Set up Compute

Assess the task first

Start with the outcome you want, the data you may use and the client you already have. Customers use Lithi Compute; Mac owners use the separate provider path. Compute setup does not enroll a provider Mac.

If you are still deciding what to test, use Get a free estimate. It helps you assess fit and prepare a small request; it does not create an account, issue a key, approve work or charge you. For access, use Apply for Compute API access. An application asks for review; it does not grant access by itself.

Choose a supported client from the current Compute client guides. Browser-only clients can review instructions and use an approved attachment or local-runner handoff; they cannot install local files or read a private file merely because a prompt mentions it.

Apply authorized setup

Before access, use the assessment prompt to decide whether a small task fits. After access is approved, use the setup-review prompt for the account and client. The stages answer different questions; neither issues a credential or starts work.

Use the current Copy prompt control from the approved Lithi setup surface. It gives your client one guided handoff: inspect the account and client, identify the needed workflow and data contract, show the smallest changes, verify the connection and stop before unapproved work.

The prompt may use a protected credential reference, never the secret value. Keep keys, sign-in codes, private paths and customer data out of the prompt, clipboard, command arguments, logs and screenshots. Your client has its own permissions and provider terms; copying a prompt does not authorize either one.

This setup prompt connects the host and client; it is not the task brief for a Compute operation. Once the connection is ready, have your agent write the outcome, permitted evidence, rubric, expected result and missing-context rule in Build a workflow request. The setup handoff can identify the workflow and data contract, but it does not replace those instructions.

Give explicit permission before access. After access is approved, sign in through the account flow with your own identity and review the workspace, account kind and status. Existing team members use their assigned account and grant; they do not repeat the owner's setup or borrow the owner's key.

Keep these decisions separate:

1. Copying a prompt prepares a review.
2. Your explicit permission lets the client perform the reviewed local setup action.
3. When setup is complete, Get my API key opens the protected credential step in Access → API keys. Create or reveal a key only through that offered control.
4. A signed quote and approval authorize a paid task separately from setup.

Do not ask an agent to create a key, invite a teammate, change billing, enroll a provider or run lithi.run merely because it can describe that action. If the required control is absent, keep the step unresolved and ask the account administrator.

Verify the connection

Use the setup journey's visible steps: Business Identity, Locale & Language, Billing Timezone and Source Verification. Review each step, change only what the task needs and select Save step when the page offers it. A conflict asks you to review the highlighted facts; an under-review state can be left and resumed. A complete state says setup is complete while execution remains separately authorized.

For client access, choose the client-supported workspace and permission path shown by that client. Do not copy a configuration file from another tool or guess a client-specific key, URL, environment variable or install command. Install only the Lithi skills and packs needed for the chosen outcome after the client shows the reviewed changes.

After applying a change, read back the account, client transport, selected workflow, data profile and available controls. A metadata-only connection test can confirm the account and connection without sending a job, spending funds or exposing result content. A successful read does not prove that the client can quote, execute or deliver a result — see the shortcuts reference for how to read on-screen shortcuts and local checks without overclaiming what they prove.

Confirm the account is the one you intend to use and, for MCP, check for the five Work tools: lithi.quote, lithi.run, lithi.batch, lithi.status and lithi.result. If one is missing, resolve the setup before attempting a test. The separate reporting interface is not a sixth Work tool.

Keep the setup report focused on changed paths, checks, available and missing capabilities and the next action. Do not treat a local sample or client response as a live Compute result. If a save response is lost, read the same account state before trying again. Preserve confirmed changes and resolve the remaining item separately.

Prepare the first test

With approved access and a connected client, choose a permitted small input, stable IDs, the result you can judge and the maximum spend you accept. Check the exact operation and output before requesting a quote. A prepared fixture, quote or approval is not execution.

Prepare the useful task before the secure human payment step. For a new prepaid account, you buy $25 of credit yourself; later top-ups are voluntary. Your agent keeps the selected account, preparation and original request identity while you pay. It resumes after the account confirms funding, then checks the current quote and approval before submission. Payment does not repeat setup or authorize work. Use the shared credit and payment guide for funding, unknown-payment recovery and the paid purchase invoice.

When you are ready, prepare your first small Compute test. If the client cannot load its credential, the account is unavailable or the requested workflow is unsupported, keep the safe error and use the supported account or client recovery path. Do not broaden access or submit the same work under a new identity to hide the refusal.