Installation

Prerequisites

Before installing Eddie, make sure you have:

• ✅ Node.js 18+ - Download here
• ✅ npm or pnpm - Comes with Node.js
• ✅ OpenAI API Key - Get one here
• ✅ Obsidian (optional) - Download here
• ✅ VS Code with Claude Code (optional) - For AI assistance

Quick Install

Create a new Eddie project with one command:

npx create-eddie my-docs

This will:

1. Create my-docs/ directory with Eddie structure
2. Install VitePress and eddie-vector-search
3. Initialize empty vector store
4. Create sample documentation

Setup Steps

1. Navigate to Project

cd my-docs

2. Configure Environment

Copy the example environment file:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and add your OpenAI API key:

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...your-key-here

3. Start Development Server

npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173 to view your site.

Optional: Open with Obsidian

Eddie is designed to work seamlessly with Obsidian:

1. Launch Obsidian
2. Click "Open folder as vault"
3. Select your Eddie project folder (e.g., my-docs)

Now you can:

• Edit markdown files in Obsidian
• Use wikilinks: [[Page]] or [text](link.md)
• See changes live in VitePress (with npm run dev running)

Optional: Open with VS Code + Claude Code

For AI-assisted writing:

1. Open project in VS Code:

   code .

2. Launch Claude Code extension

3. Ask Claude to help with documentation:

   "Create a getting started guide for this project"

Verify Installation

Run the vector search test:

npm run search "documentation"

You should see search results from the sample docs.

Next Steps

• Getting Started - Create your first document
• Workflow - Understand the Eddie process
• Vector Search - Learn semantic search

Troubleshooting

"Module not found" errors

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

Vector search not working

Make sure .env has your OpenAI API key:

cat .env
# Should show: OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

Re-index documents:

npm run reindex

VitePress not starting

Check Node.js version:

node --version
# Should be v18.0.0 or higher