# Citelens Setup

> Set up and launch the self-hosted Citelens SEO + GEO dashboard — install dependencies, scaffold the .env file, run the SQLite migrations, and start the web app. Use when the user says "set up citelens", "run the citelens dashboard", "launch citelens", "get citelens running", or "configure my GEO/SEO API keys".

- Skill: `manavarya09/citelens-setup` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add manavarya09/citelens-setup`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/manavarya09/citelens-setup/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Author: manavarya09 (https://skillmd.com/u/manavarya09)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/manavarya09/citelens-setup

---


# Citelens setup & launch

Get the self-hosted Citelens dashboard running from a clone. Citelens is a
Next.js + SQLite app — no external services required to start.

## Steps

Run from the Citelens repo root. Check each step's output before moving on.

1. **Dependencies** — if `node_modules` is missing:
   ```bash
   npm install
   ```

2. **Environment** — if there is no `.env`, create it from the template:
   ```bash
   cp .env.example .env
   ```
   Then read `.env.example` to see the supported keys. Citelens runs with **no
   keys** (deterministic mock engine, full loop works offline). For real data,
   set at least `GEMINI_API_KEY` (free from https://aistudio.google.com/apikey).
   Other engines activate when their key is present:
   `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY`. If the user
   provided a key, write it into `.env` with Edit — never echo a full key back.

3. **Database** — create the local SQLite database:
   ```bash
   npm run db:migrate
   ```

4. **Launch** — start the app:
   ```bash
   npm run dev          # http://localhost:3000
   ```
   For a production-style boot (build + migrate + start) use the one-command
   launcher instead:
   ```bash
   node bin/citelens.mjs
   ```

## After launch

Tell the user to open http://localhost:3000, create a project (brand, domain,
competitors, topics), and run it. Citelens auto-generates buyer-intent prompts,
runs them across the engines, and shows visibility, share of voice, sentiment,
cited sources, and the action loop.

## No-key browser mode (optional)

If the user wants real AI answers without API keys or spend, set
`CITELENS_BROWSER=1` — Citelens drives the real web UIs (Perplexity and Google
AI Overview need no login; ChatGPT and Gemini need a one-time login via the
in-app Browser mode). It is experimental, slower, and subject to each site's
terms; the API path always works without it.

## Quick check without the dashboard

If the user just wants a one-off visibility number rather than the full app, use
the `/citelens:check` skill — it runs the same GEO pipeline straight in the
terminal.