotes:
This skips Git remote detection and creates a minimal config with only the proxy server configured.
See MCP proxy for more details on proxy configuration.
Auto-detection
When using --yes or in interactive mode, devboy automatically detects:
- GitHub repositories from SSH (
git@github.com:owner/repo.git) or HTTPS (https://github.com/owner/repo) remotes - GitLab repositories from SSH (
git@gitlab.com:owner/repo.git) or HTTPS (https://gitlab.com/owner/repo) remotes
The detected provider is pre-selected in interactive mode or automatically configured in --yes mode.
Token storage
Tokens are stored securely using your operating system's native credential manager:
- macOS: Keychain Services
- Windows: Credential Manager
- Linux: Secret Service (GNOME Keyring / KWallet)
In interactive mode, you'll be prompted to store tokens. If a token already exists, you'll be asked whether to overwrite it.
Generated configuration
The init command creates a .devboy.toml file in the current directory:
Next steps
After initialization:
- Verify your configuration:
cat .devboy.toml - Test provider connection:
devboy test github(or gitlab, clickup, jira) - Start using devboy:
devboy issuesordevboy mcp
See the Configuration guide for advanced configuration options.