setup

---
name: setup
description: Use when setting up a new autoresearch experiment. Collects domain, target file, eval command, metric, direction, and evaluator interactively.
category: Engineering
version: 1.0.0
tools: []
---

# /ar:setup — Create New Experiment

Set up a new autoresearch experiment with required configuration.

## Usage

```
/ar:setup                                    # Interactive mode
/ar:setup engineering api-speed src/api.py "pytest bench.py" p50_ms lower
/ar:setup --list                             # Show existing experiments
/ar:setup --list-evaluators                  # Show available evaluators
```

## What It Does

### Interactive Mode

Collect each parameter one at a time:

1. **Domain** — What domain? (engineering, marketing, content, prompts, custom)
2. **Name** — Experiment name? (e.g., api-speed, blog-titles)
3. **Target file** — Which file to optimize? Verify it exists.
4. **Eval command** — How to measure it? (e.g., pytest bench.py, python evaluate.py)
5. **Metric** — What metric does the eval output? (e.g., p50_ms, ctr_score)
6. **Direction** — Is lower or higher better?
7. **Evaluator** (optional) — Show built-in evaluators. Ask: "Use a built-in evaluator, or your own?"
8. **Scope** — Store in project (.autoresearch/) or user (~/.autoresearch/)?

### Listing

Show existing experiments or available evaluators.

## Built-in Evaluators

| Name | Metric | Use Case |
|------|--------|----------|
| `benchmark_speed` | `p50_ms` (lower) | Function/API execution time |
| `benchmark_size` | `size_bytes` (lower) | File, bundle, Docker image size |
| `test_pass_rate` | `pass_rate` (higher) | Test suite pass percentage |
| `build_speed` | `build_seconds` (lower) | Build/compile/Docker build time |
| `memory_usage` | `peak_mb` (lower) | Peak memory during execution |
| `llm_judge_content` | `ctr_score` (higher) | Headlines, titles, descriptions |
| `llm_judge_prompt` | `quality_score` (higher) | System prompts, agent instructions |
| `llm_judge_copy` | `engagement_score` (higher) | Social posts, ad copy, emails |

## After Setup

Report to the user:
- Experiment path and branch name
- Whether the eval command worked and the baseline metric
- Suggest: "Run `/ar:run {domain}/{name}` to start iterating, or `/ar:loop {domain}/{name}` for autonomous mode."