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Installation

ChatWalaʻau is distributed on PyPI and runs on Python 3.12+.

Windows desktop app

On Windows you can instead install ChatWalaʻau Desktop, which bundles its own Python and needs no command line. See Desktop app (Windows).

Quick start​

pip install chatwalaau
chatwalaau init
# Edit .env: choose a provider and how it authenticates (see below)
chatwalaau

Then open http://localhost:8000/chat.

ChatWalaʻau talks to Azure OpenAI and/or Anthropic (Claude) -- pick whichever you have access to. The fastest start is an API key (no Azure CLI, no tenant):

# Azure OpenAI with an API key
AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://<your-resource>.openai.azure.com/
AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=<your-key>
AZURE_OPENAI_MODELS=gpt-4o
# ...or Anthropic (Claude) with an API key, no Azure at all
ANTHROPIC_MODELS=claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

Prefer Microsoft Entra ID for Azure? Use the Azure CLI lane (az login), managed identity, or auto-discovery instead -- see Configuration -> Authentication.

CommandWhat it does
chatwalaau initGenerate a .env template (--force overwrites).
chatwalaauStart the server (the Azure CLI pre-check runs only on the cli credential lane).

Requirements​

  • Python 3.12+
  • A model provider -- Azure OpenAI or Anthropic Claude (or both) -- unless you run in demo mode
  • Only if you authenticate Azure with Entra ID via the cli lane: the Azure CLI (az login). API-key and managed-identity lanes need no CLI -- see Configuration -> Authentication.

Corporate networks (TLS-intercepting proxy)​

Behind a proxy that re-signs traffic with an in-house root CA (Zscaler, Netskope, on-prem middlebox), the first outbound HTTPS call can fail with CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED. Install the opt-in corp extras so Python trusts the OS certificate store:

pip install "chatwalaau[corp]"

This adds pip-system-certs; default installs are unaffected. Alternatively point Python at an explicit CA bundle:

export SSL_CERT_FILE=/path/to/corp-root-ca.pem
export REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE=/path/to/corp-root-ca.pem

Upgrading​

pip install -U chatwalaau
chatwalaau env diff   # see which new settings your .env is missing

See Configuration -> Keeping .env current for env diff / env sync.

Next steps​

  • Configuration -- required settings and credential lanes.
  • Features -- what you can do once it is running.