quenda 0.1.8

A lightweight Agent framework with extensible model providers

A lightweight, layered Agent framework for Python

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What's New

2026-06

• Skills Framework — Composable capability packages with instructions, resources, and tools. Discover, activate, and use skills on demand. Learn more →
• Context Compression — Automatic summarization when context grows large, with configurable policies and manual /compress command.
• Interaction Requests — LLM can ask users for choices, confirmations, and input via structured interaction protocol.
• Agent Commands Extension — Define custom slash commands in extensions/commands/*.py.
• Custom Tool Extensions — Agent-local tools via extensions/tools/*.py with config.yaml declaration.
• 26 Model Providers — OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, DashScope, Moonshot, Ollama, and 20 more.

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Quenda Code

Quenda Code is an AI coding agent that runs in your terminal. It reads your codebase, writes code, runs commands, and helps you ship.

📖 Quenda Code Documentation →

# Install
pip install quenda quenda-code

# Start interactive session
quenda code

# One-shot task
quenda code "Add error handling to the API client"

Features

• Code-aware — Reads and understands your codebase structure
• Workspace-scoped — All file operations stay within your project directory
• Safe execution — Shell commands filtered, Python code sandboxed
• Session persistence — Conversations saved and resumable
• Interactive mode switching — Switch between code, architect, and chat modes
• Skills on demand — Activate capability packages as needed

REPL Commands

Command	Description
/help	Show available commands
/mode [code|architect|chat]	Switch interaction mode
/model <provider>/<model>	Switch model mid-session
/skill list	List available skills
/skill activate <name>	Activate a skill
/compress	Manually compress context
/status	Show session and token info
/reset	Clear conversation history

Example Session

> read the main entry point and explain how it works

I'll read the main entry point...

[Reads src/quenda/cli.py]

The entry point is `cli.py:main()`. It defines two subcommands:
- `quenda run --agent <path>` — Run a custom agent from AGENT.md
- `quenda code` — Run Quenda Code Agent (built-in)

Each command supports one-shot mode (with a message) or REPL mode (without).

> add a --version flag to the CLI

I'll add a `--version` flag to the argument parser...

[Applies patch to cli.py]

Done. Added `--version` flag that prints the version and exits.

> run the tests

[Runs pytest]

All 42 tests passed.

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Quenda SDK

Build agents in Python with a minimal API:

from quenda import Agent, tool
from quenda.providers import get_provider_registry
from quenda.tools import get_core_tools
import asyncio

@tool
def calculate(expression: str) -> float:
    """Safely evaluate a math expression."""
    import ast
    node = ast.parse(expression, mode='eval')
    return eval(compile(node, '<string>', 'eval'), {"__builtins__": {}}, {})

model = get_provider_registry().get_model("deepseek", "deepseek-v4-flash")

agent = Agent(
    name="assistant",
    system_prompt="You are a helpful assistant.",
    tools=[calculate, *get_core_tools(".")],
    model=model,
)

async def main():
    session = agent.open_session()
    result = await session.send("What is 15% of 847?")
    print(result)

asyncio.run(main())

📖 SDK Tutorials — 8 chapters covering agents, tools, providers, sessions, and events.

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Installation

# Quenda Code — AI coding assistant (CLI)
pip install quenda quenda-code

# Quenda SDK — Build agents in Python
pip install quenda

Requires Python 3.12+. Zero required runtime dependencies.

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Features

• Minimal API. Agent, Session, @tool, and you're done.
• 26 model providers. OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, DashScope, and more — one registry, one API.
• 9 core tools. Filesystem, shell, Python sandbox, and user interaction — all workspace-scoped.
• Skills framework. Composable capability packages with instructions and resources.
• Security by code. SSRF protection, command filtering, import restrictions, workspace isolation.
• Observable by default. Every run emits structured events for streaming and debugging.
• Context compression. Automatic summarization when context grows large.

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Model Providers

Quenda ships with 26 built-in providers covering 300+ models:

Provider	Example Models	API Key Env
openai	gpt-4o, gpt-4-turbo	OPENAI_API_KEY
anthropic	claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022	ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
agnes	agnes-2.0-flash	AGNES_API_KEY
deepseek	deepseek-chat, deepseek-v4-flash	DEEPSEEK_API_KEY
deepseek-anthropic	deepseek-v4-flash (Anthropic API)	DEEPSEEK_API_KEY
dashscope	qwen-max, qwen-plus	DASHSCOPE_API_KEY
moonshot	moonshot-v1-8k, moonshot-v1-128k	MOONSHOT_API_KEY
openrouter	anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet	OPENROUTER_API_KEY
ollama	llama3, mistral, qwen2	local (no key)

Full provider list →

Add a custom provider in 5 lines:

from quenda.providers import ProviderSpec, ModelSpec, get_provider_registry

registry = get_provider_registry()
registry.register(ProviderSpec(
    id="my-provider",
    name="My Provider",
    base_url="https://api.example.com/v1",
    api="openai-completions",
    api_key="${MY_API_KEY}",
    models=(ModelSpec(id="my-model", name="My Model", tool_calling=True),),
))

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Built-in Tools

get_core_tools(workspace) returns 9 essential tools:

Tool	Capability
list_files	Browse directories (ls, find, tree)
search_text	Search file contents (grep, rg)
read_file	View files with line ranges
write_file	Create or overwrite files
apply_patch	Apply targeted text patches
run_shell	Execute shell commands (filtered)
execute_python	Run Python in a sandbox
request_interaction	Ask the user for input
request_skill_activation	Request skill activation

Full tool reference →

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Architecture

Interface → Host → Runtime → Kernel

Layer	Responsibility
Kernel	Synchronous model-tool loop. No knowledge of agents, sessions, or users.
Runtime	Async Agent/Session/Run lifecycle. Event emission, context management.
Host	Persistence, identity, permissions, instruction composition, skills.
Interface	Event rendering, user interaction, REPL.

Each layer depends only on the layer inside it. The Kernel is fully testable with fake models — no network required.

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Documentation

Resource	Description
Getting Started	Setup and your first agent
Tools Guide	All built-in tools with parameters
Skills Guide	Capability packages system
API Reference	Complete API reference
SDK Tutorials	Step-by-step Python SDK guide (8 chapters)
CLI Tutorials	Step-by-step Quenda Code guide (5 chapters)
Architecture Decisions	ADR records

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Contributing

Quenda is intentionally small. Before making a change, read CLAUDE.md and the ADR records.

1. Identify which architectural layer owns the change.
2. Prefer the smallest complete change; add tests with behavior changes.
3. Do not cross established layer boundaries.

pip install -e ".[dev]"   # editable install with dev tooling
pytest                    # run tests
ruff check src/quenda       # lint

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License

MIT