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Quick Start Guide

Welcome to Tafy Studio! This guide will help you get a robot up and running in 30 minutes or less.

Prerequisites​

Before you begin, ensure you have:

  • A computer running macOS, Linux, or Windows with WSL2
  • Docker installed and running
  • At least one robot hardware platform (ESP32, Raspberry Pi, etc.)
  • Basic familiarity with command-line tools

Installation​

The easiest way to get started is using our installation script:

curl -fsSL https://get.tafy.sh | bash

This will:

  1. Install the Tafy CLI tool
  2. Set up required dependencies
  3. Configure your system for robot development

Your First Robot​

Step 1: Initialize a New Robot Project​

tafy init my-first-robot
cd my-first-robot

This creates a new robot project with:

  • Pre-configured Node-RED flows
  • Example hardware configurations
  • Basic teleoperation setup

Step 2: Flash Your Hardware​

Connect your ESP32 or other supported microcontroller:

# Auto-detect connected hardware
tafy hardware detect

# Flash the firmware
tafy hardware flash

Step 3: Start the Hub​

Launch the Tafy Studio hub on your development machine:

tafy hub start

This starts:

Step 4: Connect Your Robot​

Power on your robot hardware. It will automatically:

  1. Connect to your network
  2. Discover the hub
  3. Register its capabilities
  4. Appear in the web UI

Step 5: Test Movement​

Open the web UI and:

  1. Click on your robot in the device list
  2. Select "Teleoperation" mode
  3. Use WASD keys or gamepad to control

🎉 Congratulations! You have a working robot!

Next Steps​

Customize Your Robot​

  • Add Sensors: Edit flows in Node-RED to process sensor data
  • Create Behaviors: Build autonomous behaviors using visual programming
  • Configure Hardware: Modify HAL mappings for your specific setup

Learn More​

Join the Community​

Troubleshooting​

Robot Not Appearing in UI​

  1. Check that both devices are on the same network
  2. Verify NATS is running: tafy hub status
  3. Check robot logs: tafy logs <robot-name>

Connection Issues​

  • Ensure firewall allows ports 3000, 4222, 1880
  • Try manual connection: tafy connect <hub-ip>
  • Check network isolation settings

Hardware Not Detected​

  • Install drivers for your platform
  • Try different USB ports/cables
  • Run with elevated permissions if needed

Getting Help​

If you encounter issues:

  1. Check the troubleshooting guide
  2. Search existing GitHub issues
  3. Ask in Discussions
  4. Report bugs via GitHub Issues

Remember: The goal is to get you moving in 30 minutes. If it takes longer, we want to hear about it so we can improve!