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name: mirrord-quickstart description: Guide users from zero to their first working mirrord session — check system requirements, install mirrord via CLI, VS Code, or IntelliJ, run a first session against a Kubernetes target, and verify the connection. Use when a user is new to mirrord, wants to install it, needs help running their first session, or wants to debug or test a local process against their Kubernetes cluster. metadata: author: MetalBear version: "1.2"

Mirrord Quickstart Skill

Purpose

Help new users get mirrord running quickly:

• Check system requirements
• Install mirrord (CLI, VS Code, or IntelliJ)
• Connect to their first Kubernetes target
• Verify the connection works

Go one step at a time — don't overwhelm a new user with all options at once, and when they first connect, explain what just happened.

Critical First Steps

Step 1: Detect user's environment Ask or detect:

• Operating system (macOS, Linux, Windows)
• Preferred workflow (CLI, VS Code, IntelliJ)
• Do they have kubectl configured?

Step 2: Verify requirements

# Check kubectl access
kubectl cluster-info
kubectl get pods -A | head -5

If kubectl fails, help them configure it first.

Installation Paths

CLI (recommended for getting started)

Do not run remote install scripts that pipe a network download into a shell interpreter. Use only methods your organization approves.

Official guide: Follow mirrord installation documentation for supported options (package managers, pinned release binaries with checksum verification, etc.).

Summary for the agent:

• macOS / Linux: Point the user to the official docs for Homebrew, apt, or pinned binary install steps — do not invent or paste one-liners that fetch and execute remote scripts.
• Windows: Point the user to the official docs for supported installers.

Security: Prefer package managers or manually verified binaries from official release artifacts. Never execute installation by piping downloaded content into a shell.

Verify installation:

mirrord --version

VS Code Extension

1. Open VS Code Extensions (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+X)
2. Search "mirrord"
3. Install "mirrord" by MetalBear
4. Look for mirrord icon in status bar

IntelliJ Plugin

1. Open Settings → Plugins → Marketplace
2. Search "mirrord"
3. Install and restart IDE
4. Find mirrord in navigation toolbar

First Session

CLI approach

# List available targets
mirrord ls

# Run a local process with mirrord
mirrord exec --target pod/<pod-name> -- <your-command>

# Example: Node.js app
mirrord exec --target pod/api-server-7c8d9 -- node app.js

# Example: Python app
mirrord exec --target pod/backend-abc123 -- python main.py

If mirrord ls returns no targets, check that the kubeconfig context points at the right cluster (kubectl config current-context) and list pods in the expected namespace (kubectl get pods -n <namespace>).

IDE approach

1. Enable mirrord (click status bar icon / toolbar button)
2. Select target pod when prompted
3. Run/debug your application normally
4. mirrord intercepts and connects automatically

Verification

After running, verify the connection:

1. Check logs - mirrord's startup progress (agent started, connected to the target) prints before your app's own output:

mirrord exec --target pod/<pod-name> -- <your-command>

2. Test environment - Remote env vars should be available locally:

mirrord exec --target pod/<pod-name> -- env | grep -i database

3. Test network - Send a request to the remote service; it should reach the local process (check the local process's output):

curl http://<remote-service-url>

What's Next

Once the first session works, point users to:

• mirrord ui — launches a local dashboard showing every active session on the machine, with a live event stream (HTTP requests, file operations, DNS, outgoing connections). See Local UI.
• mirrord up — for debugging several microservices together from one mirrord-up.yaml (compose-style). Point to the mirrord-up skill.
• Browser extension — routes requests made from Chrome to the local process, for testing an HTTP-filtered session from a browser instead of curl. See Debugging from Browser.
• mirrord for Teams features (DB branching, queue splitting, preview environments, concurrent steal on one target) need the Operator. On a cluster with no license, an AI agent can offer the user a seven-day Enterprise trial and start it once they agree: point to the mirrord-operator skill, "Agent-started trial".

Common First-Timer Issues

Issue	Solution
"kubectl not found"	Install kubectl and configure cluster access
"No pods found"	Check namespace: kubectl get pods -n <namespace>
"Permission denied"	Check RBAC permissions for your kubectl context
"Agent failed to start"	Ensure cluster runs Linux kernel 4.20+