# Your first run

Open the Eva console, ask a question, read the answer, and see what it cost. Then do the same thing from a shell pipeline.

Open the console with no arguments:

```bash
eva
```

Type a question and press enter. Eva streams the answer as it arrives.

## See what it cost

Type `/cost`. Eva prints what this session has spent.

Commands that begin with a slash are answered by the console itself. They never
reach a model, so they cost nothing.

## Answer once and exit

`--print` runs one prompt, writes the answer to stdout, and exits. This is the
form to use in a script.

```bash
eva --print "what does this repository do?"
```

It is `-p` for short. The run exits non-zero when the answer fails, which makes
it safe in a pipeline:

```bash
eva -p "summarise the last commit" > summary.txt
```

## Stop a run

Press <kbd>Esc</kbd> to interrupt a run in progress. Press it again to confirm.
Press <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>C</kbd> twice to leave the console.

## What you have now

<Cards>
  <Card
    title="The console"
    href="/use/console"
    description="What the interactive surface shows, and why."
  />
  <Card title="Commands" href="/use/commands" description="Every slash command." />
  <Card
    title="Print mode"
    href="/use/print-mode"
    description="Eva in a pipeline, and its exit codes."
  />
  <Card title="Concepts" href="/concepts" description="The words Eva uses for its own machinery." />
</Cards>


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This page as HTML: https://docs.evafactory.co/first-run
Every page as one markdown index: https://docs.evafactory.co/llms.txt