How to setup auto-gpt

How to Setup Auto-GPT for Beginners

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Auto-GPT, a trailblazing AI application, has gained considerable attention since its release on March 30, 2023. It has become a trending topic on Twitter, with discussions centred around its potential to perform tasks at a human level of intellect. Setting up Auto-GPT seems complicated. However, in this guide we will explain step-by-step how beginners can setup Auto-GPT in under 2 minutes.

The Beginners Guide to Using Auto-GPT

The arrival of Auto-GPT, after ChatGPT’s release, has transformed the computing world. It allows us to train chatbots with custom data and develop applications using natural language processing. Developers are now focusing on an exciting new concept – Autonomous AI Agents. These agents provide a glimpse into the future of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

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Auto-GPT Trending #1 on Twitter – 7/4/2023

As AI makes headlines, there are concerns about the risks and implications of increasingly advanced models like ChatGPT. Some countries have even reconsidered their policies or banned such technologies. Despite these concerns, exploring autonomous AI agents like Auto-GPT remains an attractive prospect, as they could replace a significant portion of human labour.

If you’re interested in Auto-GPT’s possibilities, join us in our easy-to-follow guide. We’ll explore how to install and use this innovative AI tool that allows large language models to think, plan, and act autonomously without constant human input.

What is Auto-GPT?

Auto-GPT is an open-source, autonomous AI agent that utilizes OpenAI’s GPT-4, GPT-3.5 and other APIs to perform tasks with minimal human intervention. Developed by Significant Gravitas and released on March 30, 2023, Auto-GPT can self-prompt and generate the necessary steps to achieve a given goal. 

Unlike interactive systems such as ChatGPT, Auto-GPT is capable of assigning itself new objectives, working towards a greater goal without constant human input. The AI agent manages short-term and long-term memory by writing to and reading from databases and files, summarizes context window length requirements, and can perform internet-based actions, such as web searches and API interactions unattended. 

Auto-GPT has been hailed as a step towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) as it demonstrates the ability to reason, strategize, and autonomously perform actions across various tasks.

Who made Auto-GPT?

Auto-GPT was created by Toran Bruce Richards, the founder of the video game company Significant Gravitas Ltd. The application was posted on GitHub on March 30, 2023, and quickly gained attention for its autonomous capabilities.

What Auto-GPT Can Do

Auto-GPT is a powerful tool built upon OpenAI’s GPT model that automates tasks and provides users with a conversational AI interface. It simplifies the process of interacting with the GPT model and enhances the experience by incorporating additional features. Here’s a detailed summary of what Auto-GPT can do:

  • Natural Language Understanding

    Auto-GPT leverages the advanced natural language understanding capabilities of GPT to understand user inputs and provide relevant responses or perform actions based on the input.

  • Conversational AI

    Auto-GPT is designed to engage users in a conversational manner. It responds to user queries and provides an interactive experience by asking follow-up questions, seeking clarifications, or suggesting alternatives.

  • Task Automation

    Auto-GPT can perform various tasks like generating text, creating summaries, answering questions, and providing recommendations. It can also execute commands, such as sending emails or performing web searches.

  • Multilingual Support

    Auto-GPT supports multiple languages, allowing users to communicate and receive responses in their preferred language.

  • Text-to-Speech (TTS) Integration

    Auto-GPT integrates with ElevenLabs’ TTS service, allowing users to convert the AI-generated text into spoken words using a variety of voices.

  • Customization

    Users can customize Auto-GPT by modifying AI settings, selecting different memory backends, and specifying command-line arguments to suit their specific needs.

  • Activity and Error Logs

    Auto-GPT maintains logs of its activities and errors, making it easy for users to review its performance and troubleshoot issues.

  • Docker Support

    Auto-GPT can be built and run as a Docker container, simplifying deployment and ensuring consistency across different environments.

  • Command Line Interface

    Users can interact with Auto-GPT through a command-line interface, making it easy to integrate with other tools and automate processes.

  • Continuous Mode

    Auto-GPT can be run in continuous mode, where it remains active and awaits user inputs, providing an ongoing conversational experience.

