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v0.2.0 — Show Us the Meaning of Haste

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@shiv207 shiv207 released this 13 Oct 08:19
· 63 commits to main since this release
v0.2.0
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Learn about vigilant mode.

"Show us the meaning of haste." Gandalf asked it of Shadowfax. We asked it of RIFT, and then took everything off its back that it didn't need to carry.

v0.2.0 is RIFT, lighter and faster. A third smaller, ready in a fraction of the time, a third of the prompt it used to send, MCP that behaves the way Claude Code's does, a redesigned terminal UI, and /remotion for making videos with Remotion's own skills.

Shadowfax: the meaning of haste

v0.1.13 v0.2.0
Download (macOS arm64 binary) 146 MB 97 MB
rift --version 0.46 s, 197 MB memory 0.03 s, 34 MB memory
Prompt overhead on every request 8,724 tokens 2,901 tokens
Five MCP servers, 58 tools, in every request 10,400 tokens 328 tokens
  • It starts sooner. Commands load only when you run them, --version answers without starting the engine, provider data is prepared only for the providers you use, and the full model catalogue loads after the screen is up.
  • It sends less. One compact system prompt instead of ten model-specific ones, shorter tool descriptions, and skill names instead of skill bodies. Fewer tokens per turn means faster replies and lower bills.
  • It carries less. The web UI, desktop app, console, Slack bot, ACP, stats, code mode, OpenTelemetry, 22 unused provider SDKs and a second interactive mode are gone. RIFT is a terminal coding agent, and now that is all it ships.

The Fellowship of the Ring: MCP, the Claude Code way

  • Your .mcp.json just works. Project .mcp.json, user ~/.rift/mcp.json, and the mcp key in rift.json, in the same mcpServers shape other clients use, with ${VAR} and ${VAR:-default}.
  • Asked before it runs. A server from a project's .mcp.json waits for your approval (once, always, or deny), remembered per project.
  • Commands, not a wizard. rift mcp add, add-json, get, list, remove, with --scope, --transport, -e and --header.
  • Out of the way until needed. Servers start on first use, and with many tools RIFT sends only their names plus one search tool, loading a tool's full schema when the agent asks for it.
  • The rest: a /mcp panel (status, tools, sign-in, on and off, reconnect), tools named mcp__server__tool so permission rules can target a server, a 25k-token cap on one result, and automatic reconnects for remote servers.

Mithril: a new coat for the terminal

Light, plain to look at, and harder than it looks.

  • Black, quiet, readable. A new default theme on a true black canvas, neutral greys, and the RIFT logo's azure as the only accent.
  • One line per step. Each tool call is a single line with a symbol in the margin: $ for shell, ± for file changes, ≡ for the plan, grouped reads and searches, and a checks block that shows what RIFT actually verified.
  • The RIFT logo is home. Logo, tagline, the input box and one tip. Everything else is a keypress away: ? for shortcuts, ctrl+x l for sessions.
  • A side panel worth opening. Status, context use with a bar, plan progress, changes, checks, the engineering graph, MCP and LSP.
  • Approvals you can answer with one key, dialogs that float, and a shortcut sheet built from your own keybindings.

The Mirror of Galadriel, reforged: /remotion

/remotion 30-second vertical launch video for this project, for developers

/video now runs on Remotion's official Agent Skills. RIFT still storyboards first, renders a still from every scene and looks at it before the final render, and checks the MP4's resolution, frame rate and length.

  • rift remotion setup installs Remotion's skills (-g for your user). rift remotion new creates a project and rift remotion studio opens Remotion Studio. /video and rift video still work.
  • Claude Code plugins work in RIFT. RIFT reads the skills from plugins you've installed for Claude Code, so claude plugin install remotion@remotion lights up RIFT as well.

Things that changed under you

  • Sessions open on the conversation; ctrl+l switches to the task view, and RIFT remembers your choice.
  • rift --mini, rift run --interactive and rift video init are gone. rift run is still the plain, scriptable printer.
  • Providers that used to be bundled (xAI, Azure, Bedrock, Vertex and others) still work: RIFT installs their SDK on first use. Their special login flows are gone.
  • Requests to providers are byte-for-byte what they were in v0.1.13; tests guard that.

Upgrade

rift upgrade

or reinstall with the install script in the README.

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