nanocode

Minimal Claude Code alternative. Single Java file, runnable with jbang, zero..eh..1 json dependency, ~260 lines.

Built using Claude Code, then used to build itself.

Features

• Full agentic loop with tool use
• Tools: read, write, edit, glob, grep, bash
• Conversation history
• Colored terminal output

Usage

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-key"
jbang nanocode.java

OpenRouter

Use OpenRouter to access any model:

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="your-key"
jbang nanocode.java

To use a different model:

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="your-key"
export MODEL="openai/gpt-5.2"
jbang nanocode.java

Commands

• /c - Clear conversation
• /q or exit - Quit

Tools

Tool	Description
read	Read file with line numbers, offset/limit
write	Write content to file
edit	Replace string in file (must be unique)
glob	Find files by pattern, sorted by mtime
grep	Search files for regex
bash	Run shell command

Example

────────────────────────────────────────
❯ what files are here?
────────────────────────────────────────

⏺ Glob(**/*.java)
  ⎿  nanocode.java

⏺ There's one Java file: nanocode.java

License

MIT