Getting Started
Quick Start

Quick Start

Get up and running with Hydra in 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

Need help setting up? See our Prerequisites Guide for detailed installation instructions.

For a more detailed walkthrough, see our 15-Minute Tutorial.

Create Your Account

  1. Go to hydra.opiusai.com (opens in a new tab)
  2. Click "Get Started"
  3. Sign up with GitHub or email
  4. Verify your email if required

Create Your First Workflow

  1. From your Dashboard, click "New Workflow"
  2. Choose "Start from scratch" or select a template
  3. Give it a name: "My First Workflow"

Enter this simple code review workflow:

{
  "$schema": "https://hydra.opiusai.com/schemas/workflow/v1.0.json",
  "manifest_version": "1.0",
  "name": "Code Review",
  "intent": "Review code changes and provide feedback",
  "steps": [
    {
      "id": "analyze",
      "name": "Analyze changes",
      "action": "analyze_code",
      "parameters": {
        "focus": "code quality, security, performance"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "feedback",
      "name": "Provide feedback",
      "action": "generate_code",
      "depends_on": ["analyze"],
      "parameters": {
        "focus": "actionable suggestions"
      }
    }
  ]
}
  1. Click "Save"

Connect Your IDE

First, deploy your workflow:

  1. Click Deploy on your workflow
  2. Select your target IDE adapters
  3. Copy the MCP endpoint URL from the deployment details

Claude Code

Create or edit ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hydra": {
      "url": "YOUR_MCP_ENDPOINT_URL"
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_MCP_ENDPOINT_URL with the MCP endpoint from your deployment (Dashboard → Deployments).

Restart Claude Code after saving.

Run Your Workflow

In Claude Code, type:

Run my Code Review workflow on the current file

Claude will execute each step and provide structured feedback.

What Just Happened?

  1. Hydra served your workflow via MCP to your IDE
  2. Your IDE's AI parsed the manifest and understood the steps
  3. Each step executed in order, with dependencies respected
  4. Results were returned in your IDE's native format

Common First Steps

Browse the Marketplace

Instead of creating from scratch, explore community workflows:

  1. Go to Marketplace
  2. Find a workflow you like
  3. Click Fork to create your own copy
  4. Customize as needed

Modify Your Workflow

  1. Go to My Workflows in Dashboard
  2. Click on your workflow
  3. Use the Visual Builder to:
    • Add new steps
    • Modify parameters
    • Reorder dependencies
  4. Save your changes

Share Your Workflow

Ready to share?

  1. Open your workflow
  2. Click Publish
  3. Add:
    • Description
    • Category
    • Tags
  4. Click Publish to Marketplace

Troubleshooting Quick Start Issues

"Hydra not found" in IDE

  1. Verify your MCP URL is correct
  2. Restart your IDE completely
  3. Check Troubleshooting Guide

Workflow doesn't execute

  1. Ensure workflow is saved (not just drafted)
  2. Check your IDE has MCP enabled
  3. Try listing workflows first: "List my Hydra workflows"

Auth errors

  1. Sign out and back in to Hydra
  2. Regenerate your API key if using Codex
  3. Clear browser cookies and retry

Next Steps

Full TutorialCore ConceptsDashboard GuideExamples
15-Minute TutorialCore Concepts