OpenABCode
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Quickstart

This page gets you from install to a useful first openabcode session.

Install

Choose one install method:

curl -fsSL https://openabcode.com/install.sh | sh

--ignore-scripts disables dependency lifecycle scripts during npm installs. OpenABCode does not require install scripts for normal npm installs.

Uninstall

Use the same install method family to remove OpenABCode:

rm -rf ~/.openabcode/bin

If you installed with OPENABCODE_INSTALL_DIR, remove that custom install directory instead of ~/.openabcode/bin.

Uninstalling openabcode leaves settings, credentials, sessions, and installed openabcode packages in ~/.openabcode/agent/.

Then start openabcode in the project directory you want it to work on:

cd /path/to/project
openabcode

Authenticate

OpenABCode can use subscription providers through /login, or API-key providers through environment variables or the auth file.

Option 1: subscription login

Start openabcode and run:

/login

Then select a provider. Built-in subscription logins include Claude Pro/Max, ChatGPT Plus/Pro (Codex), and GitHub Copilot.

Option 2: API key

Set an API key before launching openabcode:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
openabcode

You can also run /login and select an API-key provider to store the key in ~/.openabcode/agent/auth.json.

See Providers for all supported providers, environment variables, and cloud-provider setup.

First session

Once openabcode starts, type a request and press Enter:

Summarize this repository and tell me how to run its checks.

By default, openabcode gives the model four tools:

  • read - read files
  • write - create or overwrite files
  • edit - patch files
  • bash - run shell commands

Additional built-in read-only tools (grep, find, ls) are available through tool options. OpenABCode runs in your current working directory and can modify files there. Use git or another checkpointing workflow if you want easy rollback.

Give openabcode project instructions

OpenABCode loads context files at startup. Add an AGENTS.md file to tell it how to work in a project:

# Project Instructions

- Run `npm run check` after code changes.
- Do not run production migrations locally.
- Keep responses concise.

OpenABCode loads:

  • ~/.openabcode/agent/AGENTS.md for global instructions
  • AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md from parent directories and the current directory

Restart openabcode, or run /reload, after changing context files.

Common things to try

Reference files

Type @ in the editor to fuzzy-search files, or pass files on the command line:

openabcode @README.md "Summarize this"
openabcode @src/app.ts @src/app.test.ts "Review these together"

Images can be pasted with Ctrl+V (Alt+V on Windows) or dragged into supported terminals.

Run shell commands

In interactive mode:

!npm run lint

The command output is sent to the model. Use !!command to run a command without adding its output to the model context.

Switch models

Use /model or Ctrl+L to choose a model. Use Shift+Tab to cycle thinking level. Use Ctrl+P / Shift+Ctrl+P to cycle through scoped models.

Continue later

Sessions are saved automatically:

openabcode -c                  # Continue most recent session
openabcode -r                  # Browse previous sessions
openabcode --name "my task"    # Set session display name at startup
openabcode --session <path|id> # Open a specific session

Inside openabcode, use /resume, /new, /tree, /fork, and /clone to manage sessions.

Non-interactive mode

For one-shot prompts:

openabcode -p "Summarize this codebase"
cat README.md | openabcode -p "Summarize this text"
openabcode -p @screenshot.png "What's in this image?"

Use --mode json for JSON event output or --mode rpc for process integration.

Next steps

Platform notes: Windows, Termux, tmux, Terminal setup, Shell aliases.