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Your shell is the dungeon. Every command counts.
Install · Quick Start · Classes · Commands
You type hundreds of commands a day. ls, git push, cargo build. Every one disappears into the void -- no reward, no acknowledgment, just a prompt waiting for the next one.
shellquest hooks into your shell and turns every command into a game event. XP, loot, combat, bosses. You don't do anything differently. You just stop losing progress.
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Install
Then add the shell hook:
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Detects your shell and wires everything up automatically.
[!NOTE] Requires Rust (cargo).
Quick start
That's it. Just use your terminal.
Help & Manual
The sq CLI includes a built-in manual for every command.
sq help— View the topic indexsq help <topic>— View a specific command guide (e.g.,sq help arena)sq --help— View standard CLI usage and flags
What you get
- 5 classes -- Wizard, Warrior, Rogue, Ranger, Necromancer
- 5 races -- Human, Elf, Dwarf, Orc, Goblin
- 150 levels with a scaling XP curve, titles from Terminal Novice to Root Overlord
- 15 subclasses -- unlocked at prestige
- 130+ items across 5 rarity tiers: Common (70%) down to Legendary (0.01%)
- 11 zones determined by your current directory, each with unique flavor and danger scaling
- Attrition combat — fights chip HP over time; dangerous zones can kill the unwary
- Elite encounters — rare Enraged variants break through with sharper attacks and richer rewards
- 5 named bosses, spawning at 1 in 1,000 commands
- Prestige system -- reset at 150, keep your gear, go again stronger
- Permadeath mode -- optional; standard death costs 15% of your gold and resets current-level XP
Classes
Each class earns +50% XP on affinity commands.
| Class | Affinity | Flavor |
|---|---|---|
| Wizard | python, node, ruby, vim, emacs, man |
Scholarly. Grimoire-keeper. Knows 47 ways to open a file. |
| Warrior | cargo, make, cmake, gcc, ninja |
Compiler-whisperer. Builds things that actually run. |
| Rogue | grep, rg, ssh, find, ls |
Lurks in pipes. Finds things that don't want to be found. |
| Ranger | curl, wget, docker, kubectl, terraform |
Tames the cloud. Mostly. |
| Necromancer | kill, pkill, rm, git, shred |
Raises and destroys. Often the same operation. |
Bosses
Five named bosses roam the dungeon. They don't announce their arrival.
The Kernel Panic · Lord of /dev/null · SIGKILL Supreme · The Infinite Loop · The Memory Corruption
1 in 1,000 commands. d20 combat. No guarantees.
Prestige
Level 150. Choose a subclass. Reset. Go again stronger.
What resets: level and XP. What you keep: gold, gear, kills, inventory. What you gain: +2 to all stats per prestige tier, +10 max HP per prestige tier, one of 15 subclasses.
Level 150. You can stop. You won't.
Arena
The Arena is an interactive combat gauntlet where you face waves of increasingly difficult enemies for massive rewards.
- Risk vs Reward — Cash out early to keep your winnings, or push further for better loot.
- Interactive — After each auto-resolved fight, choose to Continue deeper or Cash Out with your current winnings.
- Tiers — Multiple difficulty tiers with level and prestige requirements.
- Limitations — Arena runs are not resumable. If you close your terminal or interrupt the process before finishing, the run rolls back to the pre-arena state (including your entry fee).
Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
sq help [topic] |
View the in-game manual and command guides |
sq init |
Create your character |
sq status / sq stat |
View your character sheet (--full to include inventory) |
sq inventory |
Check gear and potions |
sq journal |
Last 20 adventure log entries |
sq shop |
Browse the shop (home directory only) |
sq buy <n> |
Buy item by number from sq shop list |
sq sell <n> |
Sell inventory item at the shop (home directory only) |
sq equip <name> / sq wear <name> |
Equip armor or ring from inventory |
sq wield <name> |
Wield a weapon from inventory |
sq remove <name> / sq unequip <name> |
Unequip weapon, armor, or ring → back to inventory |
sq drink <name> |
Drink a potion |
sq drop <name> |
Drop an item from inventory permanently |
sq prestige |
Ascend at level 150 |
sq arena |
Enter the interactive combat gauntlet (risk/reward) |
sq tournament |
Deprecated; use sq arena instead |
sq hook --shell zsh |
Print shell hook code |
sq update |
Update to latest via cargo |
sq reset |
Delete your character (permanent) |
sq tick --cmd ... |
Internal: Process a command (used by shell hook) |
Contributing
PRs welcome. More monsters, more loot, more zones -- the dungeon is always hiring.
MIT -- do whatever you want with it.
Made with Rust and vibes.