How to Set up and Install Devika AI: Your Free AI Software Engineer

The release of ChatGPT demonstrated the impressive capabilities of generative AI. Currently, there is buzz surrounding Devin, who is rumored to be the “world’s first AI software engineer.”Although Devin is still in closed beta, there is another option available in the form of Devika, an open-source AI software engineer developed by an Indian developer. Interested in giving it a try? The steps for installing and setting up Devika AI are outlined below.

Devika AI is a free open-source alternative to Devin, the world’s first AI software engineer. It was created by 21-year-old Mufeed VH, founder of Lyminal and Stition.AI, and was inspired by Devin. Similar to Devin, Devika assists in writing programs, but with the added benefit of being completely free.

Devika AI fosters a collaborative environment where users can freely utilize, distribute, and enhance its codebase. Boasting advanced AI models such as Claude and GPT-4, Devika is equipped to handle intricate coding tasks. It acquires a deep understanding of natural language prompts and conducts research to provide optimal coding solutions, acting as a proficient assistant that suggests ways to elevate your code.

Installation

In order to use Devika AI, it is necessary to have several dependencies such as Ollama and Bun.

Installing Ollama and Bun on Your Device

• Visit the Ollama website and click on the ‘Download For Windows’ button. If you are on MacOS or Linux, select the respective options.

• Once the setup is downloaded, run it to install Ollama.

• Next, you need to install Bun. To do so, go to your cmd window and type powershell -c "irm bun.sh/install.ps1 | iex"

• You will see the message ‘Bun was installed successfully’ once the process is complete.

Cloning The Devika Repo

In order to install the necessary files, you must clone the Devika repository from GitHub.

• To open the command prompt on your Windows PC, simply enter cmd or command prompt in the Start menu and then select the application from the list of results.

• To copy all the necessary files from the repository to your machine, enter the command git clone https://github.com/stitionai/devika.git into the command prompt and press the ‘Enter’ key.

The necessary files have been obtained and a directory called ‘Devika’ has been established on your system. The next task is to install any additional dependencies.

Installing Necessary Dependencies

In order to install the necessary dependencies, it is necessary to access the Devika directory.

• Enter cd devika and hit the ‘Enter’ key.

• Next, type pip install -r requirements.txt to install the needed Python dependencies and press the ‘Enter’ key.

• Follow this up with the command pip install -r requirements.txtplaywright install --with-deps. It can take some time to install the dependencies.

Configuring API Keys and Settings

In order to ensure proper functionality, Devika AI may require specific API keys depending on the desired features. These parameters can be set in the config.toml file located in the Devika directory.

• In the root directory, type config.toml to access the configuration file.

• If you are running Windows, open the file using Notepad. The ‘API Keys’ section in the configuration file is where you can add your own keys for different AI models.

• To insert a key, just paste it beside its corresponding model within the brackets. Once completed, close the file.

Launching The Devika AI Server

In order to use Devika AI, it is necessary to first begin the Devika server.

• In the root directory, type python devika.py and press the ‘Enter’ key.

• As soon as the server begins to run, a message will appear in the command prompt window.

Building and Launching the UI Server

To successfully run Devika AI, you must compile and execute the UI server as the last set of steps.

• Navigate to the Devika directory by opening a new command prompt window and using the command cd devika.
• Next, type cd ui/ before pressing the ‘Enter’ key.

• Follow this with bun install and then bun run dev. Press the ‘Enter’ key after each command.

• Now your installation is complete, and you just need to start Devika AI. You can run Devika AI in your browser after it is installed by visiting http://localhost:3000 to access the Devika AI interface.

Devika AI is a free and open-source alternative to Devin AI, making it easily accessible to a larger audience. If you are curious about how it can streamline the process of coding, you can follow the steps above to install it on your computer.

Despite this, it is important to note that the Devika AI tool is still in the development stage. As a result, you may encounter difficulties or encounter bugs while using it. However, the developers are diligently addressing any issues with Devika AI and it will soon be just as effective as its proprietary counterpart.