tutorial

ReasonKit Interactive Tutorial

Time: 10 minutes total | Difficulty: Beginner | Prerequisites: rk installed

This tutorial takes you from zero to confidently using ReasonKit for AI reasoning.

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Tutorial Structure

Step	File	What You Learn	Time
1	step1_basic.sh	Basic ThinkTool usage	60s
2	step2_profiles.sh	Choosing the right profile	60s
3	step3_individual_tools.sh	Individual ThinkTools	90s
4	step4_json_output.sh	Machine-readable output	60s
5	step5_audit_trail.sh	Execution traces	90s

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Before You Start

1. Verify installation

rk --version

2. Set your API key

# Anthropic Claude (recommended)
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."

# Or OpenAI
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

# Or use demo mode (no API key required)
# Just add --mock to any command

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Run the Tutorial

Option A: Step by step (recommended)

cd examples/tutorial

# Step 1
./step1_basic.sh

# Step 2
./step2_profiles.sh

# ... and so on

Option B: All at once

cd examples/tutorial
./run_all.sh

Option C: Demo mode (no API key)

cd examples/tutorial
./run_all.sh --mock

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What You'll Build

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

1. Run structured AI reasoning from the command line
2. Choose the right profile for your use case
3. Use individual ThinkTools for specific tasks
4. Parse JSON output for automation
5. Review execution traces for debugging

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Next Steps

After completing this tutorial:

• Real-world examples: USE_CASES.md
• Full CLI reference: CLI_REFERENCE.md
• ThinkTool deep dive: THINKTOOLS_GUIDE.md
• Rust API: API_REFERENCE.md

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Questions? GitHub Discussions