Nerve

The AI coding assistant that lives in your terminal.

    _   __
   / | / /__  ______   _____
  /  |/ / _ \/ ___/ | / / _ \
 / /|  /  __/ /   | |/ /  __/
/_/ |_/\___/_/    |___/\___/

37K lines of Rust | 1,361 tests | 166 prompts | 10 agent tools | 6 providers | 7.7 MB binary

Install | Quick Start | Features | Agent Mode | Manifesto

---

Nerve is a fast, open-source AI coding assistant built entirely in Rust. It runs in your terminal, connects to 6 AI providers, ships 166 expert prompts, and includes a full coding agent with 10 tools -- all in a single 7.7 MB binary with zero runtime dependencies.

It is designed for developers who think in keystrokes, not clicks.

---

Install

Pre-built binaries (recommended)

Download from GitHub Releases:

# Linux
curl -LO https://github.com/Artaeon/nerve/releases/latest/download/nerve-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
tar xzf nerve-linux-x86_64.tar.gz && mv nerve ~/.local/bin/

# macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -LO https://github.com/Artaeon/nerve/releases/latest/download/nerve-macos-arm64.tar.gz
tar xzf nerve-macos-arm64.tar.gz && mv nerve /usr/local/bin/

# macOS (Intel)
curl -LO https://github.com/Artaeon/nerve/releases/latest/download/nerve-macos-x86_64.tar.gz
tar xzf nerve-macos-x86_64.tar.gz && mv nerve /usr/local/bin/

Windows: download nerve-windows-x86_64.zip from the releases page.

Every release includes SHA256 checksums.

From source

git clone https://github.com/Artaeon/nerve.git
cd nerve
cargo build --release
cp target/release/nerve ~/.local/bin/

Requires Rust 1.85+ (edition 2024). Install with rustup.

---

Quick Start

nerve                                        # Launch (defaults to Claude Code)
nerve --provider ollama --model llama3       # Use a local model
nerve -n "explain TCP vs UDP"                # One-shot (prints and exits)
cat src/main.rs | nerve --stdin -n "review"  # Pipe files in
git diff | nerve --stdin -n "commit message" # Generate commit messages
nerve --continue                             # Resume last session

---

Features

6 AI Providers

Switch instantly with Ctrl+T:

Provider	Setup	Cost
Claude Code	Install CLI	Subscription
Ollama	ollama pull llama3	Free (local)
OpenAI	OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...	Per token
OpenRouter	OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-...	Per token
GitHub Copilot	gh CLI + Copilot	Subscription
Custom	Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint	Varies

Agent Mode

Type /agent on and let Nerve work autonomously. The agent has 10 tools:

Tool	What it does
read_file	Read any file into context
write_file	Create new files
edit_file	Surgical edits to existing files
read_lines	Read specific line ranges
run_command	Execute shell commands
list_files	Browse directory contents
search_code	Ripgrep-powered code search
find_files	Glob pattern file search
create_dir	Create directories
web_search	Search the web via DuckDuckGo

Every agent action is tracked. Roll back with /agent undo. Inspect changes with /agent diff.

/agent on
/file src/auth.rs
> "The login endpoint returns 500 for invalid credentials. Fix it and add tests."

The agent reads the code, writes a fix, runs the tests, and reports back.

166 Smart Prompts

Press Ctrl+K to open the prompt library. 28 categories of expert-level prompts:

Engineering, Rust, Python, TypeScript, Go, Testing, Security, API Design, Database, Cloud, DevOps, UI/UX, Business, and more.

Each prompt is 5-15 lines of carefully crafted instructions -- not vague suggestions, but real engineering guidance.

Developer Workflow

/file src/main.rs              # Add file as context
/file src/main.rs:10-50        # Specific line range
/test                          # Auto-detect and run tests
/build                         # Auto-detect and build
/lint                          # Run linter (clippy/eslint/ruff)
/format                        # Run formatter
/search "fn main"              # Ripgrep search
/diff                          # Git diff as context
/commit                        # AI-generated commit message
/map                           # Project structure overview
/web <query>                   # Search the web

Keyboard-Driven

Key	Action
Ctrl+K	Prompt library
Ctrl+T	Switch provider
Ctrl+M	Switch model
Ctrl+N	New conversation
Ctrl+O	History browser
Ctrl+F	Search in conversation
Ctrl+B	Clipboard manager
Ctrl+,	Settings overlay
Ctrl+R	Regenerate response
Ctrl+E	Edit last message
Esc	Stop streaming
i / Esc	Insert / normal mode
j / k	Scroll (normal mode)
G / g	Bottom / top

Full vim-style navigation in normal mode.

