Prove

A local-first startup idea validator. Runs a structured AI conversation that pressure-tests your idea across five stages and produces a clear verdict.

Quick start

npx validate-idea

On first run a setup wizard picks your AI provider and API key — then a local web UI opens at http://localhost:8674.

How it works

Submit your idea in one sentence. The AI guides you through five stages:

| Stage | What it examines | |---|---| | Clarity | Is the idea specific and well-defined? | | Pain & Urgency | Is the problem real, frequent, and urgent? | | Differentiation | What exists already, and why does yours differ? | | MVP & Validation | What's the smallest testable experiment? | | Decision | Build, pivot, or drop — with reasoning |

All project data is stored locally under ~/.prove/.

Providers

| Provider | Env var | |---|---| | OpenAI | OPENAI_API_KEY | | Google Gemini | GEMINI_API_KEY | | OpenRouter | OPENROUTER_API_KEY |

Config is saved to ~/.prove/config.json after first setup.

Optional: demand research

Set a Tavily API key to enable web research mode — the agent searches forums and discussion threads for real demand signals.

export TAVILY_API_KEY=your_key

CLI commands

prove              Start the server (runs setup on first launch)
prove reset        Clear saved config and re-run setup
prove whoami       Show current provider and model

Environment variables

| Variable | Default | Description | |---|---|---| | PORT | 8674 | Server port | | AI_MODEL | (from config) | Override the model | | SEARCH_PROVIDER | none | Set to tavily to enable research | | TAVILY_API_KEY | — | Required when SEARCH_PROVIDER=tavily |

Development

bun install
bun dev          # starts API + web in watch mode
bun build:cli    # produces a self-contained dist/

Requires Bun ≥ 1.3.