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GETTING STARTED

Quick Start: your first 10 minutes

Connect your AI NetShell account, add one authorized device, open it, and ask Lina your first question.

Verified against AI NetShell 0.4.11

Purpose#

Go from a new AI NetShell installation to one connected device and a first read-only question for Lina in about 10 minutes.

Before You Begin#

Have these items ready:

  • AI NetShell installed and its first-launch agreement accepted
  • An AI NetShell account with available AI credits for Included AI. Free uses prepaid pack credits, and paid tiers use monthly or pack credits. Your own AI needs Investigate or higher and either an Anthropic API key or Sign in with ChatGPT account configured in Settings > AI Providers
  • The name or IP address of one authorized lab or test device
  • The device's SSH port, vendor or OS, username, and password or private key
  • A trusted source for the device's SSH host-key fingerprint

Steps#

1. Connect your AI NetShell account#

  1. Open Settings, then Account.
  2. Under AI NetShell account, select Sign in with your browser.
  3. In the browser, sign in with the same Google, Microsoft, GitHub, or email identity you use for AI NetShell billing.
  4. On Approve this device, confirm the account shown and select Approve.
  5. When the browser says Device approved, return to AI NetShell.
  6. In Settings > Account, confirm that Status shows the connected account instead of a pending handoff.

Sign-in happens in the browser. The app has no separate local password.

2. Add a device#

  1. Select Inventory in the left navigation rail. The rail starts as icons only. Select the menu button at the top of the rail to show its labels.
  2. Select the plus button labeled Add a device or cloud account, then select Add new device….
  3. In Add device, enter a Name and Host / IP.
  4. Confirm Type and Port (SSH), then choose the platform under Vendor / OS. Platforms are listed by product name, such as Cisco IOS XE.
  5. Under Credential, select an existing Credential. If you do not have one, select New credential, create it, and return to the device form. See Credentials for each authentication option.
  6. If the device supports configuration backup, leave Keep a config baseline selected to capture its configuration on the first successful connection.
  7. Select Add device.

3. Open the device#

  1. In Inventory, double-click the new device.
  2. On the first SSH connection, compare the displayed host-key fingerprint with your trusted source before accepting it.
  3. Wait for the terminal session to open.

4. Ask Lina your first question#

Lina is the AI NetShell assistant.

  1. In Ask Lina a question, enter a narrow read-only question, such as: What software version is this device running, and are any interfaces currently down?
  2. Select Send.
  3. If the selected read-approval mode asks for confirmation, review each device and command, then select Approve & run only for the reads you intend to allow.
  4. While Lina works, Send becomes Stop. Use it only when you want to interrupt the run.
  5. Read Lina's answer and check that the conclusions point back to device evidence.

5. Optional: discover the authorized network#

An Investigate, Resolve, or Resolve 6K plan can run Active Discovery. Select Discovery, then Start a crawl. Choose a Seed device. Under Include scope (optional), enter only the authorized addresses or ranges you want to limit the run to. If you leave it empty, the run can connect to every private address a device advertises. On the first run, review Discovery credentials, tried in priority order. Later runs show a credential summary with Change. Select Authorize and start crawl. Completed results appear under Map and Devices. See Investigate before adding discovered devices to Inventory.

Expected Result#

The AI NetShell account shows as connected, the device appears in Inventory, a terminal session opens, and Lina answers the first question using read-only evidence from that device.

Troubleshooting#

The browser approval never finishes#

Keep AI NetShell open while the browser approval completes. If the app still shows a pending handoff, select Cancel sign-in, start Sign in with your browser again, and approve the new request.

The Add device button is unavailable#

Complete Name and Host / IP. Each must be free of control characters and no longer than 253 characters, and the button's tooltip names the field to fix. If a save is already in progress, wait for it to finish. Port (SSH) and Credential do not control the button.

The SSH host key is unfamiliar#

Do not accept it until the fingerprint is confirmed through a trusted administrator or device console. A changed or unexpected fingerprint can indicate that you reached the wrong device or that the connection is being intercepted.

The question cannot be sent#

Confirm that the device session is open. Then check Settings > Usage for AI credit availability, or confirm your own AI configuration in Settings > AI Providers.