Try Lemon on real work

A good first task is small enough to inspect and useful enough to keep. Explore a repository, ask a follow-up, then return to the conversation from your session list. These walkthroughs show what to look for at each step.

Before you begin

Complete the quickstart to install Lemon and connect a model provider. The examples below use the installed release. Source contributors can use ./bin/lemon-tui for the terminal and ./bin/lemon web for the browser from their Lemon checkout.

1. Get oriented in a project

From a repository you want to understand, start Lemon:

lemon

Try this prompt:

Inspect this repository without changing files. Explain what it does, identify
its main entry points, and find the canonical test command. Cite the files you
used, and flag anything you could not verify.

Watch the tool activity and final response. You should be able to connect each claim to a file in the repository. Follow up with a narrower question, such as “Where would I add a new command?” or “Explain the startup path.”

Use /status to inspect the session and /usage to see reported usage. With an empty input, press Ctrl+C to abort an active run. If you have a draft, the first press clears it.

2. Leave and come back

Run /session info to see the current session key. Open the session picker with Ctrl+X or /sessions, then return to this conversation. You can also use:

/resume <session-key>
/history 20

Restart Lemon and select the same session. Its stored transcript should still be available, so you can continue the discussion without pasting the previous conversation. The CLI guide covers search, titles, pinning, archive, and export.

3. Open the browser

The full release includes a local browser interface:

lemon web

The launcher reuses a healthy runtime or starts one, waits for the Web health check, prints the URL, and opens your browser. Use lemon web --no-open when you only need the address. The default is http://127.0.0.1:4080/; use the printed address if you changed your configuration.

Open a session and send a short prompt. The browser checks provider readiness, streams session activity, accepts bounded file uploads, and shows Stop while a run is active. Read Use Lemon in a Browser for access control, session management, and recovery.

For a simple runtime check, use the host and port printed by the launcher:

curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:4080/healthz

A successful response checks Web health. The completed model turn from the quickstart separately checks provider access and the chat path.

4. Make it your own

Try next	Why it helps
Create a profile	Give a distinct kind of work its own workspace and conversation
Add a skill	Reuse instructions for a recurring task
Review a source for learning	Turn selected context into reviewed memory or skill drafts
Connect Telegram or Discord	Reach your runtime from a messaging app
Explore LemonSim	Evaluate agents in replay-verifiable simulation worlds

If something fails

lemon doctor --verbose
lemon doctor --bundle

Doctor reports configuration and runtime diagnostics; the second command writes a redacted support bundle. Review it before sharing. For source installs, use ./bin/lemon doctor with the same flags. The support guide explains what to include in a report.

These walkthroughs validate individual local paths. Consult the support boundaries and release checklist for integration-specific guarantees and production criteria.