Initial Setup

Install CLI

The easiest way to get start with Rivet is to use the CLI. Run this command to install Rivet on your system:

curl -fsSL https://releases.rivet.gg/rivet/latest/install.sh | sh

Initialize project & login to Rivet

Once you've installed the Rivet CLI, run this command in your project root to create a new project:

rivet init

Follow the instructions to initialize your project & login to Rivet.

Deploy project

After initializing your project, now you will deploy your actor to Rivet's servers.

Run the following command, and replace my-app with the name of your project:

cd my-app
rivet deploy

If self-hosting, this will prompt you to input a custom API address.

Once complete, visit the Rivet Hub to see the build you uploaded:

Create a test actor

Now that you've uploaded a build to Rivet, we need to create an actor using that build.

To test the actor can be created & connected to, run:

rivet deno run -A counter_test.ts

Once complete, visit the Rivet Hub to see the actor you created:

Setup client SDK

Now that you have an actor deployed, integrate the Rivet client SDK with your actor.

Install the package for your language:

• JavaScript
• TypeScript

Once installed, we need to find the endpoint that your actors connect to. Run this command in your project:

rivet manager endpoint

Use this code to create & connect to the actor. Replace /* CONNECTION ADDRESS */ with the value from the previous step.

import { Client } from '@rivet-gg/actor-client';
const client = new Client(/* CONNECTION ADDRESS */);

const counter = await client.get({ name: 'counter' }); // Get or create a `counter` actor
const newCount = await counter.increment(5); // Call the method `increment` on the `counter` actor
console.log('New count', newCount);

Visit the Rivet Hub to see the actor you created.

Setup your editor/IDE (optional)

Rivet actors run on the Deno runtime. Read their guide on how to configure your IDE here.