Prerequisites
- A Whim account (sign up with GitHub OAuth)
- A GitHub account with access to the repositories you want to connect
- Admin or owner role on your Whim team
Create a workspace
1
Install the GitHub App
Whim needs the Whim Orchestrator GitHub App installed on your GitHub account or organization. If it’s not installed yet, you’ll be prompted to install it when you click New Workspace.You can grant access to all repositories or select specific ones — this is changeable later in your GitHub settings.
2
Select a repository
Once connected, Whim displays your accessible repositories. You can:
- Import existing repositories — browse or search and select one or more. Repositories already connected to another workspace show a “Connected” badge.
- Create a new repository — switch to the Create New tab to create a fresh GitHub repository directly from Whim.
3
Workspace creation
After selecting your repository, Whim automatically:
- Creates the workspace with a name and URL slug derived from your repository name
- Sets up a Git mirror so tasks can clone quickly
- Adds you as the first workspace member with admin privileges
4
Configure your AI provider
Choose from Claude, Codex, or OpenRouter and provide the required API key. You can also import your existing local configuration — see Importing existing configuration below.
5
Enable notifications (optional)
Whim can send browser notifications when tasks need attention — for example, when an agent goes idle or someone comments on your task.
Importing existing configuration
If you already have a local Claude Code setup with MCP servers, skills, environment variables, or other settings, you can import them into your workspace instead of re-creating everything.What gets imported
How it works
1
Generate an import token
From workspace settings or during onboarding, Whim generates a short-lived import token (valid for 1 hour).
2
Run the import agent
Copy the provided prompt and paste it into your local Claude Code terminal. The agent reads your local configuration and identifies what can be imported.
3
Review and approve
The agent asks about each category individually — nothing is imported without your approval.
4
Configuration applied
Approved settings are saved to your workspace user overrides (your personal settings for this workspace). You can later promote them to workspace defaults or user defaults from the settings UI.
Import tokens are single-use, expire after 1 hour, and are scoped to a specific workspace and user. Each new token invalidates any previous unused token.
What happens behind the scenes
When you create a workspace, Whim:- Generates a unique slug for your workspace URL (e.g.,
my-repo). If the slug is taken, a numeric suffix is appended. - Links your repositories and triggers an initial Git mirror sync.
- Sets up defaults — the workspace inherits your team’s default AI provider and model settings, which you can customize in Settings and Environment.
Next steps
Settings & Environment
Configure workspace defaults, member settings, and environment variables.
Workspace Images
Build custom Docker images with your project’s dependencies pre-installed.
Creating Tasks
Launch your first AI coding task in the workspace.

