rust-code 0.3.0

AI-powered TUI coding agent written in Rust
rust-code-0.3.0 is not a library.

rust-code

rust-code is a terminal coding agent written in Rust.

It combines a Ratatui-based TUI, typed tool execution, fuzzy navigation, session history, and a BAML-driven agent loop so you can work on a codebase without leaving the terminal.

Install

From crates.io:

cargo install rust-code

Linux release binary:

curl -L https://github.com/fortunto2/rust-code/releases/latest/download/rust-code-linux-x86_64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo install rust-code-linux-x86_64/rust-code /usr/local/bin/rust-code

macOS:

cargo install rust-code

If you prefer local builds on macOS:

git clone https://github.com/fortunto2/rust-code.git
cd rust-code
cargo build --release -p rust-code
./target/release/rust-code

Run it:

rust-code

Headless mode:

rust-code --prompt "Find the bug in src/main.rs"
rust-code --prompt "Summarize this repo" --resume

Features

  • Interactive terminal chat UI built with ratatui and crossterm
  • Typed agent loop powered by BAML
  • File read/write/edit tools
  • Shell command execution
  • Git status, diff, add, and commit tools
  • Fuzzy file search with nucleo
  • Session persistence in .rust-code/session_*.jsonl
  • Session search and restore
  • Git diff and git history side channels
  • Project symbol search
  • Background task / tmux session viewer
  • Open-in-editor actions through $EDITOR

Provider Setup

The current build is configured for these LLM backends:

  • Google AI via GEMINI_API_KEY
  • Vertex AI via GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT
  • OpenRouter via OPENROUTER_API_KEY

At least one of them must be configured in your environment before launching rust-code.

Examples:

export GEMINI_API_KEY="..."
rust-code

export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT="my-project"
rust-code

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="..."
rust-code

Notes:

  • rust-code currently initializes BAML clients that are defined in crates/rc-baml/baml_src/clients.baml.
  • The checked-in config currently includes Gemini, Vertex AI, and OpenRouter.
  • BAML_LOG is suppressed automatically by the app so the TUI stays clean.

Quick Start

  1. cd into the repository you want to work on.
  2. Create an AGENTS.md file in that repo.
  3. Export one provider credential.
  4. Launch rust-code.
  5. Start with a direct task like review this repo, fix the failing test, or add a new command.

AGENTS.md

rust-code works best when the target repository contains an AGENTS.md file with project-specific instructions.

Recommended contents:

  • stack and framework versions
  • architecture constraints
  • code style rules
  • test/build commands
  • migration or release rules
  • prompt or tool-schema rules
  • file locations that must be edited first

Example:

# Agent Instructions

## Stack
- Rust 2024
- Tokio
- Ratatui

## Rules
- Prefer minimal patches
- Run `cargo check` after code changes
- Do not edit generated files directly
- Put prompt/schema changes under `crates/rc-baml/baml_src/`

## Commands
- Build: `cargo build`
- Check: `cargo check`
- Test: `cargo test`

The more concrete this file is, the better the agent performs.

Sessions and Local State

rust-code stores local state in .rust-code/:

  • .rust-code/context/ for persistent agent guidance files
  • .rust-code/session_*.jsonl for chat/session history

Use --resume to reopen the latest saved session:

rust-code --resume

TUI Shortcuts

Main shortcuts currently exposed by the UI:

  • Enter: send message
  • Ctrl+P: file search
  • Ctrl+H: session history
  • Ctrl+G: refresh git sidebar
  • Tab: focus sidebar
  • Ctrl+C: quit
  • F1: diff channel
  • F2: git history
  • F3: files
  • F4: sessions
  • F5: refresh
  • F6: symbols
  • F7: background tasks
  • F10: channels
  • F12: quit

Inside side panels:

  • Esc: close panel
  • Ctrl+I: insert selected item into the prompt
  • Ctrl+O: open or attach, where supported

Background tasks are backed by tmux, so having tmux installed is useful if you want long-running task inspection from the UI.

CLI

Usage: rust-code [OPTIONS]

Options:
  -p, --prompt <PROMPT>
  -r, --resume
  -h, --help
  -V, --version

Development

This repository now publishes a single crate, rust-code, but it still keeps a logical split in the source tree for the agent loop, tools, and generated BAML client code.

If you change BAML source files, edit them in:

  • crates/rc-baml/baml_src/

Then regenerate:

cd crates/rc-baml
npx @boundaryml/baml@0.218.0 generate

Useful commands:

cargo check
cargo build
cargo test

Status

The crate is published on crates.io:

Linux release artifacts are published by GitHub Actions when you push a tag matching v*, for example v0.1.1.