dimcode

Dimcode CLI

An AI coding agent CLI and terminal coding assistant with a beautiful interactive TUI

Dimcode is an AI coding CLI for terminal-first developers who want fast code generation, refactoring, repo search, code review, and agent-style workflows directly in the shell.

If you are searching for a CLI coding tool similar to Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, or Cursor's terminal workflow, Dimcode is built for the same terminal-native use case while adding a polished multi-session TUI, tool approvals, MCP support, and flexible provider setup.

Dimcode helps you move fast with:

• 🎨 Beautiful TUI - Modern terminal interface built with Vue 3

• 💬 Multi-session Management - Organize multiple AI conversations
• 🔧 Built-in Tools - File ops, web search, code analysis, and more
• ⚡ Streaming Responses - See AI outputs in real time
• 🎯 Tool Approvals - Granular control over tool execution
• 🌈 Themes - Flexible, customizable color schemes

📈 Download Stats

Metric	Live Badge
Weekly downloads
Total downloads

Why Developers Search for Dimcode

Dimcode is designed for developers looking for:

• An AI coding CLI for daily programming tasks
• A terminal coding assistant for large codebases
• A Claude Code alternative with a richer TUI
• A Codex CLI alternative for multi-session work
• An OpenCode alternative with built-in tool approvals
• A Cursor alternative for terminal users who prefer staying in the shell
• A CLI AI agent for refactors, debugging, repo Q&A, and web research

⚡ Get Started in 30 Seconds

• Install the CLI

npm install -g dimcode

• Run it

dim

• Ask for help

Create a React component for a todo list

📦 Installation

Install Dimcode as your AI coding assistant CLI:

Global Installation (Recommended)

npm install -g dimcode

Or using other package managers:

# Using pnpm
pnpm add -g dimcode

# Using yarn
yarn global add dimcode

# Using bun
bun add -g dimcode

Using npx (No Installation)

Run directly without installation:

npx dimcode

🎮 Usage

Command Palette

Press Ctrl+P to open the command palette, which provides quick access to:

• Sessions - View and switch between conversations
• New Session - Start a fresh conversation
• Settings - Configure API keys and model settings
• Tool Approvals - Manage tool execution permissions
• Theme - Customize the UI appearance (in Chat view)

Slash Commands

Type slash commands directly in the input field:

Command	Description
/settings	Open settings dialog (custom providers)
/config	Alternative for /settings
/approvals	Manage tool approvals (auto/all)
/approval	Alternative for /approvals
/connect	Connect a provider
/models	Select a model
/sessions	List all sessions
/new	Create a new session
/redo	Redo last interaction
/rename <title>	Rename current session
/timeline	Jump to a user message
/tl	Alternative for /timeline
/review	Review code changes
/debug	Open debug dialog (node mode only)
/compact	Compact session context
/init	Initialize/improve AGENTS.md
/exit	Exit the application
/longrunning	Toggle long-running mode
/tool-settings	Configure tool-specific settings
/toolsettings	Alternative for /tool-settings
/mcp	Open MCP settings
/mcphub	Alternative for /mcp
/mcp-settings	Alternative for /mcp
/codexlogin	Login with Codex OAuth
/codex-login	Alternative for /codexlogin
/language	Switch UI language
/lang	Alternative for /language
/locale	Alternative for /language
/theme	Toggle light/dark theme

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+P	Open command palette
F1	Open help dialog
Ctrl+O	Expand/collapse all tool calls & thinking
Ctrl+K	Open settings (custom providers)
Ctrl+C	Clear input (if non-empty); otherwise exit
Ctrl+W	Clear input (alternative)
Enter	Send message
Shift+Enter	New line in input
Ctrl+J	New line in input (alternative)
Tab	Switch mode (Agent/Plan/Debug)
Esc	Cancel/close dialog or interrupt response

Input Tips

• Drag to select text, then release to auto-copy (when enabled)
• In the input area, use Shift+Option for rectangular selection
• Triple-click in the input area to select all
• Tab moves focus to the next input field; Shift+Tab moves to the previous
• The CLI is mouse-friendly for selection, scrolling, and clicking buttons/controls

Dimcode vs Other AI Coding Tools

If you are comparing Dimcode with Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, or Cursor, the main difference is that Dimcode focuses on a terminal-first agent experience with:

• Interactive TUI workflows instead of a minimal chat-only shell
• Multi-session conversation management for parallel coding tasks
• Tool approvals and built-in tools for safer repo operations
• Flexible provider and model configuration for custom setups
• ACP / MCP connectivity for editor and tool integrations

That makes it a good fit for developers who want an AI code assistant in the terminal, but need more control and visibility than a basic CLI chat loop.

⚙️ Configuration

Connect a Provider

Use one of these flows:

• Launch the CLI:

dim

• Open provider setup:

/connect

• Choose your provider and model, then start chatting.

You can also open settings any time with:

/settings

or press Ctrl+K.

First-time Setup

On first launch, Dimcode will guide you through:

• API Key Setup - Enter your OpenAI API key
• Model Selection - Choose your preferred AI model
• Tool Approvals - Configure which tools can run automatically

Codex OAuth

If you want to use Codex OAuth, you can sign in from the CLI:

dim auth codex

Inside the app, /codexlogin opens the same login flow.

Common CLI Setup Tasks

• Use /connect to add or switch a provider
• Use /settings to manage custom provider settings
• Use /models to change the active model
• Use /approvals to control tool execution permissions
• Use /tool-settings to configure tool-specific settings such as WebSearch
• Use /mcp to manage MCP integrations

Settings and local session data are stored in ~/.dimcode/dimcode/ by default.

