---
name: lai-setup
description: Use when the user needs to install LattifAI, authenticate, get a trial key, run diagnostics, or configure the CLI. Use this skill whenever the user mentions LattifAI for the first time, asks about API keys, wants to set up audio-text alignment tools, mentions "lai" CLI, asks about trial access, or encounters authentication errors. Also triggers on "install lattifai", "setup lai", "get API key", "lai auth", "lai doctor", "配置 LattifAI", "安装", "认证", "试用", even if they just say "how do I get started with alignment" or "I need to align some captions" without having LattifAI installed yet.
allowed-tools: Read, Bash(lai:*), Bash(pip:*)
---

# LattifAI Setup

Get from zero to a working LattifAI environment in under 2 minutes.

## When to Use

- User mentions LattifAI for the first time in a project
- Need to install or update the `lai` CLI
- Authentication issues (expired key, missing key, trial expired)
- Environment diagnostics (`lai doctor`)
- Configuration management (`lai config`)

## When NOT to Use

- Already set up and authenticated -- jump to `/lai-align`, `/lai-transcribe`, etc.
- Issues with a specific feature (alignment, transcription) -- use the feature-specific skill

## Installation

### Quick Install (pip)

```bash
pip install lattifai
```

### Full Install (all optional dependencies)

```bash
pip install "lattifai[all]"
```

### From Private Index (if not on public PyPI yet)

```bash
pip install lattifai --extra-index-url https://lattifai.github.io/pypi/simple/
```

### Verify Installation

```bash
lai --version
```

## Authentication

LattifAI alignment requires an API key. Three paths to get one:

### Path 1: Free Trial (Recommended for First-Time Users)

No sign-up required. Grants 2 hours of alignment credits, valid for 7 days.

```bash
lai auth trial
```

Output shows credits remaining and expiry date. When trial expires:
- `lai auth logout` to clear, then `lai auth trial` for a new trial
- Or `lai auth login` to upgrade to a full account

### Path 2: Browser Login (Full Account)

Opens browser for OAuth login. Creates a device-bound session.

```bash
lai auth login
```

For headless / SSH environments where browser is unavailable:
1. Run `lai auth login` on the remote machine
2. Copy the printed URL to a machine with a browser
3. Complete login in the browser
4. Copy the verification code back to the terminal

### Path 3: Manual API Key

For CI/CD or when you already have a key from https://lattifai.com/dashboard/api-keys:

```bash
lai auth login --api-key
# Prompts for key input (hidden)
```

Or set the environment variable directly:

```bash
export LATTIFAI_API_KEY="your-key-here"
```

### Check Current Session

```bash
lai auth whoami
```

### Logout

```bash
lai auth logout
```

## Diagnostics

Run a full environment check:

```bash
lai doctor
```

Checks:
- OS and Python version (3.10--3.14 required)
- Package version (current vs latest)
- Editable install sync status
- GPU acceleration (CUDA, CoreML, MPS, MLX)
- Lattice-1 model cache
- API key presence and source
- Critical dependencies (k2py, onnxruntime, lattifai-core)
- Self-test (bundled data, caption roundtrip, audio loading)

**Interpreting results:**
- `OK` -- all good
- `WARN` -- non-blocking, works but suboptimal
- `FAIL` -- blocking, must fix before alignment works

Common fixes:
| Issue | Fix |
|-------|-----|
| Package outdated | `lai update` |
| Stale editable install | `lai update` or `pip install --no-deps -e .` |
| Missing dependencies | `pip install "lattifai[all]"` |
| No GPU acceleration | Install `onnxruntime-gpu` (CUDA) or use CPU (slower but works) |
| Model not cached | Runs auto-download on first `lai alignment align` |

## Configuration

Persistent settings stored in `~/.lattifai/config.toml`.

### Set a value

```bash
lai config set GEMINI_API_KEY sk-xxx
lai config set transcription.model_name gemini-2.5-flash
lai config set diarization.infer_speakers true
```

### Get a value

```bash
lai config get GEMINI_API_KEY
lai config get transcription.model_name
```

### List all settings

```bash
lai config list
```

### Key Configuration Keys

| Key | Description |
|-----|-------------|
| `LATTIFAI_API_KEY` | LattifAI API key (set via `lai auth`) |
| `GEMINI_API_KEY` | Google Gemini API key (for transcription) |
| `OPENAI_API_KEY` | OpenAI-compatible API key (for translation/summarization) |
| `OPENAI_API_BASE_URL` | Custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint |
| `transcription.model_name` | Default transcription model |
| `diarization.infer_speakers` | Auto-infer speaker names via LLM |
| `summarization.llm.model_name` | LLM model for summarization |
| `translation.llm.model_name` | LLM model for translation |

### Priority Order

For any setting: **CLI argument > config.toml > environment variable > default**

## Workflow

### Step 1 -- Check if LattifAI is installed

```bash
lai --version
```

If not installed, install with `pip install lattifai`.

### Step 2 -- Run diagnostics

```bash
lai doctor
```

Fix any FAIL issues before proceeding.

### Step 3 -- Authenticate

For new users:
```bash
lai auth trial
```

For returning users:
```bash
lai auth whoami
```

If expired or invalid:
```bash
lai auth logout
lai auth login
```

### Step 4 -- Configure API keys (if needed)

For transcription (Gemini):
```bash
lai config set GEMINI_API_KEY your-gemini-key
```

For translation/summarization (OpenAI-compatible):
```bash
lai config set OPENAI_API_KEY your-key
lai config set OPENAI_API_BASE_URL http://localhost:8000/v1  # optional
```

### Step 5 -- Verify with a quick test

```bash
lai alignment align --help
```

## Error Handling

| Condition | Action |
|-----------|--------|
| `pip install` fails | Check Python version (3.10+), try `--extra-index-url` |
| `lai auth trial` returns 429 | Trial limit reached for this device. Use `lai auth login` |
| `lai auth login` timeout | Copy URL manually to browser, paste verification code |
| `lai doctor` shows FAIL | Follow the specific fix suggestion in the output |
| API key invalid/expired | `lai auth logout` then `lai auth login` or `lai auth trial` |

## Update

```bash
lai update
```

Or force reinstall:

```bash
lai update --force
```

## Related Skills

| Skill | Use After Setup |
|-------|----------------|
| `/lai-align` | Run your first forced alignment |
| `/lai-transcribe` | Transcribe audio/video |
| `/lai-youtube` | Process YouTube videos |

## Non-Goals

- Does NOT install Python itself -- user must have Python 3.10+ pre-installed
- Does NOT manage virtual environments -- user chooses their own env manager
- Does NOT configure IDE integrations -- this is CLI-only setup