nanocode

nanocode is a minimal CLI coding assistant that serves as a lightweight alternative to Claude Code.

What it does

• Interactive AI coding assistant in the terminal
• Supports Anthropic (Claude) and OpenRouter APIs
• Provides 6 tools the AI can use: read, write, edit, glob, grep, bash
• Skills system for task-specific AI behavior

Key features

• Reads/writes/edits files
• Searches code with regex
• Runs shell commands
• Extended thinking mode (when available)
• Markdown rendering with ANSI colors
• Skills for specialized tasks (algorithmic art, code review, bash scripts)

Usage

./nanocode.py                    # Uses Anthropic (Claude)
./nanocode.py -p openrouter      # Uses OpenRouter
./nanocode.py -m claude-sonnet-4 # Specify model
./nanocode.py --no-think         # Disable extended thinking
./nanocode.py -s myskills        # Custom skills directory

Commands

• /q or exit - Quit
• /c - Clear conversation
• /skills - List available skills

Skills

Skills provide specialized AI behavior for specific tasks. Create .md files in the skills/ directory:

---
name: myskill
description: What this skill does
license: Optional license
---

Skill-specific instructions here...

Using Skills

Activate a skill with /skillname <prompt>:

/algorithmic-art create a flow field with particles
/code-review review my code for security issues
/bash-script create a backup script

Only one skill can be active per conversation.

Setup

Requires one of these environment variables:

• ANTHROPIC_API_KEY - for Anthropic/Claude
• OPENROUTER_API_KEY - for OpenRouter

License

MIT License