KitCode

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  ╱\_╱\
 ( o.o )
  > ^ <

KitCode is a terminal coding agent. It reads and edits files, searches a project, runs commands, connects external tools through MCP, and keeps persistent session history.

The interface is built with TypeScript, React, and Ink. KitCode supports the Anthropic API and OpenAI-compatible providers, including OpenRouter and local model servers.

Features

• streaming responses with reasoning output;
• file reading, creation, and targeted editing;
• filename and content search;
• shell commands with approval prompts;
• normal, accept, and plan modes;
• persistent and resumable sessions with native terminal scrollback;
• searchable session management with rename, delete, and Markdown export;
• input history with the ↑ and ↓ keys;
• queued messages while the agent is working;
• image and UTF-8 text attachments;
• manual and automatic context compaction;
• token, estimated cost, exact context-window, and provider rate-limit indicators;
• automatic file checkpoints with /undo;
• detected project checks after file edits;
• model and provider switching from the TUI;
• live MCP add, enable, disable, and delete operations, plus skills and subagents;
• a local /checker report for the runtime, provider, session, context, and MCP setup;
• English and Russian interfaces with configurable accents.

Requirements

• Node.js 22 or newer;
• npm.

Install

npm i -g @kernelonpanic/kitcode

Install from source

git clone https://github.com/KernelEditor/KitCode.git
cd KitCode
npm install
npm run build
npm link

After npm link, the kitcode command is available globally. To run without a global link:

npm run dev

First run

kitcode

On first launch, KitCode asks for the interface language, an API base URL, and an API key. It then detects the provider type, loads the available models, and opens the main agent view.

Common base URLs:

https://api.anthropic.com
https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
http://localhost:11434/v1

Command line

Command	Purpose
kitcode	Start the TUI in the current directory.
kitcode -c	Continue the latest session for this project.
kitcode -r <id>	Resume a session by id.
kitcode --cwd <path>	Use another working directory.
kitcode --model <provider/model>	Start with a selected model.
kitcode --mode <normal|accept|plan>	Select the initial agent mode.
kitcode sessions	List saved sessions.
kitcode ask "question"	Run one request without the TUI.
kitcode add <url>	Add a provider; the key is entered in a hidden prompt.
kitcode add <url> --key-env <name>	Read the provider key from an environment variable.
kitcode trust	Enable this workspace's project config and skills.
kitcode config	Show the config and key locations.
kitcode config --local	Create a project config at ./kitcode.json.
kitcode prompt list	List saved prompts.
kitcode prompt rm <slug>	Delete a saved prompt.

TUI commands

Press / to open the command list.

Command	Purpose
/model	Select a model.
/provider	Switch providers.
/login · /logout [provider]	Add a provider or choose exactly which provider to remove.
/key [provider]	Change API key for a provider.
/effort · /thinking	Configure reasoning depth and output.
/resume · /clear	Resume a session or start a new one.
/sessions	Search sessions, then resume, rename, delete, or export one.
/sessions rename <id> <title>	Give a saved session a title.
/sessions delete all	Delete every saved chat after two separate confirmations.
/sessions export <id> [path]	Export a session to a private Markdown file (default: .kitcode-exports/).
/attach <path> · /attach clipboard · /attach clear	Manage attachments for the next message.
/compact	Replace older conversation context with a concise model-generated summary.
/subagents	Show the current number of active sub-agents.
/undo	Undo built-in file edits from the latest message.
/usage	Show tokens, requests, cost, balance/key limits, and response rate-limit headers when available.
/checker	Check the local setup and provider model listing without sending a paid chat request.
/prompt	Insert a saved prompt.
/prompt save <name>	Save the latest message as a prompt.
/skills	Show discovered skills.
/mcp add <name> <https://url>	Add and connect a remote MCP server.
/mcp add <name> -- <command> [args]	Add and connect a local MCP server.
/mcp list	Show configured MCP servers and connection status.
/mcp enable <name> · /mcp disable <name>	Connect or disconnect an MCP server without removing it.
/mcp delete <name>	Disconnect and remove an MCP server.
/theme · /lang	Change the accent or interface language.
/config	Show the active config.
/bypass	Toggle approval-free operation.
/help · /exit	Show help or quit.