Sessions & Branching

• Auto-save -- every conversation is persisted automatically
• Resume -- nerve --continue picks up where you left off
• Branch -- /branch save and /branch restore for conversation branching
• History -- Ctrl+O to browse, search, and sort past sessions
• Export -- /export to save as markdown

10 Color Themes

/theme list to preview. Includes: Catppuccin Mocha, Tokyo Night, Gruvbox Dark, Nord, Solarized Dark, Dracula, One Dark, Rose Pine, High Contrast, Monochrome.

Token Tracking

• Real-time cost estimates in the status bar
• /usage for detailed token breakdown
• /limit set 5.00 to cap spending
• Auto-compacting context to stay within provider limits

---

Configuration

Generated at ~/.config/nerve/config.toml on first run:

default_model = "sonnet"
default_provider = "claude_code"
auto_agent = true

# temperature = 0.7
# top_p = 0.9
# context_limit = 64000

[providers.claude_code]
enabled = true

[providers.ollama]
base_url = "http://localhost:11434/v1"
enabled = true

[providers.openai]
api_key = ""   # or OPENAI_API_KEY env var
enabled = false

---

Why Nerve?

	Nerve	Claude Code	Cursor	Aider
Open source	MIT	No	No	Apache-2.0
Terminal-native	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Multi-provider	6	1	Limited	Multi
Local/offline	Ollama	No	No	Ollama
Agent tools	10	Yes	Yes	Yes
Built-in prompts	166	No	No	No
Cost	Free + API	$20/mo	$20/mo	Free + API
Binary size	7.7 MB	~150 MB	~500 MB	Python
Vim keybindings	Native	No	Plugin	No

---

Project Quality

Metric	Value
Language	100% Rust
Lines of code	37,600+
Tests	1,361 passing
Clippy	0 warnings
Unsafe code	0 blocks
Binary (release)	7.7 MB (LTO + stripped)

---

All Commands

70+ commands -- click to expand

Command	Description
/help	Show all commands
/provider <name>	Switch AI provider
/model <name>	Switch model
/agent on|off	Toggle coding agent
/agent undo	Rollback agent changes
/agent diff	Show agent changes
/file <path>	Read file as context
/run <cmd>	Execute command
/test	Run project tests
/build	Build project
/lint	Run linter
/format	Run formatter
/search <pat>	Search codebase
/diff	Git diff as context
/commit [msg]	Stage + commit
/stage [files]	Stage files
/stash	Git stash operations
/gitbranch	Branch management
/git <subcmd>	Git operations
/template <name>	Create from template
/scaffold <desc>	AI-generated project
/kb add <dir>	Add to knowledge base
/web <query>	Search the web
/theme <name>	Switch color theme
/usage	Token usage and cost
/limit set <$>	Set spending limit
/export	Export as markdown
/branch save	Save conversation branch
/session save	Save session
/map	Project file tree
/alias <n> <cmd>	Create command alias
/status	System overview

Run /help inside Nerve for the complete list.

---

Project Templates

/template list

Template	Stack
rust-cli	Rust + clap
rust-lib	Rust library
rust-web	Rust + Axum
node-api	Express + TypeScript
node-react	React + Vite + TypeScript
python-cli	Python + argparse
python-api	FastAPI + Pydantic
go-api	Go + net/http

---

Documentation

• User Guide -- comprehensive guide (2,200+ lines)
• Manifesto -- why Nerve exists
• Changelog -- release history

---

Contributing

Contributions welcome. Please open an issue first to discuss changes.

git clone https://github.com/Artaeon/nerve.git
cd nerve
cargo test          # 1,361 tests
cargo clippy        # 0 warnings
cargo fmt --check   # format check

---

License

MIT -- see LICENSE.

---

Built by Artaeon