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nca — Native CLI AI

A native-first, Rust-powered AI coding assistant that runs entirely in the terminal. Zero JavaScript dependencies, sub-100ms startup, and a full agent loop for code generation, file editing, command execution, and project understanding.

What is nca?

nca (native-cli-ai) is a terminal-native AI coding agent comparable to Claude Code and OpenAI Codex CLI — built from scratch in Rust. It provides:

  • Interactive REPL with multi-turn conversation, full-screen TUI, and agent profiles
  • One-shot mode for scripting and CI pipelines
  • Session management with spawn, resume, attach, and structured logs
  • Tool execution — file operations, code search, shell commands, web research, and more
  • Sub-agent spawning with isolated git worktrees for parallel task delegation
  • Multiple LLM providers — MiniMax, Anthropic, OpenAI, and OpenRouter
  • Permission system — from fully interactive approval to bypass mode for automation
  • MCP integration — connect external tool servers via Model Context Protocol
  • Skills system — discoverable, loadable instruction packs that extend agent behavior

Quick Start

# Build from source
cargo build --release

# Install to PATH
cp target/release/nca /usr/local/bin/

# Set up your API key
export MINIMAX_API_KEY="your-key-here"

# Start interactive session
nca

# Or run a one-shot task
nca -p "add error handling to src/main.rs"

Documentation

Page Description
Getting Started Installation, first run, and initial configuration
Commands Complete CLI command and flag reference
Interactive Mode TUI, REPL, slash commands, keyboard shortcuts
Configuration Config files, TOML format, and environment variables
Providers LLM provider setup — MiniMax, Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter
Tools All agent tools — file ops, search, shell, web, and more
Sessions Session lifecycle, persistence, resume, and management
Permissions Approval system, permission modes, and safe mode
Skills Skill discovery, installation, and authoring
Advanced Sub-agents, MCP servers, hooks, orchestration, and IPC

Architecture

nca is a Rust workspace with five crates:

nca
├── nca-common    Shared types, config, events, session metadata
├── nca-core      Agent loop, LLM providers, tool protocol, harness
├── nca-runtime   Session lifecycle, IPC, persistence, worktrees, supervision
├── nca-cli       Terminal UX — TUI, REPL, streaming, onboarding
└── nca-autoresearch   Automated research capabilities

Single binary output: nca. No runtime dependencies beyond a working terminal and network access for LLM calls.

Design Principles

  1. Terminal-native — every interaction works in a standard terminal, no mouse required
  2. Predictable — the agent shows what it intends to do before doing it
  3. Interruptible — Esc or Ctrl+C cleanly cancels any in-flight operation
  4. Transparent — token costs, tool calls, and model responses are always visible
  5. Fast — sub-100ms startup, <10ms local tool execution, <200ms session resume

License

MIT — see repository for details.