Auto-GPT is a versatile tool that harnesses the power of GPT models to provide users with an interactive, conversational AI experience capable of understanding natural language, automating tasks, and offering a wide range of functionality through customization and integration with other services.

Auto-GPT Integrations

Auto-GPT can integrate with various APIs to enhance its functionality and performance. Some of the platforms that Auto-GPT can integrate with are:

  • Pinecone

    Auto-GPT can use Pinecone API to enable vector database storage and memory management. This allows Auto-GPT to store and retrieve information in a fast and scalable way.

  • Google Search API

    Auto-GPT can use Google Search API to access the internet and perform web searches. This allows Auto-GPT to gather information from various sources and use it for its tasks.

  • Redis

    Auto-GPT can use Redis API to enable in-memory data structure storage. This allows Auto-GPT to store and manipulate data structures such as lists, sets, hashes, and streams.

  • Eleven Labs

    Auto-GPT can use Eleven Labs API to enable text-to-speech functionality. This allows Auto-GPT to speak its responses aloud using a natural-sounding voice.

  • Weaviate

    Auto-GPT can use Weaviate API to enable semantic search and knowledge graph creation. This allows Auto-GPT to search and analyze data using natural language queries and build knowledge graphs from structured and unstructured data sources.

  • Milvus

    Auto-GPT can use Milvus API to enable similarity search and vector indexing. This allows Auto-GPT to find similar items or documents based on their vector representations and index them for faster retrieval.

  • Azure

    Auto-GPT can use Azure API to access cloud computing services such as storage, databases, analytics, and machine learning. This allows Auto-GPT to leverage the power and scalability of the cloud for its tasks.

  • Github

    Auto-GPT can use Github API to access code repositories and perform version control operations. This allows Auto-GPT to create, modify, and debug code using Github as a platform.

  • Huggingface

    Auto-GPT can use Huggingface API to access state-of-the-art natural language processing models and datasets. This allows Auto-GPT to use pre-trained models or fine-tune them for specific tasks using Huggingface’s library.

  • Streamelements

    Auto-GPT can use Streamelements API to access live streaming services and interact with viewers. This allows Auto-GPT to create engaging content for live-streaming platforms such as Twitch or YouTube.

  • Stable Diffusion

    Auto-GPT can use Stable Diffusion API to create AI-generated images when completing tasks. By default, Auto-GPT uses DALL-e for image generation. To use Stable Diffusion, a Hugging Face API Token is required.

These are some of the APIs that Auto-GPT can integrate with. However, since Auto-GPT is an open-source project, it may be possible to extend its integration capabilities with other APIs as well.

Requirements for Setting Up Auto-GPT

Setting up Auto-GPT may seem highly technical, particularly for beginners with limited development experience. However, our guide is designed to accommodate users of all skill levels, including beginners and experienced developers. The Auto-GPT installation and usage steps have been tailored to be accessible for individuals with a basic understanding of code and developers who are setting up Auto-GPT for the first time.

Requirements for Installing Auto-GPT

The essential requirements to run Auto-GPT are:

  1. GitHub application: To download the Auto-GPT code. You can download it from the Auto-GPT GitHub repository.
  2. Python 3.8 or later: Auto-GPT is a Python application. Download and install the appropriate version of Python for your operating system from the official Python website.
  3. OpenAI API key: To access the GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 instances, you need a paid OpenAI account. Obtain your OpenAI API key from the OpenAI platform, and set up billing at OpenAI API > Billing.
  4. PINECONE API key: Obtain the Pinecone API key from Pinecone’s website. Pinecone is used for vector database storage and memory management.
  5. Environment: Choose one of the following environments for running Auto-GPT:

Optional Requirements

These are the optional requirements for enhancing Auto-GPT functionality:

  1. Memory backends: Choose one of the following memory backends for storage and retrieval of information if you are not using Pinecone:
    • Milvus
    • Redis
    • Weaviate
  2. Eleven Labs API key: If you want Auto-GPT to speak responses, obtain your Eleven Labs API key from Eleven Labs’ website.
  3. Additional API integrations: Auto-GPT can integrate with various APIs, such as Google Search, Azure, Huggingface, Streamelements, and Stable Diffusion, to enhance its capabilities. Obtain the API keys from their respective websites and configure them in the .env file.

