[oleksandr-korin]

Summary

One reasoned "star the repo" ask on four surfaces — one sentence each, same register as the README's existing one-line callouts (no !, no "please", a real reason on every line: it's how other people find Trinity).

• README top, under the badge row — catches the warm visitor who arrived from a referral and stars before reading.
• README Quick Start, right after the Phase A "Access" block — the moment the instance just came up. Paired with "Ran into a rough edge? File an issue — we read them."
• scripts/deploy/start.sh next-steps card, after step 3 — read by every installer at the moment it worked. One insertion covers local and --hosted (it sits above the path split). Raw URL on its own line: copyable in any terminal, linkified in modern ones. Prints on every start by design.
• docs/AGENT_INSTALL_GUIDE.md Step 3 card — the README's recommended install path has an installing agent reproduce this card rather than relay start.sh output, so without it the recommended path never shows the ask. (Scope expansion from the 3-surface issue, found during plan review.)

Adjacent fix, same file: the guide's card step 1 and the bullet beneath it still described the pre-#2381 first-run wizard ("admin email + email whitelist"). Both now describe what first-run setup actually asks for (connect Claude; the rest under Settings → Integrations), matching start.sh's already-corrected copy.

Changes

• README.md — +4 (two callouts)
• scripts/deploy/start.sh — +6 (two echo lines + rationale comment)
• docs/AGENT_INSTALL_GUIDE.md — +9/−2 (star lines + stale-wizard copy fix ×2)

Rendered start.sh card (local, ADMIN_PASSWORD set)

  3. Or create an agent straight from the UI: Create Agent → pick a template.

  ⭐ If this was easy, star the repo — it's how other people find Trinity:
     https://github.com/abilityai/trinity

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Test plan

• bash -n scripts/deploy/start.sh — clean
• The four existing start.sh-reading suites (test_2390_start_sh_env_and_project_name, test_2281_firstboot_password, test_2280_hosted_compose_parity, test_1810_1814_version_truth) — 44/44 pass; none pins the card wording, step numbering 1–3 unchanged
• Register check: no ! / please in any added line
• Secret / email scan on added lines: clean; only URL added is the public repo
• Eyeball the two README callouts rendered on GitHub

Deliberately out of scope (per issue): in-app ask on the first-run front desk, star-history embed, animated star GIF.

Fixes #2885

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

https://claude.ai/code/session_01Su6ooK6yNx2eMn4D2tLL6L

[vybe]

merge-train: batch validated on train/20260920-1811 (#2913)