The most powerful open-source AI coding agent for the terminal.

Goal-driven autonomous loops · Side-channel conversations · Message queuing · Pre-flight advisor workers · Multi-agent swarms · MCP with OAuth · Full-diff file render · AI-assisted agent creator

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What is Chorus

Chorus is an agentic coding tool that lives in your terminal. It understands your codebase, runs commands, edits files, searches the web, and orchestrates multi-agent teams — all through natural language. MIT-licensed, provider-agnostic, optimized for real development workflows.

Unlike other tools, Chorus stays out of your way:

• Never blocks you. Send messages while it works — they queue. /btw for side questions. Esc to stop.
• /goal autonomous loops. Set a condition. Agent auto-continues until met.
• Pre-flight advisor workers. Parallel LLM analysis before execution. Configurable per-provider.
• Full-diff file rendering. Green/red line diffs, line numbers, no truncation.
• Encrypted credentials. AES-256-GCM for MCP tokens.

Quick Start

npm install -g chorus-agent-cli
cd your-project/
chorus

Auto-detects keys from environment. Falls back to Ollama if no cloud keys.

Why Chorus

1. Goal-Driven Loops (/goal)

/goal all tests pass and npm test exits 0
→ ◎ /goal set — agent will auto-continue

[Turn 1] → ◎ /goal — turn 1: 3 of 8 tests pass
[Turn 2] → ◎ /goal — turn 2: 7 of 8 tests pass
[Turn 3] → ✓ Goal met after 3 turns!

After each turn, an evaluator checks progress. Not met → auto-continues with guidance. Safety: or stop after N turns.

2. Operator Control

Action	Key	Behavior
Stop agent	Esc	Instant abort, work preserved
Queue next task	Type + Enter	Auto-processed after turn
Side question	/btw <q>	Dedicated panel, full context

3. Pre-Flight Advisor Workers

/advisor opens an interactive config overlay. Choose ON/OFF/AUTO, pick provider from list, type model name. Workers (advisor, planner, reviewer, tester) run as parallel LLM calls before the main agent. Results appear as expandable thinking blocks.

⚙ Advisor Configuration
▸ Mode:  ● ON  — Advisor + workers on every non-trivial task
  Provider:  ▸ openai
  Model:     gpt-4o

4. Full-Diff File Rendering

File operations show actual content, not summaries:

✓ file_edit  src/auth.ts
  ✎ src/auth.ts
   -42 chars   +38 chars  (-4)
  ┌────────────────────────────┐
  │ - const token = getToken();
  │ - if (!token) throw err;
  │ ──────────────────────────
  │ + const token = extractBearerToken(req);
  │ + if (!token) return 401;
  └────────────────────────────┘

• - red = removed, + green = added, no truncation
• Writes show full content with line numbers
• Reads show first 8 lines + count

5. AI Agent Creator

/agents → g → describe in plain English. LLM generates complete definition. Review, edit, regenerate. Invoke with @agent-name.

6. MCP with OAuth

AES-256-GCM encrypted tokens. OAuth browser flow. Interactive dashboard. 14-step wizard. Health checks with auto-reconnect.

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Slash Commands

Command	Description
/help	Command reference
/model	Switch model/provider
/build, /plan	Toggle execution mode
/approval	Set policy
/agents	Agent dashboard
/btw <q>	Side-channel question
/goal <condition>	Autonomous goal loop
/goal clear	Stop goal mode
/advisor	Interactive advisor config
/advisor on/off	Quick toggle
/mcp	MCP server dashboard
/mcp-add	Add MCP server (wizard)
/mcp-auth <name>	OAuth browser flow
/swarm <preset>	Multi-agent swarm
/session	Session management
/config	API keys
/exit	Save and exit

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Configuration

{
  "llm": {
    "provider": "deepseek",
    "providers": {
      "deepseek": { "apiKey": "${DEEPSEEK_API_KEY}", "model": "deepseek-v4-flash" },
      "openai": { "apiKey": "${OPENAI_API_KEY}", "model": "gpt-4o" },
      "ollama": { "baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434/v1", "model": "qwen3-coder:latest" }
    },
    "modes": { "build": { "provider": "deepseek", "model": "deepseek-v4-flash" } },
    "advisor": { "enabled": false, "provider": "openai", "model": "gpt-4o", "autoOnComplexTasks": true }
  },
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "Minimax": { "type": "stdio", "command": "uvx", "args": ["minimax-coding-plan-mcp", "-y"], "env": { "MINIMAX_API_KEY": "${MINIMAX_API_KEY}" } }
    }
  }
}

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Comparison

	Chorus	Claude Code	Cursor	Qwen Code
Open source	✅ MIT	❌	❌	Apache 2.0
/goal loops	✅ Any provider	Haiku only	❌	❌
Esc interrupt	✅ Non-destructive	Broken	Reverts	Broken
Message queue	✅ Auto-process	Broken	None	None
/btw side channel	✅ Full history	Single-turn	None	None
Pre-flight advisors	✅ Interactive config	None	None	None
Full-diff renders	✅ Red/green per-line	✅	IDE only	❌
AI agent creator	✅ Natural language	None	None	None
MCP OAuth + encrypt	✅ Browser + AES-256	✅	✅	✅
Any LLM provider	✅ All major	Anthropic only	Multi	Qwen
Multi-agent swarms	✅ 4 presets + DAG	SDK only	None	Subagents

Requirements

Node.js >= 20 · Optional: Ollama

License

MIT