Install Ask Forge CLI: Get Started

Prerequisites

Ask Forge is a .NET application that requires a SchemaSmith license. Gather these before you begin.

Requirement	Details
SchemaSmith License	A valid `SchemaSmith License.lic` file. See Licensing below for details.
.NET Runtime	Not required. The downloads are self-contained; building from source needs the .NET 10 SDK.
Operating System	Windows, macOS, or Linux
LLM Provider (optional)	For AI-powered mode, you need an LLM provider. See all supported options. All commands work without one.

Installation

Windows Installer (Recommended)

AskForge is distributed as a Windows MSI installer (SetupAskForge-Enterprise.msi).

The installer:

Self-contained (no separate .NET runtime to install)
Installs to C:\Program Files\SchemaSmith\ForgeBarrett\
Automatically adds the install directory to the system PATH
Includes both the ask-forge CLI and the ForgeBarrett.Mcp MCP server

During installation, two features are available:

ForgeBarrett Core (required) — CLI and MCP Server binaries, PATH setup
Claude Desktop Integration (optional) — Registers the MCP server in Claude Desktop's config at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Cross-Platform ZIP Package

For macOS, Linux, or environments where an MSI is not suitable, AskForge is also available as a ZIP package, AskForge-Enterprise.zip. The package includes both ask-forge.exe and ForgeBarrett.Mcp.exe.

Extract the ZIP to your preferred location
Add the extraction directory to your PATH
Run the CLI: ask-forge

To use Ask Forge as an MCP server with Claude Desktop, VS Code, or other MCP clients, see MCP Server Setup for configuration instructions — the client launches ForgeBarrett.Mcp.exe automatically.

Verify Installation

After installing, open a new terminal and run:

ask-forge --version

To confirm configuration is working:

ask-forge show-config

Licensing

Ask Forge requires a valid license to run. It looks for a file named SchemaSmith License.lic by searching in this order:

The path set in the SCHEMASMITH_LICENSE environment variable (the license file or its directory)
The directory where ask-forge is installed
Parent directories (walks up to the root)
Directories on the system PATH

If no license is found, Ask Forge exits with an error. For most Windows installations, placing SchemaSmith License.lic in the install directory (C:\Program Files\SchemaSmith\SchemaSmith\) is the simplest option.

First Run

Single Command Mode

Run a specific command and exit:

ask-forge list-tables --product ./MyProduct --template Default

Every command works without an LLM provider. See Console & Commands for the full reference.

Interactive Mode (REPL)

Launch Ask Forge without arguments to enter interactive mode:

ask-forge

In interactive mode you can type commands directly (e.g., list-tables, show-config) or ask natural language questions if an LLM provider is configured.

No LLM configured? All commands work in interactive mode without an LLM. Natural language queries require a configured provider — see the next section.

Configure Your LLM Provider (Optional)

An LLM provider enables natural language interaction but is not required for any command. Here are three ways to get started:

Option A: Ollama (local, no API key needed)

Install Ollama from ollama.com
Pull a model: ollama pull llama3:8b
Ask Forge includes a default Ollama configuration — no config changes needed

Option B: Environment variables (any provider)

set SCHEMASMITH_LLM_PROVIDER=OpenAI
set SCHEMASMITH_LLM_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
set SCHEMASMITH_LLM_MODEL=gpt-4o

export SCHEMASMITH_LLM_PROVIDER=OpenAI
export SCHEMASMITH_LLM_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
export SCHEMASMITH_LLM_MODEL=gpt-4o

Option C: Config file

For full config reference, see Configuration.

See all supported LLM providers

Quick Wins

Try these commands to get productive immediately.

List Tables

List all tables in a schema package:

ask-forge list-tables \
  --product ./MyProduct \
  --template Default

Review a Schema

Run an instant schema review for issues:

ask-forge review-schema \
  --product ./MyProduct \
  --template Default

Search Knowledge Base

Search the built-in knowledge base:

ask-forge search-knowledge \
  --query "naming conventions"

Show a Table

Inspect a specific table's structure:

ask-forge show-table \
  --product ./MyProduct \
  --template Default \
  --table Users

Getting Started with Ask Forge