Keyboard shortcuts

Key	Action
Enter	Send a message or choose an item.
↑ / ↓	Browse input history or menu items.
Tab	Complete a slash command.
Shift+Tab	Cycle normal → accept → plan.
Ctrl+V / Cmd+V	Attach an image from the system clipboard; /attach clipboard is the explicit fallback.
Esc	Cancel the current request or close an overlay.

Messages entered while the agent is running are queued and processed in order.

Modes

• normal — file changes, shell commands, and MCP calls request approval when needed;
• accept — file edits are accepted automatically;
• plan — the agent explores the project and returns a plan without changing files.

The lower status panel shows the active mode, model, and usage. A left-to-right context capsule stays on the right, changing from green to yellow at 60% and red at 85%, with the connected MCP count below it. ctx ? means the provider has not returned exact usage for the current model yet. Completed output is committed to normal terminal scrollback, so it remains smooth to scroll while a response is streaming.

When exact usage reaches 80% of a known context window, KitCode automatically summarizes older turns while keeping the latest two user turns. /compact runs the same operation manually.

Before the built-in write and edit tools change a file, KitCode creates a private checkpoint. /undo restores the latest checkpoint and leaves files with newer manual changes untouched. After a message changes files, KitCode detects common project checks such as lint, typecheck, and test. The exact commands are shown for approval before they run.

Configuration

KitCode uses these main paths:

Path	Contents
~/.kitcode/config.json	Global settings.
~/.kitcode/auth.json	Provider keys.
~/.kitcode/sessions/	Saved sessions.
~/.kitcode/checkpoints/	Automatic file checkpoints used by /undo.
~/.kitcode/prompts/	Saved prompts.
~/.kitcode/skills/	Global skills.
./.kitcode/skills/	Project skills.
./kitcode.json	Project-local config.

Minimal manual provider configuration:

{
  "version": 1,
  "model": "openrouter/openai/gpt-5",
  "providers": {
    "openrouter": {
      "type": "openai",
      "baseUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
      "keyEnv": "OPENROUTER_API_KEY"
    }
  }
}

The main settings are model, effort, thinking, maxTokens, budget, diagnostics, updates, theme, permissions, providers, and mcp. budget controls local per-message safety limits for model requests, tokens, estimated cost (when model pricing is available), and subagents. These values are not the provider's account balance or rate limits. diagnostics.autoRun enables checks after file edits; diagnostics.commands can replace automatic detection with up to eight explicit commands. The GitHub startup check is present but disabled by default with updates.checkOnStart: false; no update request is made in that state. Manual editing is usually unnecessary: add a provider during onboarding or with /login.

Project settings and project skills are enabled after reviewing the workspace and running:

kitcode trust

Run kitcode trust --revoke to return to global settings and skills for that workspace.

MCP and skills

MCP supports local stdio servers and remote HTTP servers. Add one from the TUI and it connects immediately without a restart:

/mcp add docs https://mcp.example.com/mcp
/mcp add filesystem -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem .
/mcp list
/mcp disable filesystem
/mcp enable filesystem
/mcp delete filesystem

The server is saved to the active config. Use ${env:NAME} references in a manually configured env or headers object when a server needs a secret; this keeps the secret itself out of the config file:

{
  "mcp": {
    "github": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "${env:GITHUB_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

A skill is a directory containing a SKILL.md file. Global skills live in ~/.kitcode/skills; project skills live in ./.kitcode/skills.

Attachments support PNG, JPEG, GIF, and WebP images up to 10 MB, plus UTF-8 text files up to 256 KB. Pasting or dragging a standalone existing path queues it automatically and displays a chip below the prompt. File contents are sent only when the attachment is submitted with a message.

Development

npm run dev        # run the TypeScript entry point through tsx
npm run build      # build dist/index.js
npm run typecheck  # check TypeScript
npm test           # run the test suite

Project layout:

src/app/        application startup and runtime
src/core/       agent loop, sessions, and usage
src/providers/  Anthropic and OpenAI-compatible adapters
src/tools/      file, shell, and utility tools
src/mcp/        MCP client and tool bridge
src/ui/         Ink TUI
test/           Vitest tests

License

MIT