---
title: "Quick Start"
description: "Get started with Caro in minutes"
url: "https://caro.sh/docs/quickstart"
markdown_url: "https://caro.sh/docs/quickstart.md"
lang: "en"
type: "website"
image: "https://caro.sh/og/docs/quickstart.png"
---

# Quick Start

This guide will have you generating shell commands with Caro in just a few minutes.

## Basic Usage

Simply describe what you want to do in natural language:

```
$ caro "list all files in the current directory"
Command:
  ls -la

Execute this command? [y/N]
```

## More Examples

### File Operations

```
# Find large files
$ caro "find files larger than 100MB"

# Search for text in files
$ caro "search for TODO comments in all Python files"

# Compress a directory
$ caro "create a zip archive of the src folder"
```

### System Information

```
# Check disk space
$ caro "show disk usage"

# View running processes
$ caro "list running processes sorted by memory usage"

# Network information
$ caro "show my IP address"
```

### Git Commands

```
# View recent commits
$ caro "show the last 10 git commits"

# Find changed files
$ caro "list files changed since yesterday"

# Create a branch
$ caro "create and switch to a new branch called feature-login"
```

## Output Formats

Get output in different formats:

```
# Plain text (default)
$ caro "list files"

# JSON format
$ caro -o json "list files"

# YAML format
$ caro -o yaml "list files"
```

## Execution Options

```
# Auto-execute without confirmation
$ caro -x "show current date"

# Dry run (don't execute, just show)
$ caro --dry-run "delete temporary files"

# Interactive mode with step-by-step confirmation
$ caro -i "set up a Python virtual environment"
```

## Tips

- **Be specific** - "find Python files modified today" works better than "find some files"
- **Use context** - Mention file types, directories, or constraints
- **Review commands** - Always check what will be executed, especially for destructive operations

## Next Steps

- [Configuration](https://caro.sh/docs/configuration) - Customize Caro for your workflow
- [Safety Levels](https://caro.sh/docs/safety) - Learn about command validation
- [CLI Reference](https://caro.sh/docs/cli) - All command-line options