A source-first coding agent that lives in your terminal.
One Rust binary. Native tools. Project-scoped sessions. Guardrails you can inspect.
Documentation · Usage · Packs · Security
Inline TUI with native scrollback. Trust mode is explicitly enabled in this capture; Dext defaults to Ask.
Dext is an interactive terminal agent and automation-friendly CLI. It supports ChatGPT/Codex, OpenAI, Anthropic, GLM, Kimi Code, DeepSeek, and local OpenAI-compatible models without requiring a Dext-hosted service.
Linux and macOS:
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SiliconState/Dext/main/scripts/install.sh | shWindows PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell 7:
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SiliconState/Dext/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iexThe Windows installer uses native Windows environment values for architecture detection so the same in-memory script works under Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7. The installers select the matching release archive, require an exact vX.Y.Z tag, verify its SHA-256 checksum, and validate that it starts and reports the selected version before replacement. Dext v0.1.0 is published, so the default installers download prebuilt archives and do not require Rust. If no tagged release is available, the documented fallback resolves and pins the current main commit before running a locked Cargo build; that fallback requires Rust. Set DEXT_SOURCE_FALLBACK=0 to refuse source fallback. Set DEXT_REQUIRE_ATTESTATION=1 to additionally require GitHub CLI verification of release provenance; because source builds have no release attestation, that setting also disables source fallback.
Prefer to review before running? Download install.sh or install.ps1, inspect it, then execute it locally. Release provenance and manual verification are documented in docs/RELEASING.md.
Install from a checkout
git clone https://github.com/SiliconState/Dext.git
cd Dext
cargo install --path . --force --lockedWindows tool calls need a real
bash.exe, such as Git for Windows. Dext ignores the WSL app alias; setDEXT_BASH_PATHto override discovery.
# Browser login for ChatGPT/Codex
dext auth login chatgpt
# Open the provider login page, then paste the key at Dext's prompt
# (do not put secrets in shell command arguments)
dext auth login anthropic
# Work interactively in the current project
dextOne-shot and local-model use are just as direct:
dext "review this repository and find the riskiest bug"
dext auth provider local
dext --frugal --effort offSee docs/USAGE.md for provider setup, model routing, sessions, Seats, automation, and the CLI reference.
- Terminal-native. Inline Ratatui UI with normal scrollback, streaming input, one-shot output, JSON, and stream-JSON.
- Source-first. Prompts, provider adapters, policies, state, tools, and UI are auditable in this repository.
- Recoverable. Git-native pre-mutation checkpoints, previews, side-effect journals, and explicit undo.
- Bounded by default. Approval profiles, filesystem sandboxing, credential scrubbing, privacy redaction, and capped I/O.
- Provider-neutral. Cloud and local providers share one compact native tool layer.
- Extensible without core bloat. User-owned packs and shelves can add workflows and reviewed runtime tools.
- Explicit continuity. By default, Dext autosaves session state under a project-specific key;
dext --resumerestores the latest session. Optionalrecall.mdand Seat summaries are user-authored context, not autonomous memory.
dext interactive session
dext "fix the failing test" one-shot task
dext --resume resume this project's latest session
dext doctor inspect the active safety and state posture
dext undo --list inspect recovery checkpoints
dext pack run NAME TASK run a user-owned workflow pack
Inside Dext, type /help for commands and ? on an empty prompt for the keymap.
Dext asks before privileged tools by default. workspace-write confines writes to the project, scratch space, and selected toolchain caches on supported Linux/macOS hosts; Windows and unsupported hosts retain native guards but do not have equivalent kernel filesystem confinement. Outbound network access from approved subprocesses is not sandboxed.
Git checkpoints are recovery aids, not a substitute for commits. Credentials are scrubbed from agent-run subprocesses unless you explicitly opt in. Run dext doctor to inspect the current posture, and read SECURITY.md plus the risk register for exact boundaries.
- Usage and configuration
- Packs and shelves
- Technical architecture
- TUI behavior
- Release verification
- Contributing
- Canonical technical documentation
Dext requires stable Rust with edition 2024 support. The build, test, release, and reinstall workflow lives in CONTRIBUTING.md; release-owner checks live in docs/RELEASING.md.