Quick Start

This guide walks you through installing Renku, running onboarding with renku launch, and picking your first blueprint.

Platform Support

Platform	Recommended setup	Notes
macOS (Apple Silicon)	CLI + browser viewer	Full onboarding and UI workflow
macOS (Intel)	CLI + browser viewer	Full onboarding and UI workflow
Linux	CLI + browser viewer	Full onboarding and UI workflow
Windows	CLI + browser viewer (WSL2)	Use a Linux distro in WSL2

Choose your path from the Install Page.

Install and Launch

Note

You need to install these prerequisites manually before running Renku:

• Node.js
• FFmpeg + FFprobe

On Windows, these must be installed inside WSL2. On macOS and Linux, install them on the host system.

1. Install Renku CLI globally:

npm install -g @gorenku/cli

2. Launch Renku UI flow:

renku launch

If your CLI config does not exist yet (for example ~/.config/renku/cli-config.json is missing), Renku automatically opens the onboarding wizard instead of failing.

Onboarding

When you open Renku for the first time, a five-step wizard walks you through the essential configuration.

Step 1 — Welcome

The welcome screen introduces Renku and shows how many steps remain. Click Next to begin.

Step 2 — Storage Setup

Choose a folder where Renku will store your blueprints, generated artifacts, and build outputs. You can type a path directly or click Browse to pick one. This folder becomes your workspace root. Renku will also copy the catalog of built-in blueprints, and supported models definitions in this folder.

Caution

The application copies the blueprint out of the catalog folder to your workspace. Never modify the contents of the catalog folder directly, as your changes will be lost on the next update.

Always copy the blueprint to your workspace and modify it there if you do it manually.

Step 3 — API Keys - Media Generation Providers

Select at least one media-generation provider and enter its API key. Available providers:

Provider	What it does	Key name
fal.ai	Audio, Image, Video generation	FAL_KEY
Replicate	Audio, Image, Video generation	REPLICATE_API_TOKEN
ElevenLabs	AI voice and audio generation	ELEVENLABS_API_KEY

Each provider card has a Get API key link that takes you to the provider’s dashboard where you can create a key.

Caution

Using some image editing capabilities such as camera positioning requires the fal.ai provider.

Step 4 — API Keys - LLM Providers

Select at least one prompt/LLM provider and enter its API key:

Provider	What it does	Key name
OpenAI	LLM models for story board and prompt generation	OPENAI_API_KEY
Vercel AI Gateway	Unified gateway to Claude, Gemini, and open-source models	AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY

Click Finish to save your configuration. The app stores your API keys locally in ~/.config/renku/.env.

Step 5 — All Done

A summary screen confirms your workspace path and lists every provider you configured. Click Open Renku Home to enter the app.

Pick a Blueprint

After onboarding you land on the home screen, which shows the blueprint library — a collection of ready-made video generation workflows.

Browse the library and select a blueprint to get started. Each blueprint defines a complete video generation workflow — from storyboard generation through media creation to final composition.

Building Your Own Blueprints

The built-in library is a great starting point, but you can also create your own blueprints from scratch.

Using AI Skills

The fastest way to create custom blueprints is through AI coding assistants. Tools like Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, and OpenCode can generate Renku blueprints for you when you add the Renku skill to your assistant. The skill teaches the AI how to structure blueprints, which producers are available, and how to wire everything together.

See the Using Skills guide for setup instructions.

Writing Blueprint YAML Directly

If you prefer full control, you can author blueprint YAML files by hand. Blueprints are declarative — you define inputs, producers, connections, and loops in a structured format.

See the Blueprint Authoring guide for the complete reference.