dr start¶

Run the application quickstart process for the current template.

Synopsis¶

The start command (also available as quickstart) provides an automated way to initialize and launch your DataRobot application. It performs several checks and either executes a template-specific quickstart script or seamlessly launches the interactive template setup wizard. It is the main entry point for setting up Agentic AI workflows—run dr start from the quickstart to clone and configure your agent template.

dr start [flags]

Aliases¶

• dr start
• dr quickstart

Description¶

The start command streamlines the process of getting your DataRobot application up and running. It automates the following workflow:

1. Prerequisite checks—verifies that required tools are installed and validates your environment.
2. CLI version check—verifies your CLI version meets the template's minimum requirements.
3. Repository check—checks if you're in a DataRobot repository (if not, launches template setup).
4. Execution—executes a start command in this order:
5. Taskfile—runs task start from the Taskfile (if available).
6. Quickstart script—runs a script from .datarobot/cli/bin/ (if available).
7. Fallback—launches the interactive dr templates setup wizard if neither exists.

This command is designed to work intelligently with your template's structure. If you're not in a DataRobot repository or no Taskfile/quickstart exists, the command gracefully falls back to the standard setup wizard.

Flags¶

  -y, --yes     Skip confirmation prompts and execute immediately
  -h, --help    Show help information

Global flags¶

All global flags are also available.

Quickstart scripts¶

Location¶

Quickstart scripts must be placed in:

.datarobot/cli/bin/

Naming convention¶

Scripts must start with quickstart (case-sensitive):

• ✅ quickstart
• ✅ quickstart.sh
• ✅ quickstart.py
• ✅ quickstart-dev
• ❌ Quickstart.sh (wrong case)
• ❌ start.sh (wrong name)

If there are multiple scripts matching the pattern, the first one found in lexicographical order will be executed.

Platform-specific requirements¶

Unix/Linux/macOS:

• Script must have executable permissions (chmod +x)
• Can be any executable file (shell script, Python, compiled binary, etc.)

Windows:

• Must have executable extension: .exe, .bat, .cmd, or .ps1

Examples¶

Basic usage¶

Run the quickstart process interactively:

dr start

If a quickstart script is found:

DataRobot Quickstart

  ✓ Starting application quickstart process...
  ✓ Checking template prerequisites...
  ✓ Locating quickstart script...
  → Executing quickstart script...

Quickstart found at: .datarobot/cli/bin/quickstart.sh. Will proceed with execution...

Press 'y' or ENTER to confirm, 'n' to cancel

If no quickstart script is found:

DataRobot Quickstart

  ✓ Starting application quickstart process...
  ✓ Checking template prerequisites...
  ✓ Locating quickstart script...
  → Executing quickstart script...

No quickstart script found. Will proceed with template setup...

The command will then seamlessly launch the interactive setup wizard.

Non-interactive mode¶

Skip all prompts and execute immediately:

dr start --yes

or

dr start -y

This is useful for:

• CI/CD pipelines
• Automated deployments
• Scripted workflows

Using the alias¶

dr quickstart

Behavior¶

State tracking¶

The dr start command automatically tracks when it runs successfully by updating a state file with:

• Timestamp of when the command last started (ISO 8601 format)
• CLI version used

This state information is stored in .datarobot/cli/state.yaml within the template directory. State tracking is automatic and transparent. No manual intervention is required.

The state file helps other commands (like dr templates setup) know that you've already run dr start, allowing them to skip redundant setup steps.

Execution order¶

The command tries the following in order:

1. task start—if a Taskfile with a start task exists, runs it.
2. Quickstart script—if a script is found in .datarobot/cli/bin/, runs it (after user confirmation unless --yes is used).
3. Setup wizard—if neither is available (or not in a DataRobot repository), launches dr templates setup.

When a quickstart script runs¶

1. No task start in Taskfile (or no Taskfile), but script is detected in .datarobot/cli/bin/
2. User is prompted for confirmation (unless --yes or -y is used)
3. If user confirms (or --yes is specified), script executes with full terminal control
4. Command completes when script finishes
5. State file is updated with current timestamp and CLI version

If the user declines to execute the script, the command exits gracefully and still updates the state file.

When setup wizard runs¶

1. No task start and no quickstart script (or not in a DataRobot repository)
2. User is notified
3. User is prompted for confirmation (unless --yes or -y is used)
4. If user confirms (or --yes is specified), interactive dr templates setup wizard launches automatically
5. User completes template configuration through the wizard
6. State file is updated with current timestamp and CLI version

If the user declines, the command exits gracefully and still updates the state file.

Prerequisites checked¶

Before proceeding, the command verifies:

• ✅ Required tools are installed (Git, etc.)

When searching for a quickstart script, the command checks:

• ✅ Current directory is within a DataRobot repository (contains .datarobot/ directory)

If the repository check fails, the command automatically launches the template setup wizard instead of exiting with an error.

Error handling¶

Not in a DataRobot repository¶

If you're not in a DataRobot repository, the command automatically launches the template setup wizard:

$ dr start
# Automatically launches: dr templates setup

No manual intervention is needed - the command handles this gracefully.

Missing prerequisites¶

$ dr start
Error: required tool 'git' not found

# Solution: Install the missing tool

Script execution failure¶

If a quickstart script fails, the error is displayed and the command exits. Check the script's output for details.

When to use dr start¶

✅ Good use cases¶

• First-time setup—initializing a newly cloned template or starting from scratch.
• Quick restart—restarting development after a break.
• Onboarding—helping new team members get started quickly.
• CI/CD—automating application initialization in pipelines.
• General entry point—universal command that works whether you have a template or not.

❌ When not to use¶

• Making configuration changes—use dr dotenv to modify environment variables.
• Running specific tasks—use dr run <task> for targeted task execution.

See also¶

• dr templates setup—interactive template setup wizard.
• dr run—execute specific application tasks.
• dr dotenv—manage environment configuration.
• Template Structure—understanding template organization.

Tips¶

Creating a custom quickstart script¶

1. Create the directory structure:

mkdir -p .datarobot/cli/bin

1. Create your script:

# Create the script
cat > .datarobot/cli/bin/quickstart.sh <<'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
echo "Starting my custom quickstart..."
dr run build
dr run dev
EOF

1. Make it executable:

chmod +x .datarobot/cli/bin/quickstart.sh

1. Test it:

dr start --yes

Best practices¶

• Keep scripts simple—focus on essential initialization steps.
• Provide clear output—use echo statements to show progress.
• Handle errors gracefully—use set -e in bash scripts to exit on errors.
• Check prerequisites—verify .env exists and required tools are installed.
• Make it idempotent—script should be safe to run multiple times.
• Document behavior—add comments explaining what the script does.