Getting Started

How long does it take to get started with Traverse?

Q: How long does it take to get started with Traverse?

Your first capability takes about five minutes if you have Rust and the wasm32-wasi target installed. Writing and registering a contract, compiling the WASM binary, and running it through the CLI is a short loop. Production use takes longer — you need to understand contracts, placement targets, and how the registry fits into your deployment.

Your first capability runs in about five minutes if Rust and the wasm32-wasi target are already installed. The CLI quickstart walks you through writing a contract, compiling a WASM binary, registering it, and calling it with a JSON input.

The five-minute path

Install the CLI: cargo install traverse-cli
Write a contract TOML with input and output schemas
Write the Rust implementation and compile to wasm32-wasi
Register with traverse capability register
Run with traverse capability run

That loop is deliberately short. You do not need to understand everything to get output from your first run.

The learning curve after that

Getting comfortable with contracts takes a bit longer. You need to understand preconditions and postconditions, what a governing spec is, and how the runtime validates both sides of a call. Most developers with Rust experience get there in an afternoon.

If you are new to Rust, budget more time. You do not need to be a Rust expert, but you do need to compile to WASM. The do I need Rust page covers what level of Rust knowledge is actually required.

Production readiness

Getting a capability into production on the local target is straightforward. Integrating with AI agents via MCP, deploying to edge or cloud targets, and setting up a shared registry for a team takes more planning. The quickstart is the right place to start either way.