Quickstart
Install Wendy, set up a device, and deploy your first app in four steps.
What is Wendy?
Wendy makes building apps for robots, drones, and edge AI devices feel like building a phone app. Connect your device to your laptop with a USB-C cable, run wendy run, and Wendy builds your app, installs it on the device, and streams its logs back to you. You don't need a monitor, a keyboard, or SSH, and the device doesn't need internet access.
Wendy has three parts:
- On your device: WendyOS, an open source Linux operating system for NVIDIA Jetson and Raspberry Pi. Already running Linux? Install Wendy Agent instead.
- On your computer: the
wendyCLI, which sets up devices and deploys your apps. - Optional: Wendy Cloud, for deploying to and managing devices from anywhere.
Write your app in Python, Swift, Rust, C++, TypeScript, or anything else that runs in a container.
Let's get your first app running. It takes four steps. No hardware yet? The simulator runs the real WendyOS on your computer.
1. Install the Wendy CLI
curl -fsSL https://install.wendy.dev/cli.sh | bash
wendy --versionwinget install WendyLabs.Wendy --source wingetThe simulator needs macOS or Linux. On Windows, set up a physical device in step 2.
You also need Docker running, because Wendy builds your app into a container image.
2. Set up a device
Choose where your app will run:
No hardware needed. Wendy creates the simulator for you in step 4.
On macOS, Wendy installs QEMU for you when needed. On Debian or Ubuntu, install it now:
sudo apt install qemu-system-arm qemu-efi-aarch64The simulator has no camera, GPU, or GPIO. More about the simulator
For Jetson Orin Nano and AGX Orin:
- Connect the Jetson's NVMe SSD to your computer with a USB adapter.
- Run
wendy install, choose your Jetson, then choose the SSD. The remaining prompts are optional. - Put the SSD in the Jetson, connect it to your computer with USB-C, and power it on.
- After 1–2 minutes, confirm that
wendy discoverlists it.
- With the Thor off, connect your computer to the USB-C port next to HDMI. Connect power to the other USB-C port.
- Enter recovery mode: press Power, hold the middle Force Recovery button, tap Reset, then release Force Recovery.
- Run
wendy installand choose the Thor. It flashes over USB, so you need no external drive. - When flashing finishes, power-cycle the Thor. After 1–2 minutes, confirm that
wendy discoverlists it.
For Raspberry Pi 5, 4, or 3:
- Insert the microSD card into your computer.
- Run
wendy install, choose your Pi, then choose the card. The remaining prompts are optional. - Put the card in the Pi and connect the Pi to your computer with USB-C. A Pi 3 has no USB connection, so connect it to your network instead.
- After 1–2 minutes, confirm that
wendy discoverlists it.
Use any Linux machine, such as Ubuntu 22.04 or later on ARM64 or x86-64. The video uses an NVIDIA DGX Spark. Run this on that machine:
curl -fsSL https://install.wendy.dev/agent.sh | bashKeep it on the same network as your development machine, and confirm that wendy discover lists it. Full guide
Using a Mac, an ESP32, or a Unitree G1? Each has its own guide.
3. Create an app
wendy init hello-wendy --target wendyos --language node --template simple-api --assistant skip --git-init no
cd hello-wendyThis creates a small TypeScript web server. You do not need Node.js installed, because Wendy builds it in a container.
4. Run it
wendy runSelect your device and press Enter.
For the simulator, press Tab to open the Simulator tab, press c to create it, and choose Generic WendyOS. The first run downloads the WendyOS image, so it takes a few minutes.
Wendy builds the app, deploys it, and streams its logs. When the app is ready, Wendy prints App reachable at with its URL and opens it in your browser:
{"message":"hello-world"}Your first Wendy app is running
That response came from your device. Edit src/index.ts, then run wendy run --watch to redeploy every time you save.
Stuck? See troubleshoot your first deployment.
