Create Voltagent

Create VoltAgent Skill

Complete guide for creating new VoltAgent projects. Includes the CLI flow and a full manual setup.

Official documentation: https://voltagent.dev/docs/

Start Here

When a user wants to create a VoltAgent project, ask:

"How would you like to create your VoltAgent project?"

1. Automatic Setup - run npm create voltagent-app@latest and handle prompts
2. Interactive Guide - walk through each step and confirm choices
3. Manual Installation - set up dependencies and a full working example

Based on their choice:

• Option 1: run the CLI, capture server and provider choices, and finish setup
• Option 2: gather server, provider, and API key, then run the CLI
• Option 3: follow the manual steps below

Before You Start

• Node.js 20+ (>= 20.19.0 recommended)
• Git (optional, for auto git init)
• An API key for your model provider (not needed for Ollama)

Fast Path

Create a new VoltAgent project with one command:

npm create voltagent-app@latest

Other package managers:

pnpm create voltagent-app@latest
yarn create voltagent-app@latest
bun create voltagent-app@latest

CLI Flow

The create-voltagent-app command:

1. Asks for a project name (default: my-voltagent-app)
2. Prompts for a server framework (Hono or Elysia)
3. Prompts for an AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, Mistral, Ollama)
4. Prompts for an API key when required
5. Installs dependencies and scaffolds the project
6. Writes .env, README.md, tsconfig.json, tsdown.config.ts, and Docker files
7. Initializes a git repo when available

CLI Walkthrough

1. Run:

   npm create voltagent-app@latest
   

2. When prompted:

   • Choose a server (Hono recommended or Elysia)
   • Choose an AI provider
   • Enter your API key (skip if using Ollama)

3. Start the dev server:

   cd <your-project-directory>
   npm run dev
   

4. If you chose Ollama:

   ollama pull llama3.2
   

CLI Flags and Examples

Create in a specific directory:

npm create voltagent-app@latest my-voltagent-app

Download an example from the VoltAgent repo:

npm create voltagent-app@latest -- --example with-workflow

pnpm / yarn / bun equivalents:

pnpm create voltagent-app@latest -- --example with-workflow
yarn create voltagent-app@latest -- --example with-workflow
bun create voltagent-app@latest -- --example with-workflow

Notes:

• Examples are pulled from https://github.com/voltagent/voltagent/tree/main/examples
• Some package managers require -- before --example.
• After an example download, run npm install and npm run dev.

Generated Layout

my-voltagent-app/
|-- src/
|   |-- index.ts
|   |-- tools/
|   |   |-- index.ts
|   |   `-- weather.ts
|   `-- workflows/
|       `-- index.ts
|-- .env
|-- .voltagent/
|-- Dockerfile
|-- .dockerignore
|-- .gitignore
|-- README.md
|-- package.json
|-- tsconfig.json
`-- tsdown.config.ts

If you run the docs sync script in this repo, you may also see packages/core/docs generated.

Env Keys

The CLI writes .env with your provider key (or a placeholder). Common keys:

OPENAI_API_KEY=...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=...
GOOGLE_GENERATIVE_AI_API_KEY=...
GROQ_API_KEY=...
MISTRAL_API_KEY=...
OLLAMA_HOST=http://localhost:11434

VOLTAGENT_PUBLIC_KEY=...
VOLTAGENT_SECRET_KEY=...

Manual Setup (Full)

If you prefer not to use the CLI, follow these steps:

Step 1: Create the project directory

mkdir my-voltagent-app && cd my-voltagent-app
npm init -y
mkdir -p src/tools src/workflows .voltagent

Step 2: Install dependencies

Choose one server package:

npm install @voltagent/core @voltagent/libsql @voltagent/logger @voltagent/server-hono @voltagent/cli ai zod dotenv

or

npm install @voltagent/core @voltagent/libsql @voltagent/logger @voltagent/server-elysia @voltagent/cli ai zod dotenv

Dev dependencies:

npm install -D typescript tsx tsdown @types/node @biomejs/biome

Step 3: Add scripts to package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "tsx watch --env-file=.env ./src",
    "build": "tsdown",
    "start": "node dist/index.js",
    "lint": "biome check ./src",
    "lint:fix": "biome check --write ./src",
    "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
    "volt": "volt"
  }
}

volt is the VoltAgent CLI. Use it for project utilities (for example init, deploy, eval, prompts, tunnel, update).

