docs: add installing and configuring guide for first deployment

README.md

@@ -569,6 +569,8 @@ The system uses Docker containers for isolation and easy deployment, with separa
 
 ## Quick Start
 
+For a step-by-step walkthrough that connects installation, configuration, LLM and embedding provider testing, and your first login, see the [Installing and Configuring PentAGI](examples/guides/installation_configuration.md) guide. The sections below remain the detailed reference for each step.
+
 ### System Requirements
 
 - Docker and Docker Compose (or Podman - see [Podman configuration](#running-pentagi-with-podman))

examples/guides/installation_configuration.md

@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+# Installing and Configuring PentAGI
+
+This guide is the bridge between installing PentAGI and using it. It walks you
+through a first deployment in order: pick an installation method, set the core
+server variables, configure and test at least one LLM provider, configure the
+embedding provider, optionally add search and observability, then start the
+stack and verify it before your first login.
+
+It is intentionally concise and links to the detailed reference sections in the
+main [README](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#readme) instead of repeating
+them. When you finish here, continue with
+[How to Use PentAGI After Login](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#how-to-use-pentagi-after-login).
+
+## Before you start
+
+- Docker and Docker Compose (or Podman), 2+ vCPU, 4+ GB RAM, 20+ GB free disk,
+  and outbound internet access for pulling images and reaching LLM providers.
+- At least one LLM provider you can authenticate to (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini,
+  AWS Bedrock, or a local/Ollama/OpenAI-compatible backend). PentAGI will not
+  run without one.
+- Decide how you want to install: the interactive installer (recommended) or a
+  manual Docker Compose deployment.
+
+## Step 1 - Choose an installation method
+
+### Option A: Interactive installer (recommended)
+
+The installer is a terminal UI that runs system checks, writes a sane `.env`,
+helps you configure LLM and search providers, hardens credentials, and starts
+the stack for you. Download the build for your platform and run it, then follow
+the prompts. See
+[Using Installer (Recommended)](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#using-installer-recommended)
+for download links and the Docker socket permission notes.
+
+If you use the installer, it can take you through most of Steps 2-6 below
+interactively. You can still use this guide as a checklist of what to confirm.
+
+### Option B: Manual Docker Compose
+
+Create a working directory, copy `.env.example` to `.env`, fill in your keys,
+and bring up the stack. The full sequence (including the example provider config
+files and the `docker compose up -d` command) is in
+[Manual Installation](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#manual-installation).
+
+## Step 2 - Set the core server variables
+
+Whichever method you used, confirm these in your `.env` before exposing the
+instance to anything but localhost:
+
+- `PUBLIC_URL` - the URL users and the browser will actually load, for example
+  `https://pentagi.example.com` or `https://192.168.1.100:8443`. Use the real
+  hostname or IP, never `0.0.0.0`.
+- `CORS_ORIGINS` - every origin that will reach the UI, comma-separated. Include
+  both `https://localhost:8443` and your external URL if you use both.
+- `PENTAGI_LISTEN_IP` / `PENTAGI_LISTEN_PORT` - keep the default `127.0.0.1` for
+  localhost-only, or set the IP to `0.0.0.0` to accept external connections.
+- `COOKIE_SIGNING_SALT` and the database passwords
+  (`PENTAGI_POSTGRES_PASSWORD`, `NEO4J_PASSWORD`) - change these away from the
+  defaults before real use.
+
+For external access, firewall rules, and certificate notes, see
+[Accessing PentAGI from External Networks](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#accessing-pentagi-from-external-networks).
+
+## Step 3 - Configure and test an LLM provider
+
+Set the credentials for at least one provider in `.env`. Each provider has its
+own reference section with the exact variables and supported models:
+
+- [OpenAI](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#openai-provider-configuration)
+  (`OPEN_AI_KEY`, `OPEN_AI_SERVER_URL`)
+- [Anthropic](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#anthropic-provider-configuration)
+  (`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, `ANTHROPIC_SERVER_URL`)
+- [Google AI (Gemini)](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#google-ai-gemini-provider-configuration)
+  (`GEMINI_API_KEY`, `GEMINI_SERVER_URL`)
+- [AWS Bedrock](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#aws-bedrock-provider-configuration)
+  (`BEDROCK_REGION` plus one auth method)
+- [Custom OpenAI-compatible / local](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#custom-llm-provider-configuration)