Active Session Runtime

Dimcode also publishes a small runtime record that external tools can read for live context handoff (for example voice input tools, desktop automations, or editor helpers).

By default the files live under:

~/.dimcode/dimcode/runtime/

The main files are:

• active-session.json - the single live runtime record for the current Dimcode context

The runtime record includes fields such as:

• sessionId
• cwd
• title
• mode
• providerId
• providerName
• modelId
• focused
• visibility
• updatedAt

The file is updated in-place as focus changes:

• focused - Dimcode is the active terminal and the record contains the current chat session
• blurred / suspended - Dimcode keeps the last session context, but it is not the active terminal
• inactive - no chat session should be treated as active (for example on the home page)

Current behavior:

• Home screen clears the active session record so external tools do not pick up stale chat context
• Chat screen publishes the current session and workspace
• Terminal focus reporting is used when the terminal emulator supports xterm focus events
• Suspend / resume (Ctrl+Z / fg) also updates visibility

Dimcode also mirrors the core active context into process env for child-process integrations:

• DIMCODE_ACTIVE_SESSION_ID
• DIMCODE_ACTIVE_SESSION_FOLDER
• GOATCHAIN_ACTIVE_SESSION_ID
• GOATCHAIN_ACTIVE_SESSION_FOLDER

These env vars are best for Dimcode-spawned tools and hooks. For cross-app integrations, prefer reading the runtime JSON files.

Skills Directory

Dimcode automatically discovers skills from both global and project-local directories:

• Global: ~/.agents/skills/
• Project-local: <your-project>/.agents/skills/
• Compatibility paths also supported: ~/.claude/skills/ and <your-project>/.claude/skills/

Each skill should live in its own folder with a SKILL.md file:

~/.agents/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md
<your-project>/.agents/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md

If the same skill name exists in multiple places, project-local skills override global skills, and .agents/skills takes priority over .claude/skills.

Web Search Key

To enable web search in the CLI, open:

/tool-settings

Then paste your WebSearch / Serper API key into the WebSearch API Key field and save.

By default, Dimcode stores tool settings in:

~/.dimcode/tools.json

If you prefer environment variables for advanced setups, Dimcode also checks:

• DIMCODE_WEBSEARCH_KEY
• SERPER_API_KEY

MCP Configuration

To configure MCP servers from the CLI, open:

/mcp

Paste MCP JSON into the editor, then use the built-in format / test actions before saving. Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "context7": {
      "url": "https://mcp.context7.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "CONTEXT7_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

For Context7, this is the recommended hosted HTTP setup. If your MCP client supports MCP OAuth, Context7's official OAuth endpoint is:

https://mcp.context7.com/mcp/oauth

In Dimcode, use the standard remote HTTP endpoint plus auth headers unless native MCP OAuth support is added for remote servers.

CLI MCP settings are stored locally in:

~/.dimcode/tools.json

If you use DIMCODE_HOME, replace ~/.dimcode with that directory.

You can also skip /mcp and edit that file directly. The file format is:

{
  "version": 1,
  "updatedAt": 1735689600000,
  "settings": {
    "mcpServers": [
      {
        "id": "mcp_context7",
        "name": "context7",
        "transport": "http",
        "url": "https://mcp.context7.com/mcp",
        "headers": {
          "CONTEXT7_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Use /mcp when you want the friendlier editor and connection test UI. Edit ~/.dimcode/tools.json directly when you want to script, sync, or manage MCP config as a file.

ACP Server

Dimcode can run as an ACP server for editors and tools such as Zed or OpenClaw acpx.

Preferred commands:

dim acp

node /absolute/path/to/repo/scripts/acpx-agent.mjs

For GUI launchers, prefer absolute paths instead of relying on shell PATH. Do not configure bun run acp-server in acpx or editor settings; it only works when the cwd is the repository root. If you use Codex OAuth, run dim auth codex once first. If you use a custom provider, make sure ~/.dimcode/config.json already contains a valid provider setup.

🔧 Built-in Tools

Dimcode comes with powerful built-in tools:

File Operations

• Read - Read file contents
• Write - Create or overwrite files
• Edit - Make precise edits to existing files

Code Analysis

• Grep - Search content using patterns
• Glob - Find files by pattern

Web & Research

• WebSearch - Search the web using Serper API
• WebFetch - Fetch web page content

Task Management

• TodoWrite - Create and manage TODO lists

System

• Bash - Execute shell commands (requires approval)
• AskUser - Request input from user

Skills

Skills are specialized capabilities that can be activated to extend Dimcode's functionality. Built-in skills include:

• skill-installer - Install Codex skills from curated list or GitHub repos
• skill-creator - Guide for creating effective skills

📚 Examples

Basic Coding Assistant

dim
# Then type: "Create a React component for a todo list"

Multi-file Refactoring

dim
# Then type: "Rename all instances of 'oldName' to 'newName' across the project"

Web Research

dim
# Then type: "Search for the latest best practices in TypeScript 5.3"

Compare CLI Coding Agents

dim
# Then type: "Compare Dimcode with Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, and Cursor for terminal-first development"

🔐 Security & Privacy

• Tool Approvals: By default, sensitive operations (file writes, shell commands) require user approval
• Local Storage: All session data is stored locally in ~/.dimcode/dimcode/ (customizable via DIMCODE_HOME)