# CheatSheet: Hmbown/CodeWhale ## Source: Standard Context (/main/README.md) # Codewhale An open source coding agent for your terminal — bring your own model. Codewhale started as a native experience for DeepSeek. It has since grown into a community-driven project: one coding harness that fits a growing international community and supports as many models and providers as possible — open models first, hosted or local, none privileged over the rest. Give it a provider, a model, and a task. It reads your code, edits files, runs commands, and checks its own work, then stops when the job is done or it needs you. Switch models mid-task with `/model`. Work interactively in the TUI, or run `codewhale exec` in scripts and CI. It's written in Rust, licensed MIT, and runs on your machine. The part that isn't like other harnesses: **you pick the model for each role, and they don't have to match.** A fleet pins a provider, a model, and a reasoning tier per role — so a cheap fast model can direct an expensive reasoning one, or a GLM builder can work the same job as a Kimi reviewer. Write your own roles, your own constitution, and the harness is yours rather than ours. We're always looking for contributors and ways to improve. If a model or provider you use is missing, or something breaks, telling us is one of the most useful things you can do — see [Contributing](#contributing). [简体中文](README.zh-CN.md) · [日本語](README.ja-JP.md) · [Tiếng Việt](README.vi.md) · [Bahasa Indonesia](README.id.md) · [한국어](README.ko-KR.md) · [Español](README.es-419.md) · [Português](README.pt-BR.md) · [Русский](README.ru.md) · [Українська](README.uk.md) · [codewhale.net](https://codewhale.net/) · [Docs](docs) · [Changelog](CHANGELOG.md) · [Discord](https://discord.gg/37gfS3ksug) [](https://github.com/Hmbown/CodeWhale/actions/workflows/ci.yml) [](https://crates.io/crates/codewhale-cli) [](https://www.npmjs.com/package/codewhale) [](https://discord.gg/37gfS3ksug) ## Install ```bash npm install codewhale ``` Cargo, Docker, Nix, Scoop, prebuilt archives, Android/Termux, and a CNB mirror for anyone who can't reach GitHub are covered in [docs/INSTALL.md](docs/INSTALL.md). Coming from `deepseek-tui`? Your config and sessions carry over — see [docs/REBRAND.md](docs/REBRAND.md). ## Use ```bash codewhale auth set --provider deepseek # or export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, etc. codewhale # open the TUI codewhale exec "fix the failing test" # headless codewhale web # local browser client on 127.0.0.1 ``` In the TUI: `/model` switches provider and model together, `/fleet` builds and runs the team — one role at a time, each with its own model — `/undo` reverts the last turn, and `/restore ` rolls the workspace back to an earlier snapshot (bare `/restore` lists them). `Tab` cycles Plan / Work / Operate when the composer is empty — with text in it, `Tab` completes slash commands and `@` mentions instead. `Shift+Tab` cycles the Ask / Auto-Review / Full Access permission posture at any time. `!` runs a shell command through the normal approval path. ## What it does - **Any model, any provider — and any mix of them.** DeepSeek, Claude, GPT, Kimi, GLM, and 30+ providers, plus your own vLLM, SGLang, or Ollama with no key, all through one runtime and one toolset. The catalog tracks each provider's live lineup — DeepSeek's V4 Pro backend (labeled `DeepSeek-V4-Pro-0813`) stays callable as `deepseek-v4-pro`, Grok 4.6 is the direct xAI default, and OrcaRouter routes through `orcarouter/auto`. A saved role records its `provider`, `model`, and reasoning tier explicitly, so a fleet can span vendors in a single run and a role's route never depends on whichever provider happens to be active. Context limits and prices come from the real route, and an unknown price shows as unknown rather than $0. - **A harness you author.** Roles are files you can read and edit — a model, a tool posture, and standing instructions per role — kept in the project so the team shares them, or beside your other personal settings so they follow you between repos. A constitution records how you want the agent to behave across every session, so the harness matches your practice instead of ours. - **Read-only until you allow more.** Plan mode can't change files, and approvals gate risky commands. When an OS sandbox actually wraps a command, Codewhale says so: Seatbelt on macOS where available, opt-in bubblewrap on Linux. A repo's `constitution.json` compiles into write holds that even Full Access can't skip. - **Work you can resume.** A fleet records every step to an append-only ledger, so `fleet resume` picks up where you left off. ## Learn more - [docs/PROVIDERS.md](docs/PROVIDERS.md) — every provider route: hosted, gateway, and local - [docs/FLEET.md](docs/FLEET.md) — fleets, the ledger, and resume - [docs/WORKFLOW_EXPERIMENTAL_SEARCH.md](docs/WORKFLOW_EXPERIMENTAL_SEARCH.md) — frozen, provider-neutral experimental search within Workflow - [docs/CONFIGURATION.md](docs/CONFIGURATION.md) — `config.toml`, hooks, and the constitution - [docs/AUTHORIZATION_ORDER.md](docs/AUTHORIZATION_ORDER.md) — how modes, hooks, permission rules, safety floors, repo law, approvals, and sandboxing compose - [docs/HOOKS.md](docs/HOOKS.md) — the eleven TUI lifecycle hook events, their payloads, and which three of them can steer a turn (`codewhale exec` and the CLI subcommands do not fire hooks) - [docs/WEB.md](docs/WEB.md) — the loopback-only browser client and its one-time authentication boundary Everything else — modes, keybindings, sandbox details, MCP, the runtime API, and architecture — lives in [docs](docs) and on [codewhale.net](https://codewhale.net/). ## Contributing Issues, PRs, repro steps, logs, and feature requests are all real project work, and first contributions are welcome. When a PR can't merge as-is, maintainers harvest what works and keep the author credited — in the commit, the changelog, and [docs/CONTRIBUTORS.md](docs/CONTRIBUTORS.md). - [Open issues](https://github.com/Hmbown/CodeWhale/issues) — good first contributions live here - [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) — dev setup and PR flow - [docs/CONTRIBUTORS.md](docs/CONTRIBUTORS.md) — everyone who has shaped this - [Buy me a coffee](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hmbown) Thanks to [DeepSeek](https://github.com/deepseek-ai) for the models and support that started the project, [DataWhale](https://github.com/datawhalechina) 🐋 for welcoming us into the Whale Brother family, and [OpenWarp](https://github.com/zerx-lab/warp) and [Open Design](https://github.com/nexu-io/open-design) for collaborating on the terminal-agent experience. ## License [MIT](LICENSE). An independent community project, not affiliated with any model provider. 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