tx-ai 0.1.1

Modern Textual chat client for OpenRouter with sessions, MCP search, and model selection

tx-ai

Modern terminal chat UI built with Textual, uv, OpenRouter, and the OpenAI Python client.

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• OpenRouter API key via OPENROUTER_API_KEY, saved local config, or the startup prompt

Install

From this checkout:

python -m pip install .

Or with uv:

uv sync

Run With An Env Key

uv run --env-file .env tx-ai

If installed with pip:

OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your_key_here tx-ai

Run Without An Env Key

tx-ai

If OPENROUTER_API_KEY is not set, the app asks for your OpenRouter API key in the input box. The key is saved to your local user config at ~/.config/tx-ai/config.json with file mode 0600, so tx-ai will not ask again after reopening. If OpenRouter rejects the key as expired or invalid, tx-ai clears the saved key and asks for a new one.

UI Features

• Chat interface with Markdown rendering.
• Loading spinner while OpenRouter is generating.
• Model selector in the terminal UI.
• Slash commands for common chat actions.
• English replies by default unless you explicitly ask for another language.
• Parallel Search MCP-backed web search.
• Cleaner internal structure split across config, commands, OpenRouter API, and UI modules.

Slash Commands

• /help shows available commands.
• /new starts a fresh in-memory conversation.
• /sessions shows saved sessions so you can select one and continue it.
• /mcps shows configured MCP servers, connection status, and exposed tools.
• /models lists preset models.
• /model <model> switches model by exact name or unique substring.
• /search <query> searches the web with Parallel Search MCP and adds results to chat context.
• /copy or /copy last copies the last assistant reply.
• /copy all copies the full current session transcript.
• /copy user copies your last message.
• /clear clears the visible chat log.
• /exit quits the app.

Keyboard shortcuts:

• Ctrl+Y copies the last assistant reply.
• Ctrl+L clears the visible chat log.
• Ctrl+Q quits the app.

Web Search

tx-ai includes /search, backed by the Parallel Search MCP endpoint documented at https://docs.parallel.ai/integrations/mcp/search-mcp.

Normal messages that ask to search the web, use the internet/MCP, or answer current/latest/today/live questions automatically run Parallel Search MCP before the model replies. If the model first replies that it does not know, cannot browse, or lacks current information, tx-ai automatically runs a fallback Parallel Search MCP lookup and regenerates the answer.

/search latest OpenRouter model updates

The project also includes opencode.json so OpenCode can use the same MCP server by default:

{
  "mcp": {
    "parallel-search": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://search.parallel.ai/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Use /mcps inside tx-ai to verify which MCP servers are configured and connected.

Sessions

tx-ai saves conversations locally under ~/.config/tx-ai/sessions/. Session titles are created from the first user message.

Use this command in the app:

/sessions

Select a saved session from the list to reopen it. The chat history and model are restored so you can continue the conversation.

Model Selection

Use the model selector in the top bar, or run:

/model deepseek

To set a custom default model before launch:

OPENROUTER_MODEL=anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet tx-ai

Build A Wheel

uv build
python -m pip install dist/tx_ai-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl

Publish

uv build
uv publish --token YOUR_PYPI_TOKEN

Notes

• Default model is deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash unless OPENROUTER_MODEL is set.
• Replies default to English through a system instruction.
• Conversations are saved locally and can be reopened with /sessions.
• If no API key is set or saved, the app prompts for one at startup.
• Assistant replies and model thinking are rendered as Markdown.
• Runtime logs are written to logs/tx-ai.log.