Get Otto running in 5 minutes. By the end of this guide you will have the VS Code extension installed, your application configured, and your first Otto session complete.
After signing up, choose a plan that fits your team. Otto products are per-application — pick the products you need and add more as you grow.
Open VS Code, go to the Extensions marketplace, and search for Otto. Click Install. The extension connects VS Code to the Otto MCP server — your code stays on your machine, only metadata is sent.
Open the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and run Otto: Sign In. This opens a browser window for OAuth authentication. Once authenticated, the extension connects to the Otto MCP server automatically.
In the Otto dashboard, create a new application. Give it a name and connect the repos that belong to it. One application can include multiple repos (Standard: up to 10, Enterprise: up to 25).
Generate activation tokens from the dashboard and place the .otto/activation.json file in each repo. This tells Otto which repos belong to your application and verifies your subscription. See the Activation guide for details.
Open any activated repo in VS Code with your AI assistant running. Say "Hey Otto" to start your first session. Otto will begin with an onboarding interview to understand your project, then run an initial stack assessment with actionable recommendations.
What happens next? After your first session, Otto continuously monitors your stack health, flags security issues, and helps your team follow best practices. Check the Otto Stack docs to understand what the assessment covers, or visit Support if you need help.