How to Setup Auto-GPT

Here is a step-by-step guide to install Auto-GPT, tailored for a beginner with little code experience:

Step 1: Install prerequisites

  1. Download and install Git, if you don’t already have it, from https://git-scm.com/downloads.
  2. Download and install Python, if you don’t already have it, from https://www.python.org/downloads/.
how to install git and python for auto-gpt
Step 1: Installing the prerequisites – git and python

Step 2: Open a terminal and navigate to the desired folder

  1. Open a terminal window:
    • On Windows, press Win + R keys, type cmd, and hit Enter.
    • On macOS, press Cmd + Space to open Spotlight, type Terminal, and hit Enter.
    • On Linux, use the keyboard shortcut or application menu to launch your preferred terminal.
  2. Navigate to the folder where you want to download the Auto-GPT repository:
    • Use the command cd folder_path, replacing “folder_path” with the actual path to your desired folder. For example, on Windows, you type: cd C:\Users\YourUsername\Projects and on macOS or Linux, you type cd /Users/YourUsername/Projects.
    • Press Enter to change your current directory to the specified folder.
auto gpt terminal command scaled
Install Auto-GPT navigate to directory terminal command

Step 3: Clone the Auto-GPT repository

In the terminal, type the following command and press Enter:

git clone https://github.com/Significant-Gravitas/Auto-GPT.git
install auto gpt terminal
Install auto-gpt in terminal using git

Step 4: Navigate to the repository directory

In the terminal, type the following command and press Enter:

cd Auto-GPT
auto gpt cd command scaled
Current directory cd terminal command to install Auto-GPT

Step 5: Install required dependencies

In the terminal, type the following command and press Enter:

pip install -r requirements.txt
install auto gpt requirements scaled

Step 6: Configure Auto-GPT

  1. Locate the file named .env.template in the main /Auto-GPT folder.
  2. Create a copy of this file, called .env by typing the following command in the terminal and pressing Enter:
cp .env.template .env
  1. Open the .env file in a text editor. Note: Files starting with a dot might be hidden by your operating system.
  2. Find the line that says OPENAI_API_KEY=.
  3. After the “=”, enter your unique OpenAI API Key (without any quotes or spaces).
  4. Enter any other API keys or tokens for services you would like to utilize.
  5. Save and close the .env file.
Setup Auto-GPT env file
Setup Auto-GPT env file

Step 7: Obtain your OpenAI API key

  1. Sign up for an OpenAI account at https://beta.openai.com/signup/.
  2. Log in and navigate to the API keys section: https://beta.openai.com/account/api-keys.
  3. Click “Create API key” and copy the generated key.
setup auto gpt api key scaled
Setup Auto-GPT API keys in the OpenAI dashboard.

Step 8: Configure Auto-GPT for Azure (optional)

If you want to use GPT on an Azure instance, follow these steps:

In the terminal, type the following command and press Enter:

cp azure.yaml.template azure.yaml
  1. Open the azure.yaml file in a text editor.
  2. Provide the relevant azure_api_base, azure_api_version, and deployment IDs for the relevant models in the azure_model_map section. Replace the string in angled brackets (<>) with your own ID, like this:
azure_model_map:
fast_llm_model_deployment_id: "<my-fast-llm-deployment-id>"
...

Save and close the azure.yaml file.

Step 9: Test your installation

To ensure everything is set up correctly, you can now run a test script provided by the Auto-GPT repository:

In the terminal, type the following command and press Enter:

python test.py

If everything was set up correctly, you should see a successful test message. Congratulations! You have now installed Auto-GPT.

How to Use Auto-GPT

In this guide, we’ll walk you through using Auto-GPT step by step. Even if you’re a beginner with little coding experience, this guide is designed to be easy to follow.

  1. Open a terminal or command prompt on your computer.

For Linux or Mac users, you can find the Terminal application in your Applications folder. For Windows users, press the Windows key, type “cmd” and hit Enter.

