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Getting Started

Install the Smoothdev CLI and make your first generation request.

Overview

The Smoothdev CLI generates documentation artifacts from git data. This guide covers installation, authentication, and first generation request.

When to Use It

  • Generate commit messages from staged changes
  • Generate PR summaries from GitHub pull requests
  • Generate release notes from git history between tags

How It Works

  1. Install the CLI via pip
  2. Authenticate using interactive login or API key
  3. Configure GitHub token for repository operations
  4. Run generation commands in your git repository

Configuration

System Requirements

Requirement Minimum
Python 3.9+
pip 21.0+
Git 2.0+

Installation

pip install smooth-cli

Verify installation:

smooth --version

Authentication

Method 1: Interactive Login (Development)

smooth auth login

Initiates Auth0 device flow. Tokens stored at ~/.smoothdevio/token.json with 0600 permissions.

Method 2: API Key (CI/CD)

smooth auth apikey-set YOUR_API_KEY

Obtain an API key from https://app.smoothdev.io.

GitHub Token

Required for operations that interact with GitHub (--push flag, PR generation):

smooth config set github_token ghp_your_token_here

Or via environment variable:

export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here

Required permissions (least privilege):

Token Type Read Operations Write Operations (--push)
Classic PAT repo (private) or public_repo (public) repo
Fine-grained PAT Contents: Read, Pull requests: Read, Metadata: Read Contents: Write, Pull requests: Write

Output Behavior

Commit Artifact

git add .
smooth commit generate

Output: Conventional commit message based on staged changes.

Pull Request Artifact

smooth pr generate --pr-number 42

Output: PR title and structured summary.

Release Artifact

smooth release generate --from-tag v1.0.0 --to-tag v1.1.0

Output: Categorized changelog.

Security and Data Handling

Smoothdev encrypts customer data in transit and at rest using tenant-scoped encryption keys. Source data is processed only for the requested operation and is not retained long term. Generated artifacts are returned to the user. Operational metrics and validation logs are retained to improve system reliability and quality.

Limitations

  • Python 3.9 or later required
  • GitHub token required for PR and release operations
  • Private repositories require repo scope on classic PAT
  • Generation requests require network access to Smoothdev API

Troubleshooting

Error Cause Resolution
401 Unauthorized Invalid or expired token Run smooth auth login
403 Forbidden Insufficient permissions Verify API key scopes
Repository not found Invalid owner/repo or permissions Verify token has repo scope
pip: command not found pip not installed Use python -m pip

Next Steps