Getting started with Exegol Studio New!

If not already, install Exegol Workstation first.

Do I need to change how I use Exegol?

No. Studio attaches to the containers you already start with exegol start. It installs no tools in the image and changes no wrapper configuration. Uninstall the extension and your containers are unchanged.

1. Install the extension

1. Marketplace

Microsoft's marketplace (vsce)

Microsoft does not let us publish the extension on the Visual Studio Marketplace for some obscure reason. VS Code installs from that store, so search there will not find Exegol Studio.

Open VSX

Other VS Code forks rely on Open VSX, where Exegol Studio is listed under the publisher exegol. Some forks add their own checks before a release appears, so a new version can take a while to be listed again. The marketplace is still the easiest install. If Exegol Studio is listed and the publisher is exegol, install it from there.

Open Extensions, search Exegol Studio, confirm the publisher is exegol, then Install.

2. Without the marketplace

Download the .vsix. The link follows the current release.

Drag-and-drop the file onto the Extensions panel.

Or install that same file from a terminal. code is the VS Code command. Use your editor's own command in its place (cursor in Cursor). The flag stays --install-extension on VS Code forks.

code --install-extension /path/to/exegol-studio.vsix

This works in VS Code and in VS Code forks (VSCodium, Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, Trae).

Open the Exegol Studio activity bar icon after install. If nothing appears, reload the window (Developer: Reload Window).

2. System checks

Open Settings from the gear in the Studio header, then Support. The System check card is at the top of that page. It probes Docker (CLI and daemon), the Exegol CLI, whether an image and container exist, and whether the project's primary container is running. On Linux it also checks your user can reach the Docker socket (usually the docker group). If any check fails, follow the fix shown next to it.

When every check is green the card folds to System checks are green. Re-check stays on the card. Open the card to read each line. A failure or a warning keeps the card open.

The same Support page can export a diagnostics report and points at the docs (and a Discord ticket on paid plans) when you need help.

Windows and WSL

Exegol activation lives with the wrapper. If you activated Exegol inside WSL but opened the folder in Windows VS Code, Studio cannot see that license. Use WSL: Reopen Folder in WSL and install Exegol Studio in that distribution. A WSL terminal alone is not enough. The license page and Support report say so when this case applies.

3. Connect a model provider

Open the cockpit (Exegol Studio icon). Open Settings, then Providers. Add an API key for a cloud provider, or sign in with a subscription where that is offered.

You can use a model provider from the cloud, or self-host your own model provider. See Providers and models for more details.

4. Create a project and pick a container

A project is one engagement. It scopes sessions, the container, and project-local policy.

Create one from Settings → Projects (New project), then link a running Exegol container, or create one from Workstation.

Settings

The gear in the Studio header opens Settings. The nav is grouped:

Pages	What they cover
Workstation, Projects, Sessions, Interface	The machine, the engagement, each conversation's settings, and where the conversation is drawn
Providers, Model	Who answers, and how
Harness, MCP, Atlas	What the agent is given
Modes, Personas, Approvals	How far the agent goes, how it talks, what it may do without asking
Kill chains	The graph of the engagement
Support	System check, a diagnostics report, and where to ask for help

Quick settings start from a default on Sessions. Each session then keeps its own copy, so two conversations can run at once with different models, modes, and approvals. See Sessions. While a run is in progress you can steer it or queue the next message.

What next

• Learn to use the Composer: attachments, MCP button, context gauge, Quick settings
• Set defaults and per-session values on Sessions
• Choose your layout: Layouts (Monitor, Editor, Chat), Rooms
• Use Rooms to have multiple parallel sessions in the same engagement
• Adapt the Knowledge: skills, rules, agents, hooks, briefs, MCPs, Atlas

Before you point this at a client

Prompts, file contents, and command output go to your model provider. Confirm retention terms match the engagement, or use a self-hosted provider