wrencode 0.1.4.7

A minimal agentic coding assistant in a single Python file

🐦 WrenCode

A minimal agentic coding assistant in a single Python file.

Named after Harold Wren - the alias of a genius who built a superintelligent AI and operated quietly in the background.

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What it is

WrenCode is a lightweight alternative to Claude Code. It runs a tool-calling agent loop locally or via API, giving an LLM the ability to read, write, and edit files, search codebases, and run shell commands - enough to autonomously navigate and modify a real project.

Where Claude Code is the batteries-included tool, WrenCode is the "understand and own your agent" tool: the entire agent loop fits in one readable file, runs against local or hosted models, and is yours to hack.

Backends

On first run WrenCode asks you to pick a backend and saves the choice to ~/.wrencode/config.json. Run wrencode --configure any time to change it. Set BACKEND (and the matching API key) in the environment to override the saved choice, e.g. for CI.

Backend	Description	Availability
anthropic	Claude via Anthropic API	binary + source
openai	GPT models via OpenAI API	binary + source
openrouter	Any model via OpenRouter	binary + source
ollama	Local models via a running ollama serve	binary + source
local	Local proxy via Anthropic-compatible API	binary + source
transformers	HuggingFace Transformers (CPU/MPS/GPU)	source install only
mlx	Apple Silicon via MLX	source install, macOS

The standalone binary can't bundle the heavy ML stack, so the local-weights backends (mlx, transformers) are only offered when running from source.

The default local models are deburky/gpt-oss-claude-code (transformers) and deburky/gpt-oss-claude-mlx (MLX) — override either with MODEL=....

Tools

The agent has access to seven tools:

• read - read a file with line numbers, or list a directory
• write - write content to a file
• edit - replace a unique string in a file
• glob - find files by pattern, sorted by modification time
• grep - search files for a regex pattern using rg when available, falling back to grep
• bash - run a shell command with timeout and streaming output
• task - delegate a self-contained subtask to a fresh subagent (its own context, same tools) that returns only its final result

All file operations are sandboxed to the workspace root by default.

Subagents

The task tool runs a nested agent loop on a fresh message history, so the parent's context only grows by the returned summary — useful for context-heavy subtasks. Recursion is capped by WRENCODE_MAX_SUBAGENT_DEPTH (default 2), and each subagent round is bounded. For autonomous subagent runs, enable --yes / WRENCODE_AUTO_APPROVE so sub-tool calls don't block on confirmation.

Installation

Option 1: Standalone binary (recommended)

Run the guided installer:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/almostly/wrencode/main/install.sh | sh

It detects your OS/arch, downloads the matching binary from the latest GitHub Release, and installs it to ~/.local/bin (no sudo). Override the location with WRENCODE_INSTALL_DIR, or pin a release with WRENCODE_VERSION:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/almostly/wrencode/main/install.sh \
  | WRENCODE_INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin WRENCODE_VERSION=0.1.3 sh

Or download and run it locally:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/almostly/wrencode/main/install.sh -o install.sh
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

Manual install (fallback): download the right binary from GitHub Releases, make it executable, and move it into your PATH.

macOS Apple Silicon:

curl -L https://github.com/almostly/wrencode/releases/latest/download/wrencode-macos-arm64 -o wrencode
chmod +x wrencode
sudo mv wrencode /usr/local/bin/wrencode

macOS Intel:

curl -L https://github.com/almostly/wrencode/releases/latest/download/wrencode-macos-x64 -o wrencode
chmod +x wrencode
sudo mv wrencode /usr/local/bin/wrencode

Linux x64:

curl -L https://github.com/almostly/wrencode/releases/latest/download/wrencode-linux-x64 -o wrencode
chmod +x wrencode
sudo mv wrencode /usr/local/bin/wrencode

Option 2: Run from source

Single file, standard library only (except the backend you choose).

git clone https://github.com/almostly/wrencode
cd wrencode

For MLX (Mac Silicon):

pip install mlx-lm

For Anthropic:

pip install anthropic  # not required - uses urllib directly
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key

For OpenAI:

export OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key

For OpenRouter:

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your_key

For HuggingFace Transformers:

pip install transformers torch

Usage

# Standalone binary — prompts for a backend on first run
wrencode

# Re-pick the backend at any time
wrencode --configure

# Or from source — also prompts on first run
python3 wrencode.py

# Anthropic Claude
BACKEND=anthropic python3 wrencode.py

# OpenAI
BACKEND=openai MODEL=gpt-4o python3 wrencode.py

# OpenRouter
BACKEND=openrouter MODEL=anthropic/claude-3-haiku python3 wrencode.py

# Ollama (needs `ollama serve` running and the model pulled)
BACKEND=ollama MODEL=llama3.2 python3 wrencode.py

# HuggingFace model
BACKEND=transformers MODEL=deburky/gpt-oss-claude-code python3 wrencode.py

# Local proxy
BACKEND=local LOCAL_PORT=8082 python3 wrencode.py

Releasing binaries

Binaries are built automatically by GitHub Actions when you push a version tag:

git tag v0.1.0
git push origin v0.1.0

This publishes release assets:

• wrencode-linux-x64
• wrencode-macos-x64
• wrencode-macos-arm64

Slash Commands

Command	Description
/help	Show available commands
/c	Clear conversation history
/compact	Summarize history to reduce context (mlx only)
/q or exit	Quit

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
BACKEND	chooser/saved config	Override the saved inference backend
MODEL	backend-dependent	Model path or ID
WRENCODE_CONFIG_DIR	~/.wrencode	Dir for config.json (saved backend/key)
WRENCODE_WORKSPACE	cwd	Root directory for file operations
WRENCODE_HISTORY_FILE	~/.wrencode/history.json	Conversation history file path
WRENCODE_UNRESTRICTED_PATHS	0	Allow paths outside workspace
WRENCODE_AUTO_APPROVE	0	Skip y/N confirmation for writes/commands (headless; also --yes)
WRENCODE_MAX_SUBAGENT_DEPTH	2	Max nested subagent recursion depth (task tool)
MAX_TOKENS	4096	Max tokens per response
MAX_READ_BYTES	4MB	Max file size to read
MAX_READ_LINES	800	Max lines returned per read
GREP_MAX_MATCHES	80	Max grep results
BASH_TIMEOUT	120	Shell command timeout in seconds
MAX_TOOL_OUTPUT_CHARS	48000	Max tool output before truncation
GLOB_SKIP_DIRS	.git,node_modules,...	Directories to skip in glob
OPENROUTER_API_KEY	-	OpenRouter API key
OPENAI_API_KEY	-	OpenAI API key
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	-	Anthropic API key
LOCAL_API_KEY	local	Local proxy API key
LOCAL_PORT	8082	Local proxy port
OLLAMA_HOST	http://localhost:11434	Ollama server base URL

History

Conversation history is persisted to ~/.wrencode/history.json by default. It is restored automatically on next launch.

To override the history file location, set WRENCODE_HISTORY_FILE to a custom path.

To clear history: use /c in the session, or delete ~/.wrencode/history.json (or your override path).

License

MIT - Copyright 2026 Almostly.

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