OpenAgents Terminal

OpenAgents Terminal is a full-screen chat with OpenAgents in your terminal. When a message is coding work, Coder runs on this computer, in the folder you started from, and its steps stream into the same screen. It works over SSH and in tmux.

To install it on macOS or Linux, run curl -fsSL https://openagents.com/cli/install.sh | bash; for Windows, see Download.

Start it

openagents                    # or: openagents terminal
openagents terminal --continue   # the last thread you had open in this folder
openagents terminal --thread ID  # a thread by its ID
openagents terminal --scratch    # a throwaway identity, for trying it out

It opens on a new thread. When you quit, it prints the thread's ID and the command that reopens it.

The screen

The welcome card shows three rows:

• Project: the Git checkout you started in, where Coder would work.
• Agents: the coding agents ready on this computer, such as Codex, Claude Code, and Grok Build.
• Chats: synced when this computer's host is running (the Mac app runs it), so your threads are the Mac app's threads and a connected phone sees them; this computer when no host runs; scratch for --scratch.

The line above the composer says what's happening (ready, replying, Starting Grok Build…, Coder · step 4 · ≈40% done · 12s). The line under it names the coding agent and the thread.

Keys

Key	Does
Enter	Send. On an empty line, start the Coder run OpenAgents offered.
Option+Enter (Alt+Enter on Linux), Ctrl+J	A new line.
Esc	Stop the reply or the Coder run. Closes a list.
Ctrl+T	The thread list.
Ctrl+O	Show every step of Coder's runs in full, or fold them again.
Ctrl+S	Keep this computer's chats in sync with your phone.
PageUp, PageDown	Scroll.
Up, Down	Move in the message, then through your earlier messages.
Ctrl+C	Clear the message; on an empty line, press it twice to quit.
Ctrl+D	Quit, on an empty line.

The usual line-editing keys work too: Ctrl+A, Ctrl+E, Ctrl+W, Ctrl+K, Ctrl+U, Alt+B, and Alt+F.

Slash commands

A message that is exactly one of these is a command. Anything else goes to OpenAgents.

Command	Does
/new	Start a new thread.
/threads	List threads to open, start, or archive (also Ctrl+T).
/stop	Stop the reply or the Coder run (also Esc).
/export	Save this thread as a trajectory file.
/settings	Show Coder's settings and where the file is.
/connect	Show a QR code to connect a phone.
/plugins	List published plugins.
/expand	Show or fold every step (also Ctrl+O).
/help	Show these commands and keys.
/quit	Close the screen. A Coder run keeps going.

Coder runs

When a message is coding work, Coder starts at once (unless your settings say to ask first; then press Enter on an empty line). It works in its own copy of your checkout, so your files aren't touched. See Worktrees and changes.

• Reads and searches fold into one line (Read 3 files, Searched 2 patterns); each command or edit is its own line with its exit code.
• Esc stops the run.
• Quitting leaves it running. Reopen the thread and the screen follows it again from the start.
• When Coder asks a question, type your answer.
• A follow-up after a run continues the same work.
• "Work on #123" works a GitHub issue. Keep the screen open until it lands. See Work on a GitHub issue.

Threads

Ctrl+T lists threads: pinned first, then newest, then archived, as in the Mac app and on the phone. Enter opens one, n starts a new one, a archives the selected one, and Esc closes the list.

Sync and pairing

With no host running, the welcome card offers Ctrl+S: it installs this computer's host as a background service, so your threads sync with a connected phone. If something is missing, it tells you the one thing to do instead, usually opening the Mac app. It never installs anything you didn't ask for.

/connect draws a QR code in text, so it works over SSH. Scan it with the OpenAgents app on your phone (Account → Computers → Connect a computer).

Where it keeps things

• Threads: in the host's store, or in ~/.openagents/chat/ without a host.
• Exports: exports/ in that folder.
• Coder's tasks: ~/.openagents/tasks.

It draws in white on near-black. Set NO_COLOR for no color at all.

Next: The openagents command.