Getting started

10-minute path from zero to a running Arqen application.

Prerequisites

• Rust 1.96+ (edition 2024): install via rustup
• pnpm (for building docs only): install via npm install -g pnpm
• Docker (optional): needed for thingd HTTP mode and arqen up services

Verify your Rust installation:

rustc --version   # should show 1.96 or newer
cargo --version

Install the CLI

From a repository checkout:

cargo install --path crates/arqen --features cli

Or run directly without installing:

cargo run -p arqen --features cli --bin arqen -- --help

Create a project

arqen new hello-api
cd hello-api

This generates:

hello-api/
  Cargo.toml          # depends on arqen 0.6 with logging + http-server
  README.md
  rustfmt.toml        # formatting config
  clippy.toml         # lint config
  src/
    main.rs           # entry point
    app/mod.rs        # AppModule (Module trait)

Run the project

cargo run

Expected output:

Arqen v0.5.0
API:    http://127.0.0.1:8888
Health: http://127.0.0.1:8888/health
Docs:   http://127.0.0.1:8888/docs
Agent:  http://127.0.0.1:8888/agent
Storage: memory

Test the endpoints

curl http://127.0.0.1:8888/health
curl http://127.0.0.1:8888/ready
curl http://127.0.0.1:8888/agent
curl http://127.0.0.1:8888/agent/manifest
curl http://127.0.0.1:8888/docs

Lint and test

arqen lint         # check formatting + clippy
arqen test         # run all tests

Add your first module

arqen generate module users

This creates src/users/mod.rs. Register it in src/app/mod.rs:

mod users;

// In AppModule:
fn dependencies(&self) -> Vec<&str> {
    vec!["users"]
}

Add your first tool

arqen generate tool get_user

This creates src/tools/get_user.rs. Register it in your module's register() method:

fn register(&self, ctx: &mut ModuleContext<'_>) -> Result<(), AppError> {
    crate::tools::get_user::register(ctx)?;
    Ok(())
}

Add your first job

arqen generate job send_email

This creates src/jobs/send_email.rs with a JobHandler stub.

Run from the workspace

If you prefer not to install the CLI:

cargo run -p arqen --features cli --bin arqen -- new hello-api

Next steps

• Commands - full CLI reference
• Configuration - environment variables and config files
• Modules - module composition and lifecycle
• Typed tools - structured tool definitions
• Logging - structured logs, fields, and redaction
• Application hardening - production boundaries
• Durable jobs - background job processing
• Authentication - JWT and API key auth
• Validation - request validation
• Health - health and readiness checks
• Deployment - production deployment
• Examples - code snippets and examples