Step 4: Configure TypeScript

Create tsconfig.json:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "module": "ES2022",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "strict": true,
    "outDir": "dist",
    "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": ["src"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist"]
}

Step 5: Add tsdown config

Create tsdown.config.ts:

import { defineConfig } from "tsdown";

export default defineConfig({
  entry: ["./src/index.ts"],
  sourcemap: true,
  outDir: "dist",
});

Step 6: Create .env

OPENAI_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
VOLTAGENT_PUBLIC_KEY=your-public-key
VOLTAGENT_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
NODE_ENV=development

For Ollama:

OLLAMA_HOST=http://localhost:11434

Step 7: Create a tool

Create src/tools/weather.ts:

import { createTool } from "@voltagent/core";
import { z } from "zod";

export const weatherTool = createTool({
  name: "getWeather",
  description: "Get the current weather for a specific location",
  parameters: z.object({
    location: z.string().describe("City or location to get weather for"),
  }),
  execute: async ({ location }) => {
    return {
      weather: {
        location,
        temperature: 21,
        condition: "Sunny",
        humidity: 45,
        windSpeed: 8,
      },
      message: `Current weather in ${location}: 21 C and sunny.`,
    };
  },
});

Create src/tools/index.ts:

export { weatherTool } from "./weather";

Step 8: Create a workflow

Create src/workflows/index.ts:

import { createWorkflowChain } from "@voltagent/core";
import { z } from "zod";

export const expenseApprovalWorkflow = createWorkflowChain({
  id: "expense-approval",
  name: "Expense Approval Workflow",
  purpose: "Process expense reports with manager approval for high amounts",
  input: z.object({
    employeeId: z.string(),
    amount: z.number(),
    category: z.string(),
    description: z.string(),
  }),
  result: z.object({
    status: z.enum(["approved", "rejected"]),
    approvedBy: z.string(),
    finalAmount: z.number(),
  }),
})
  .andThen({
    id: "check-approval-needed",
    resumeSchema: z.object({
      approved: z.boolean(),
      managerId: z.string(),
      comments: z.string().optional(),
      adjustedAmount: z.number().optional(),
    }),
    execute: async ({ data, suspend, resumeData }) => {
      if (resumeData) {
        return {
          ...data,
          approved: resumeData.approved,
          approvedBy: resumeData.managerId,
          finalAmount: resumeData.adjustedAmount || data.amount,
          managerComments: resumeData.comments,
        };
      }

      if (data.amount > 500) {
        await suspend("Manager approval required", {
          employeeId: data.employeeId,
          requestedAmount: data.amount,
          category: data.category,
        });
      }

      return {
        ...data,
        approved: true,
        approvedBy: "system",
        finalAmount: data.amount,
      };
    },
  })
  .andThen({
    id: "process-decision",
    execute: async ({ data }) => {
      return {
        status: data.approved ? "approved" : "rejected",
        approvedBy: data.approvedBy,
        finalAmount: data.finalAmount,
      };
    },
  });

Step 9: Create the entry point

Create src/index.ts:

import "dotenv/config";
import {
  Agent,
  Memory,
  VoltAgent,
  VoltAgentObservability,
  VoltOpsClient,
} from "@voltagent/core";
import { LibSQLMemoryAdapter, LibSQLObservabilityAdapter } from "@voltagent/libsql";
import { createPinoLogger } from "@voltagent/logger";
import { honoServer } from "@voltagent/server-hono";
import { expenseApprovalWorkflow } from "./workflows";
import { weatherTool } from "./tools";

const logger = createPinoLogger({ name: "my-voltagent-app", level: "info" });

const memory = new Memory({
  storage: new LibSQLMemoryAdapter({
    url: "file:./.voltagent/memory.db",
    logger: logger.child({ component: "libsql" }),
  }),
});

const observability = new VoltAgentObservability({
  storage: new LibSQLObservabilityAdapter({
    url: "file:./.voltagent/observability.db",
  }),
});

const agent = new Agent({
  name: "my-voltagent-app",
  instructions: "A helpful assistant that can check weather and help with various tasks",
  model: "openai/gpt-4o-mini",
  tools: [weatherTool],
  memory,
});

new VoltAgent({
  agents: { agent },
  workflows: { expenseApprovalWorkflow },
  server: honoServer(),
  logger,
  observability,
  voltOpsClient: new VoltOpsClient({
    publicKey: process.env.VOLTAGENT_PUBLIC_KEY || "",
    secretKey: process.env.VOLTAGENT_SECRET_KEY || "",
  }),
});

Model format is provider/model. Examples:

• openai/gpt-4o-mini
• anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet
• google/gemini-2.0-flash
• groq/llama-3.3-70b-versatile
• mistral/mistral-large-latest
• ollama/llama3.2

If you chose Elysia, replace honoServer with elysiaServer and update the import.

Step 10: Run the dev server

npm run dev