  1. Navigate to the Auto-GPT folder.

In the terminal, use the “cd” command followed by the path to the folder where you installed Auto-GPT. For example:

cd path/to/Auto-GPT

Replace “path/to/Auto-GPT” with the actual path to your Auto-GPT folder.

  1. Start Auto-GPT.

Depending on your operating system, run one of the following commands:

For Linux or Mac:

./run.sh start

For Windows:

.\run.bat
  1. To see a list of available command-line arguments, run:
python -m autogpt --help
  1. After each action, you will be prompted to authorize commands, exit the program, or provide feedback to the AI. Follow the instructions provided:
  • To authorize a single command, enter “y”.
  • To authorize a series of N continuous commands, enter “y -N” (replace N with the number of commands).
  • To exit the program, enter “n”.
  1. Logs for activity and errors are located in the ./output/logs folder. To print debug logs, run:
python -m autogpt --debug
  1. To use Auto-GPT with Docker, follow the instructions provided in the readme.md file:
  • Building and running the Docker image:
  docker build -t autogpt .
  docker run -it --env-file=./.env -v $PWD/auto_gpt_workspace:/app/auto_gpt_workspace autogpt
  • Using Docker Compose:
  docker-compose run --build --rm auto-gpt
  1. Auto-GPT also accepts command-line arguments for customization. Some common examples are:
  • View all available command-line arguments:
  python -m autogpt --help
  • Run Auto-GPT with a different AI Settings file:
  python -m autogpt --ai-settings <filename>
  • Specify a memory backend:
  python -m autogpt --use-memory <memory-backend>

Remember to replace anything in angled brackets (e.g., <filename>) with the appropriate values.

That’s it! Now you know how to use Auto-GPT. Keep practicing, and you’ll become more comfortable with it over time.

How to Use Auto-GPT in Your Browser (Without Coding)

There is a paid version of Auto-GPT that works as a browser-based service. It claims to offer advanced AI-generated content services using GPT-4 or GPT-3.5, such as:

  • Automating process workflows
  • Performing in-depth market research
  • Hypothesizing about abstract situations
  • Providing improvement suggestions
  • Building up code snippets and writing entire programs
  • Organizing events, webinars, and podcasts
  • Developing a website or app
  • Analyzing stock and crypto markets

In order to use the paid version of Auto-GPT you will need to first signup for a paid account with OpenAI to get an OpenAI API key. Following this, you can signup to the paid version of Auto-GPT and connect it with your OpenAI API key. Therefore, you will need to pay both for the OpenAI API credits (for whatever amounts you use) and for the Auto-GPT account. Once you have set both of these up, you will then need to specify your task in natural language and let the AI agent generate a list of prompts or sub-tasks to achieve your goal.

The paid version of Auto-GPT is not affiliated with the original Auto-GPT project, which is an open-source application on GitHub that requires a development environment like Docker or VS Code.

What are the benefits of using the paid version of Auto-GPT?

The main benefit of using the paid version of Auto-GPT is that it is more user-friendly and accessible than the free version from the GitHub repository. You don’t need to install any software or set up any configuration files to use it. You just need to visit the website, enter your task, and let the AI agent do the rest.

Another benefit of using the paid version of Auto-GPT is that it may have access to more data sources and models than the free version from the GitHub repository. The paid version claims to use GPT-4 or GPT-3.5, which are more advanced and powerful than GPT-3 or GPT-2. The paid version may also leverage other data sources such as Bing or Google search, social media, surveys, or focus groups, to provide more accurate and relevant content.

Auto-GPT Paid Version vs Free Auto-GPT Version (Github Repository)

The main drawback of using the paid version of Auto-GPT is that it is expensive and unreliable. You need to pay for an OpenAI account and an OpenAI API key, which can cost between $0.002 and $0.12 per 1,000 tokens depending on the model you use. One thousand tokens is about 750 words according to OpenAI. This means that you can easily rack up a hefty bill if you use Auto-GPT frequently or for long tasks.

