V Vant Docs

Tutorial: Build Your First Persistent Agent

15-minute tutorial to build an AI agent that remembers everything between sessions

What You’ll Build

A CLI agent that:

Step 1: Setup

Install Vant and create a brain repo:

# Install Vant
npm install -g vant

# Create brain repo on GitHub
# Go to github.com/new
# Name: my-first-agent-brain
# Make it private
# Create repo

Step 2: Configure

Run the setup wizard:

vant setup

# Follow prompts:
# - GitHub token: (create at github.com/settings/tokens)
# - Brain repo: yourusername/my-first-agent-brain
# - Branch: main

Step 3: Create Agent Script

Create agent.js:

const { brain, config } = require('vant');

async function run() {
  // Load brain from previous session
  await brain.load();
  
  // Your agent logic here
  const history = brain.get('history', []);
  console.log(`Previous sessions: ${history.length}`);
  
  // Add to history
  history.push({ time: Date.now() });
  brain.set('history', history);
  
  // Save brain
  await brain.save();
}

run();

Step 4: Run

Execute your agent:

node agent.js

Step 5: Run Again

Run a second time to see memory persist:

# Run a second time
node agent.js

# Output: Previous sessions: 1

How Brain Transfer Works

Brain file structure and management.

Session 1              Session 2
    │                      │
    ▼                      ▼
[Load Brain]─────────→[Memory]
    │                      │
    ▼                      ▼
[AI Makes Decisions]──→[Decisions]
    │                      │
    ▼                      ▼
[Save Brain]─────────→[GitHub Push]
    │                      │
    └──────────────────────┘
       Next session inherits!

Next Steps