+  (`LLM_SERVER_URL`, `LLM_SERVER_KEY`, `LLM_SERVER_MODEL`) and
+  [Ollama](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#ollama-provider-configuration)
+
+Before starting a full flow, confirm the provider actually answers and supports
+the agent behaviors PentAGI needs by running `ctester`:
+
+```bash
+# From a local Go environment (run inside the backend directory)
+go run cmd/ctester/*.go -verbose
+
+# Or from the running container
+docker exec -it pentagi /opt/pentagi/bin/ctester -verbose
+```
+
+Full usage, including `-type`, `-config`, and per-agent testing, is in
+[Testing LLM Agents](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#testing-llm-agents).
+If `ctester` reports tool-call or function-call problems with a custom,
+llama.cpp, vLLM, or SGLang backend, that points at the backend's tool-call
+parser rather than PentAGI itself.
+
+## Step 4 - Configure and test the embedding provider
+
+PentAGI uses embeddings for semantic search, knowledge storage, and memory. The
+default provider is OpenAI; when `EMBEDDING_URL` and `EMBEDDING_KEY` are empty
+and `EMBEDDING_PROVIDER=openai`, it falls back to your `OPEN_AI_SERVER_URL` and
+`OPEN_AI_KEY`. Relevant variables: `EMBEDDING_PROVIDER`, `EMBEDDING_MODEL`,
+`EMBEDDING_URL`, `EMBEDDING_KEY`, `EMBEDDING_BATCH_SIZE`,
+`EMBEDDING_MAX_TEXT_BYTES`, `EMBEDDING_STRIP_NEW_LINES`.
+
+Verify embeddings with `etester`:
+
+```bash
+# Local Go environment
+go run cmd/etester/main.go test -verbose
+
+# Running container
+docker exec -it pentagi /opt/pentagi/bin/etester test
+```
+
+If you later change the embedding provider or model, flush and reindex the
+knowledge base. Details and the full command set are in
+[Embedding Configuration and Testing](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#embedding-configuration-and-testing).
+
+## Step 5 - (Optional) Configure search providers
+
+Search providers improve research quality but are optional. PentAGI supports
+DuckDuckGo (`DUCKDUCKGO_ENABLED`), Sploitus (`SPLOITUS_ENABLED`), Google
+(`GOOGLE_API_KEY`, `GOOGLE_CX_KEY`), Tavily (`TAVILY_API_KEY`), Traversaal
+(`TRAVERSAAL_API_KEY`), Perplexity (`PERPLEXITY_API_KEY`), and a self-hosted
+Searxng instance (`SEARXNG_URL`). Set the keys for the engines you want in
+`.env`; the manual installation section shows the full block of search
+variables.
+
+## Step 6 - (Optional) Enable Graphiti, Langfuse, and observability
+
+These are separate, optional stacks brought up with additional compose files:
+
+- Graphiti knowledge graph (`GRAPHITI_ENABLED=true`, `GRAPHITI_URL`, plus the
+  `NEO4J_*` settings) via `docker-compose-graphiti.yml`.
+- Langfuse analytics via `docker-compose-langfuse.yml`.
+- Monitoring (Grafana / OpenTelemetry) via `docker-compose-observability.yml`.
+
+Run the base `docker-compose.yml` first so the shared Docker networks exist,
+then bring up the optional stacks. The same ordering note appears in the manual
+installation section.
+
+## Step 7 - Start and verify
+
+1. Start the stack: `docker compose up -d`.
+2. Watch the logs until the backend is ready:
+   `docker compose logs -f pentagi`.
+3. Re-run `ctester` and `etester` if you changed any provider settings. For
+   deeper checks of individual agent functions and tools, use `ftester` (see
+   [Function Testing with ftester](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#function-testing-with-ftester)).
+4. Open `https://localhost:8443` (or your `PUBLIC_URL`) and sign in with the
+   default `admin@pentagi.com` / `admin`, then change the password immediately.
+
+After the server is running, several areas are managed in the web console under
+Settings (Providers, Prompts, PentAGI API tokens), while LLM and search
+credentials, Langfuse, Graphiti, and MCP remain server-side configuration. See
+[Current Web Settings Coverage](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#current-web-settings-coverage)
+for the exact split.
+
+## First-run configuration checklist
+
+- [ ] Docker/Podman, CPU, RAM, and disk meet the minimums
+- [ ] Installation method chosen (installer or manual Compose)
+- [ ] `PUBLIC_URL` and `CORS_ORIGINS` set to the real hostname/IP (not `0.0.0.0`)
+- [ ] `COOKIE_SIGNING_SALT` and database passwords changed from defaults
+- [ ] At least one LLM provider configured and passing `ctester`
+- [ ] Embedding provider configured and passing `etester`
+- [ ] Search providers configured (optional)
+- [ ] Graphiti / Langfuse / observability enabled if needed (optional)
+- [ ] Stack started, logs healthy, default admin password changed
+
+## Next step
+
+Continue with
+[How to Use PentAGI After Login](https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi#how-to-use-pentagi-after-login)
+to create your first flow, use prompt templates, and review results.
+
+For hardened or fully local deployments, see the
+[Worker Node Setup](worker_node.md) and
+[vLLM + Qwen3.5-27B-FP8](vllm-qwen35-27b-fp8.md) guides.