New to robotics?
Start here.
No experience needed.
OpenCastor is designed so that anyone — student, hobbyist, curious tinkerer — can get a robot thinking with AI in an afternoon. This guide walks you through everything from scratch.
Getting ready
What you'll need
Three things. That's it. Don't worry about getting everything perfect — you can always swap parts out later.
A robot or robot kit
Any of the kits on our hardware page work. Even something from a thrift store or school surplus sale. If you're not sure, check our STEM hardware list.
A Raspberry Pi or computer
A Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 is ideal ($35–80). A regular laptop works too for simulation. If you have a spare computer lying around, it'll probably work.
An AI model account
Free options are available — we'll help you choose one. You don't need to pay anything to get started. The wizard will walk you through it.
Where are you starting from?
Pick your starting point
Everyone comes from somewhere different. Find the path that fits you.
I have a kit from Amazon
Go to the Hardware page, find your kit, and download the community preset. You'll be up and running in minutes.
Go to Hardware page →I found something at school or a thrift store
Check the STEM & Classroom Hardware section — it lists the most common school and donation kits with full setup instructions.
Check STEM hardware →I don't have any hardware yet
No problem. Try the built-in simulator first — no robot required. Just run:
castor demo It simulates a robot so you can learn the system before buying anything.
Step by step
Your first robot, start to finish
Follow these steps in order. Each one builds on the last. Don't skip ahead — the wizard will handle most of the complexity for you.
Install OpenCastor
This one command installs everything. It works on Raspberry Pi, Mac, Linux, and Windows. Takes about 2 minutes. You'll see a progress bar as it downloads and sets up.
Run the setup wizard
The wizard now probes your device, suggests a compatible software stack, runs preflight checks, and guides fallback options if needed. You still answer plain-English questions and do not need to edit RCAN files by hand.
Choose a free AI model
We recommend starting with the free Hugging Face tier — no credit card needed. The wizard will walk you through creating a free account and getting an API key in about 3 minutes.
If you have an eligible Apple Intelligence Mac, pick Apple Foundation Models for on-device inference with no API key.
If you already have a Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini subscription, those work too — just paste your API key when asked.
Test your hardware
This command talks to your robot and makes sure everything is connected correctly. It tests each motor one at a time so you can watch them move and confirm everything's working before running anything autonomous.
Start your robot
Your robot is now running! It uses the camera to see the world, thinks about what to do using your chosen AI model, and moves. Just watch what happens — and don't worry, the safety layer will stop it if anything goes wrong.
Talk to your robot (optional but fun)
If you set up WhatsApp or Telegram during the wizard, you can now text your robot commands directly from your phone. Send it a message like "go forward" or "find the red object" and watch it respond.
This is set up during castor wizard
— just choose "yes" when it asks about messaging.
Common questions
Things people ask
Honest answers, no jargon.
castor wizard — it has a generic mode that works with most common
hardware. Or join our Discord and
describe what you have. The community is friendly and someone has probably set up the same thing already.
castor doctor — it checks your entire setup and tells you exactly what's
wrong in plain English. Most common issues are detected and fixed automatically. If it can't fix it, it
tells you what to search for.You're not alone. 🤝
Ask a question, share what you build, or just lurk — the community is friendly to beginners. There are no dumb questions here.
Ready? Let's build something. 🚀
One command. Two minutes. Your robot, thinking with AI.
curl -fsSL opencastor.com/install | bash