Getting Started

Install

pip install "portlight[tui]"

Requires Python 3.11+. CLI-only: pip install portlight. No Python? npx @mcptoolshop/portlight.

Start a new game

TUI (recommended):

portlight tui

Pick New, then a captain type. Or CLI:

portlight new "Your Name" --type merchant

Or run portlight new "Your Name" without --type for the interactive captain selection roster.

Captain types

Captain	Home	Edge	Trade-off
Merchant	Porto Novo	Best prices, trust grows fast	Heat penalties doubled
Smuggler	Palm Cove	Black market, contraband trade	Higher heat, more inspections
Navigator	Silva Bay	Faster ships, longer range	Weaker initial standing
Privateer	Stormwall	Naval combat, boarding advantage	Poor merchant reputation
Corsair	Corsair’s Rest	Balanced combat + trade	Master of none
Scholar	Monsoon Reach	Information advantage	Low capital, fragile
Merchant Prince	Al-Manar	High starting capital	Higher fees, pirate target
Dockhand	Crosswind Isle	Cheapest crew	Lowest starting capital
Bounty Hunter	Crosswind Isle	Combat mastery	Poor prices, distrusted

Start with merchant for your first run. It has the smoothest early game.

Your first trade

portlight market          # See what's cheap here
portlight buy grain 10    # Buy cheap goods
portlight routes          # Find where grain sells high
portlight sail al_manar   # Sail to a destination
portlight advance         # Travel day by day
portlight sell grain 10   # Sell at the destination
portlight ledger          # See your trade history

What to focus on early

• Profit per voyage. Buy where stock is high, sell where it’s consumed.
• Provisions. You consume one per day at sea. Buy before long voyages: portlight provision 15.
• Ship condition. Repair storm damage at port: portlight repair.
• The map. Run portlight map to see the world, routes, and your position.

What to ignore at first

• Contracts — wait until you understand route profitability
• Infrastructure — wait until you have 500+ silver and a steady income loop
• Insurance and credit — mid-game tools, not early priorities
• Victory paths — tracked automatically, check with portlight milestones
• Combat gear — buy a weapon when you can afford it, not before

System unlock timeline

Silver	Day	What opens up
0-500	1-10	Basic trading, route discovery, first weapon
500-2000	10-25	Ship upgrades, first warehouse, simple contracts
2000-5000	25-50	Licenses, insurance, credit, multi-region trading
5000+	50+	Victory path pursuit, full infrastructure, endgame waters