Another drawback of using the paid version of Auto-GPT is that it may not always produce the desired results. Some users have reported disappointing experiences with the platform, citing issues such as:

  • No configuration for long-term memory
  • Uncertainty about AI model
  • Non-transparent credits accounting system
  • No mechanism for storing generated content
  • No test period
  • Zero support for LLM

These issues can affect the quality and relevance of the content generated by Auto-GPT, as well as your ability to monitor and control your usage and costs.

The free version of Auto-GPT from the GitHub repository is an open-source application that showcases the capabilities of the GPT-4 language model. It aims to create autonomous AI agents that can achieve any goal set by the user, by chaining together LLM “thoughts” and executing them iteratively without human intervention.

Best Prompts for Auto-GPT

The best prompts or tasks to use with Auto-GPT depend on your goals and interests. You can use Auto-GPT for a variety of purposes, such as:

  • Analyzing stock and crypto markets
  • Automating process workflows
  • Performing in-depth market research
  • Hypothesizing about abstract situations
  • Providing improvement suggestions
  • Building up code snippets and writing entire programs
  • Organizing events, webinars, and podcasts
  • Developing a website or app

You can also use Auto-GPT for fun, personal, informative, creative, or philosophical tasks, such as:

  • Write musical compositions
  • Crafting unique recipes
  • Generating immersive fantasy stories
  • Creating sci-fi poetry
  • Exploring time travel scenarios
  • Improving your skills and well-being
  • Conducting scientific research
  • Reflecting on your consciousness

To use Auto-GPT, you need to specify your task in natural language and let the AI agent do the rest. For example, you can give Auto-GPT tasks such as:

  • Code a Python App
  • Improve my online store’s web presence at storexd.com (not a real site)
  • Help grow my Linux-themed socks business
  • Collect all competing Linux tutorial blogs and save them to a CSV file

Auto-GPT will then generate a list of prompts or sub-tasks to achieve your goal and execute them iteratively without human intervention. You can monitor the progress of the AI agent and provide feedback or guidance if needed.

Auto-GPT Quick Start Guide (Setup Auto-GPT in Under 2 Minutes)

What are the requirements for setting up Auto-GPT?

To set up Auto-GPT, you need a GitHub application to download the code, Python 3.8 or later, an OpenAI API key, a Pinecone API key, and a suitable environment, such as VSCode + devcontainer, Docker, or Python 3.10 or later for Windows users. Optional requirements include alternative memory backends, an Eleven Labs API key for text-to-speech, and additional API keys for other integrations.

Can a beginner with no code experience set up Auto-GPT?

The Auto-GPT installation and usage guide provided is tailored to accommodate users of all skill levels, including beginners with limited development experience. By following the step-by-step guide, even beginners can successfully install and set up Auto-GPT for use.

How is Auto-GPT different from other AI chatbots?

Auto-GPT is an open-source, autonomous AI agent that uses OpenAI's GPT-4, GPT-3.5, and other APIs to perform tasks with minimal human intervention. It is capable of self-prompting and generating the necessary steps to achieve a given goal. Unlike interactive systems like ChatGPT, Auto-GPT can assign itself new objectives and work towards a greater goal without constant human input. It can also manage short-term and long-term memory, summarize context window lengths, and perform internet-based actions unattended.

What are the key features of Auto-GPT?

Auto-GPT offers natural language understanding, conversational AI, task automation, multilingual support, text-to-speech integration, customization, activity and error logs, Docker support, command line interface, and continuous mode. It leverages the power of GPT models to provide users with an interactive, conversational AI experience capable of understanding natural language, automating tasks, and offering a wide range of functionality through customization and integration with other services.

Which APIs can Auto-GPT integrate with?

Auto-GPT can integrate with various APIs, such as Pinecone, Google Search API, Redis, Eleven Labs, Weaviate, Milvus, Azure, GitHub, Huggingface, Streamelements, and Stable Diffusion. These integrations allow Auto-GPT to enhance its functionality and performance across different tasks, such as memory management, web searches, text-to-speech, semantic search, vector indexing, cloud computing, and live streaming.