Initial setup

API keys

Grab an OpenAI API key from https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys

Export the key into your local environment:

export OPENAI_API_KEY=<API_KEY>

Windows users, see here for how to edit environment variables.

To tweak the configuration for the current profile, see Configuration

Default configuration

LWE comes with sensible configuration defaults, and most users can start using it immediately.

Still, it’s a good idea to know how to view the configuration.

From the command line, simply run:

lwe config

Database

The API backend requires a database server to store conversation data. LWE leverages SQLAlchemy for this.

The simplest supported database is SQLite (which is already installed on most modern operating systems), but you can use any database that is supported by SQLAlchemy.

Check the database setting from the Default configuration, which will show you the currently configured connection string for a default SQLite database.

If you’re happy with that setting, nothing else needs to be done – the database will be created automatically in that location when you run the program.

Initial user creation and login

Once the database is configured, run the program with no arguments:

lwe

It will recognize no users have been created, and prompt you to create the first user:

  • Username: Required, no spaces or special characters

  • Email: Optional

  • Password: Optional, if not provided the user can log in without a password

You should be automatically logged in and ready to go!

Once you’re logged in, you have full access to all commands.

NOTE: Once multiple users are created, you’ll need to execute the /login command with the username to log in:

/login [username]

IMPORTANT NOTE: The user authorization system from the command line is admin party – meaning every logged in user has admin privileges, including editing and deleting other users.

Setting a per-user default preset

LWE supports configuring a default preset per user.

To do so, run /user-edit – selecting a default preset will be one of the options.

See Presets for more information on configuring presets.