# kai-tool
`kai` is a focused CLI for AI-assisted coding workflows: launching agents, managing git worktrees,
assembling source listings, and rotating between enrolled Codex CLI accounts.
## Install
```bash
cargo install kai-tool
```
Installed command: `kai`
## Codex credentials
Enroll each Codex account once, then switch without logging the previous account out:
```bash
kai cred add # import the current account or sign in
kai cred add --device-auth # enroll another account with device auth
kai cred list
kai cred tickle
kai cred fix
kai next
```
`kai next` is shorthand for `kai cred next`. It checks candidate accounts concurrently in cyclic
enrollment order and activates the first account with confirmed remaining quota. If none has
remaining quota, accounts with usable rate-limit reset credits are eligible before accounts whose
quota could not be checked. Exhausted accounts without reset credits and credentials rejected by
the service are skipped. You can also select or remove an account explicitly:
```bash
kai cred activate personal@example.com
kai cred remove work@example.com
```
`kai cred list` fetches every account's current Codex quota concurrently and shows the remaining
percentage, relative time until reset, and an inline progress bar. Usable rate-limit reset credits
are shown with their count and latest relative expiry. Every lookup runs `codex app-server` in its
own temporary configuration-only `CODEX_HOME` with `--auth-file` pointing directly at that
account's canonical vault file, so accounts are checked in parallel without swapping the live
account or making quota API calls directly from Kai. Transient failures are retried up to three
total attempts through this same lookup path for every command that polls quota. Codex can refresh
an expired access token in that canonical file; the downstream `+k` refresh lock serializes the
reload, provider request, and persistence, so Kai never reconciles a private copy at process exit.
On an interactive terminal, each account appears immediately with a live loading indicator and is rewritten as its quota arrives. After
`kai next` or `kai cred next`, Kai
reports the newly selected account's quota as soon as the in-flight lookup completes. Selecting an
exhausted account with reset credits prints a notice directing you to Codex's `/usage` flow to
redeem one. A credential name and its reset time are yellow when the backend reports a fresh
seven-day window, indicating that quota countdown has not started. Once all quota lookups finish,
lists with multiple accounts end with a blank-line-separated total bar averaging the accounts whose
quota is available. A centered signed usage bar on the same line shows the average quota pace
balance: elapsed window fraction minus consumed quota fraction. Positive values mean consumption is
behind the clock, while negative values mean it is ahead of the clock. Values within ±0.20 are
yellow, lower values are red, and higher values are green.
`kai cred tickle` starts those untouched seven-day countdowns. It temporarily activates each
matching credential in enrollment order, runs an ephemeral Codex request whose complete prompt is
``What is the current system `gcc` version? (Reply with only the version number.)`` from the user's
home directory, waits for and discards the response, and restores the original active credential
afterward. Refreshed credentials are saved during each switch, and the original credential is
restored even when a probe fails.
`kai cred add` runs `codex login` with a temporary, isolated `CODEX_HOME`, reads the account email
from the resulting file-backed credential, and imports it. If Codex is already using an
unenrolled account, Kai imports that credential directly. The credential currently used by Codex
is not replaced or logged out during enrollment. Kai selects
Codex's device-code flow automatically for SSH sessions, CI, and Linux sessions without a graphical
display. A configured `$BROWSER` relay and WSL browser interop retain the browser flow. Use
`--browser-auth` or `--device-auth` to force either behavior.
Rerun `kai cred add --force` to reauthenticate the account selected by the completed login. Kai replaces
the credential only after both its email and account/workspace ID match the enrolled profile, and
preserves whether it was active unless `--activate` is also supplied. `kai cred fix` checks all
enrolled credentials concurrently and starts isolated sign-ins only for credentials that are
invalid or rejected as unauthorized. Both commands accept the same browser/device authentication
overrides. Repairs run one at a time; before each sign-in, Kai shows the email to select and waits
for Enter before opening the browser.
The first enrolled account is activated automatically. When another managed account is already
active, Kai normally leaves it in place; if that account has zero remaining quota, adding a new
account activates the new one automatically. A quota lookup failure is non-fatal and leaves the
current account active. Use `--activate` to switch immediately regardless of its quota.
Before every switch, Kai validates the live canonical profile and atomically changes the managed
`CODEX_HOME/auth.json` link to the selected profile. Refresh-token changes therefore stay in their
canonical account file without any copy/reconcile step. Kai never invokes `codex logout`, so
switching does not deliberately revoke the previous credential.
`kai cred list --json` emits stable, secret-free output for scripts, including each quota's
remaining percentage, reset timestamp, window length, and any usable reset-credit count and latest
expiry.
### Vault location and security
The credential vault is stored at:
```text
~/.kai/credentials/
├── state.json
└── profiles/
└── <email-derived-id>.json
```
Override it with `KAI_CREDENTIALS_HOME`. Each enrolled profile file is the canonical writable
credential for that account; Kai atomically points `${CODEX_HOME:-~/.codex}/auth.json` at the
managed active profile.
The vault is not encrypted; like Codex's own `auth.json`, it contains bearer credentials. On Unix,
Kai enforces mode `0700` on vault directories and `0600` on credential/state files, refuses
credential symlinks, uses atomic durable writes, and serializes credential operations with an
invocation lock. Temporary Codex homes are configuration-only for quota workers and are removed
after each lookup; enrollment login homes may contain a short-lived login credential. Supervised
agents never receive a private auth copy, so a hard-killed process cannot leave a second bearer
credential behind or leave sessions or SQLite state pointing at a temporary home. Protect backups
accordingly.
Kai requires Codex to use file-backed CLI credentials. If `cli_auth_credentials_store` is set to
`auto` or `keyring`, change it to `file` in the active Codex `config.toml`.
Already-running Codex processes may retain their previous credential in memory. Restart them after
`kai next`, `kai cred activate`, an automatic recovery promotion, or repairing the active credential.
Automatically supervised +k agents keep the user's canonical `CODEX_HOME`, SQLite state, and
per-account credential files. Each child receives the selected profile's canonical path through the
custom Codex `--auth-file` option; sessions, configuration, plugins, skills, and rollout paths stay
in the normal `CODEX_HOME`. Codex keeps the selection process-local, so tool subprocesses cannot
inherit it. Quota recovery switches that canonical path between child restarts using the same
cyclic account selection as `kai next`. When a different selected account has confirmed remaining
quota and the systemwide account is separately confirmed exhausted, Kai
promotes the selected account to the global `auth.json` link while holding the credential lock.
Because every +k process locks the resolved canonical file across reload → refresh → persist,
another Codex instance cannot replay a stale rotating refresh token. At startup Kai also repairs
stale rollout paths left by older temporary-home runs when the persistent rollout exists. If no
enrolled account has usable quota, an interactive run asks whether to check again (default yes) and
repeats that prompt after every unsuccessful retry.
## Other commands
- `kai agent` (`a`; `ar` opens the all-sessions picker, and `ar SESSION_ID` resumes directly)
launches Codex or Claude. Pass `--fast` to start Codex using its Fast service tier.
- `kai worktree` (`wc`, `wa`, `wo`, `wd`) manages git worktrees.
- `kai llm-get` (`lg`) produces LLM-friendly file listings.
- `kai init` writes `.kai/config.toml`.
- `kai bump` commits and pushes changed submodule pointers.
Run `kai help` or `kai <command> --help` for the complete command surface.
## License
AGPL-3.0-only