This isn't just another AI chatbot; it's an interactive command-line agent built to work seamlessly with powerful AI models. What makes it truly revolutionary is its "agent loop"—it can iterate on tasks, pursuing a goal until it’s finished, using an array of tools at its disposal. It's context-aware, meaning it understands your operating system (Mac, Windows, Linux), has limited access to your file system, and crucially, can run system binaries like ls, jq, or even FFmpeg for basic video editing. You’ll find it particularly powerful when run from a project directory, gaining instant awareness of your files and structure, though you can use it anywhere you need. But how do you teach an AI your specific engineering practices or even your personal quirks? This tool introduces .md files, where you can define project-specific instructions, coding styles, or even your preferred Git client. These files create a tiered structure, allowing for front-end, back-end, or even global, personal instructions that the AI will follow across all your projects.
Beyond understanding your preferences, this CLI comes packed with powerful built-in tools. Need up-to-date library information or data from the web? It has Google Search and web fetch capabilities. But perhaps most fascinating is the "Save Memory" tool, allowing the model to learn from your workflows and append information to your .md files. You can literally tell it to "remember that I like to use conventional commit syntax," and it will integrate that into its future actions! When it comes to making changes, this intelligent agent generates diffs, allowing you to review and approve, or even provide direct feedback like, "Actually, just use an emoji sparkle instead." It intelligently adjusts, continuing the conversation with full context. And for those times you need to execute local shell commands, a simple ! allows you to run them directly within the CLI, with the output becoming part of the AI's ongoing context. Plus, it's multimodal, meaning you can reference not just text files and source code, but also PDFs, images, videos, and audio files—imagine a napkin sketch instantly turning into code! But with such power comes the need for control. The CLI offers robust sandboxing, utilizing OS-level features like macOS Seatbelt or Docker/Podman for enhanced safety, restricting its access to only what's necessary. Even better, "checkpointing" creates a shadow Git repository, taking snapshots before any file changes, so you can easily revert or explore different solutions without permanent alterations. For advanced users, it supports MCP (Model Control Protocol) tools for integrating with third-party SaaS systems and offers an extensible architecture for creating your own custom commands. It even has a "headless mode" for automated tasks, like generating weekly reports via cron jobs. This isn't just a glimpse into the future; it's a fully open-source project with a public roadmap and a vibrant community, boasting tens of thousands of GitHub stars. It’s built with extensibility in mind, using a Node.js and React (Ink) framework, allowing you to build your own interfaces or backends. This tool truly empowers developers by bringing sophisticated AI directly into their daily workflow, making complex tasks simpler and innovation more accessible than ever before.
