Crush setup: OpenRouter models and an invoice app

This tutorial follows Crush, a terminal AI agent, through Windows installation and a coding test with Poolside Laguna XS 2.1. The presenter installs it through npm with Node.js already available, then launches it by typing Crush. The setup shown uses models through OpenRouter; it does not demonstrate running model inference on the user's hardware.

The interface tour covers slash commands, sessions, reasoning effort and the model picker, which opens with Ctrl + L. The presenter searches for free models and points to OpenRouter Configured and OpenCode Zen as options that can work without supplying an API key. They also describe adding an OpenRouter key if the configured option is missing. Provider access reflects the options available in the demonstration and can change. Premium models in the picker still require an OpenRouter plan, according to the walkthrough.

For the coding assistant test, the presenter selects Laguna XS 2.1. A single prompt requests a business invoice generator. The presenter opens the generated index.html, enters client details and item prices, checks automatic totals, and downloads a PDF. They report making no manual edits. The example shows the reported result of one task rather than a broad benchmark of coding reliability.