nanocode-cli 0.5.0

A small terminal coding agent written in Python

nanocode

A small terminal coding agent written in Python.

nanocode is pre-1.0 software. Commands, configuration, and tool behavior may change before a stable release.

Features

• Snapshot context: Every turn starts from a clean workspace snapshot instead of a bloated chat replay.
• File memory: Recent reads and edits stay available as focused, line-numbered file ranges.
• Anchored edits: line:hash anchors catch stale edits before they touch the wrong code.
• Symbol index: Jump from names to outlines, references, and changed files without searching blindly.
• Tool recall: Big outputs are bounded in the prompt but still recallable later by tr.N.
• Terminal-native UI: Model picking, history search, confirmations, live command output, and status all stay in the terminal.

Install

uv tool install nanocode-cli

For local development:

uv sync --extra dev
uv run nanocode

Usage

Start the CLI:

nanocode

Useful arguments:

• --config <path>: use a TOML config file.
• --init-config: create a default config file.
• --yolo: skip confirmations for mutating tools.
• -v, --version: show the version.

Commands

• /help: show commands and tools.
• /status: show runtime status.
• /config: show active config.
• /api [auto|chat|anthropic]: show or set provider API format.
• /debug [on|off]: toggle model I/O debug traces.
• /compact: compact context now.
• /index [force]: sync or rebuild the code symbol index.
• /provider [NAME]: show or set provider.
• /model [MODEL]: show or set model.
• /reason: choose reasoning effort.
• /set KEY VALUE: set provider/runtime values.
• /yolo: toggle tool confirmations.
• /exit, /quit: exit.

Interactive selectors support j/k, arrows, / search, Enter, and Esc. Input supports history, completion, and Ctrl-R history search.

Tools

• File: Read, LineCount, List, Search.
• Code index: InspectCode.
• Edit: CreateFile, Edit.
• Shell: Bash, Git.
• Tool results: Recall, Forget.

Read, Search, and InspectCode return line anchors where useful. Edit uses current line:hash anchors to reject stale edits.

Configuration

Run:

nanocode --init-config

Default config location is ~/.nanocode/config.toml.

Main fields:

• [provider] active = "name"
• [provider.<name>]: url, key, model, api, prompt_cache_key, available_models, reasoning, chat_reasoning, temperature, timeout
• [paths] data_dir
• [runtime] shell_timeout, max_agent_steps, max_context_tokens, yolo

api = "auto" chooses between Chat Completions and Anthropic Messages using provider/model profiles. prompt_cache_key = "auto" derives a stable key from provider, model, workspace, and tool schema names.

Context Design

Each model request is built manually as one system message and one user message. The user message is a structured context snapshot, ordered from stable sections to volatile sections so provider prompt caching can reuse the prefix.

model request
+--------------------------------------------------+
| system                                           |
|   concise agent contract and tool rules          |
+--------------------------------------------------+
| user                                             |
|   Environment                                   |
|   State                                         |
|   Summary                                       |
|   Recent Conversation                           |
|   Tool Result Index                             |
|   File Context                                  |
|   Discovery Context                             |
|   Error Feedback                                |
|   Latest Tool Results                           |
|   Current User Request                          |
+--------------------------------------------------+

Core rules:

• File Context is rebuilt dynamically from active Read and Edit results.
• Newer file lines overwrite older lines; edit invalidations clear stale ranges.
• File lines are checked against current file stat or line hash before being shown.
• Discovery Context contains Search and InspectCode leads, not source truth.
• Large tool outputs are bounded in context and can be recalled by tr.N.
• Error Feedback keeps only recent failed tool calls.
• Forget removes stale result keys from the active tool result store.

Safety

nanocode can edit files and run shell commands in the environment where it is started. It does not provide sandbox protection. Run it inside your own sandbox, container, VM, or other isolated environment when needed.