Quickstart: run your first Line
Set up your factory in the dashboard and let autonomous agents work on a real task. A Line defines the workflow; you can watch and steer its first run.
Prefer your coding agent to prepare the workflow? Use Quickstart with a coding agent.
Before you begin
You need a GitHub account with access to the repository you want agents to work on. Permission to approve the Islo GitHub app is optional: an organization owner can approve it later. Linear and Slack are optional unless your chosen Line needs them.
Start in the dashboard
Open app.islo.dev, create an account or sign in, and follow the onboarding wizard.
Connect tools
Select Connect next to GitHub and choose the repositories Islo may access. You can also connect Linear and Slack. See the GitHub, Linear, and Slack guides for connection details.
If the GitHub app needs an organization owner’s approval, you can continue setup while you wait. You cannot create or run the Line until the owner approves it. Select Next to continue.
Create factory
Enter Name your factory and select Create factory. The wizard explains the process in three points:
- Work arrives from a ticket, pull request, bug report, or connected tool.
- Agents do the work through the workflow you choose.
- You stay in control by inspecting progress, answering questions, and approving what ships.
Create machine
Choose a name, a size, and optional repositories, then select Create machine. A Machine is the environment every Agent runs on, with your code and tools prepared for it.
Its first build runs in the background. Continue to the next step while it builds.
Run your line
Pick a Suggested Line. Each one is a fixed sequence of Agents; its card shows how many Agents it has and what triggers it.
The wizard starts in automatic mode. For a first run you can inspect now, choose Review every new PR, which only needs GitHub, then select or trigger manually to reveal the input field. Paste a full GitHub PR URL from a repository you connected. Other Lines ask for a full Linear issue URL or a bug description with reproduction details and the repository.
Select Create line and run, or Create line and queue run if the Machine is still building. A queued manual run waits for the Machine to be ready. This creates the Line and enables its future automation too: Review every new PR reviews every new pull request in all repositories connected to your tenant. Select Finish setup when offered.
If the Line was already created, select or trigger manually, enter its input, then select Run line or Queue run. To set up automation without starting a run now, stay in automatic mode and select Create line, then Finish setup.
Open the run
After starting or queueing a manual run, select Open the run on the finish screen. If you only created the Line in automatic mode, the finish screen shows First run: Not started and Open the line instead; open the Line to view its automation and start work.
Use Timeline to inspect the stages and events, and Chat to talk to the Agents. You can leave the page while agents work and return to check the result.
What you’ll see
The wizard starts at Connect your tools, with GitHub required to continue:
To return later, open Runs in the factory sidebar. Select a row to reopen its Timeline and Chat. From the finish screen, Open the factory also takes you back to your factory.
If something blocks you
Ask an owner of your GitHub organization to approve the Islo app. You can continue setup and browse Lines. Return to Connect tools with Check approval after approval; the Line cannot be created until then.
Select or trigger manually and enter the Line’s input, then select Create line and queue run (or Queue run if the Line already exists). The manual run starts when the build is ready. Creating a Line in automatic mode does not start a run. The Machine step also shows [name] is building in the background.
The Line step calls this The machine build failed. Select Open Machines, inspect the build failure, fix the setup, and rebuild. Return to the wizard when the Machine is ready.
If you see Linear isn’t connected, Slack isn’t connected, or Linear and Slack aren’t connected, select the matching Connect action and return to Connect tools. Connect the named tools or choose a Line whose requirements you already meet.
Select Add credits to open billing, then return to the wizard. Credits are needed to create a Machine and start work.
Ask your Islo contact to enable Machines for your account, then return to Create machine.
What to run next
Pick a goal to go deeper
Related resources
How Islo works explains the pieces. Operate a run covers steering and retries. Once your factory exists, delegate work from a connected tool. See Troubleshooting for deployment and runtime errors.