Quickstart

This guide gets yottacode running against a model provider and starts your first coding session.

Install yottacode

One-liner (Linux + macOS, amd64 + arm64):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yottadynamics/yottacode/main/install.sh | bash

The installer drops yottacode into ~/.yottacode/bin/ (no sudo), verifies the release archive against published SHA256 sums, and appends a PATH export to your shell rc — making a timestamped backup of the rc first.

Skip the rc edit (you manage PATH yourself):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yottadynamics/yottacode/main/install.sh \
  | bash -s -- --no-modify-rc

Pin a specific version instead of “latest”:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yottadynamics/yottacode/main/install.sh \
  | VERSION=0.2.0 bash

Verify the install:

yottacode --version

Note

yottacode checks GitHub for a newer release once a day on startup and offers to upgrade before the TUI starts. Set YOTTACODE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1 to disable. Windows users should run yottacode under WSL. For build-from-source and pinned-archive paths, see Installation.

Configure a provider

yottacode does not guess a default model or endpoint. The fastest way to configure one is the wizard:

yottacode setup

The wizard writes ~/.yottacode/config.toml and ~/.yottacode/.env, probes providers where possible, and can be rerun later with /setup from inside the TUI.

Or configure manually — you need a model id, a base URL, and (for some providers) an API key. Pick one:

ollama serve
ollama pull <your-model-id>

export YOTTACODE_PROVIDER=ollama
export YOTTACODE_MODEL=<your-model-id>
export YOTTACODE_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434/v1

yottacode

Ollama ignores API keys; yottacode handles that internally.

yottacode openai-auth login

export YOTTACODE_PROVIDER=openai-auth
export YOTTACODE_MODEL=<your-model-id>     # /model list shows what your account allows
export YOTTACODE_BASE_URL=https://chatgpt.com/backend-api/codex

yottacode

openai-auth uses a browser “Sign in with ChatGPT” flow instead of an API key. Saved tokens live under ~/.yottacode/auth/, which yottacode blocks from model reads and writes.

yottacode copilot-auth login

export YOTTACODE_PROVIDER=copilot
export YOTTACODE_MODEL=claude-haiku-4.5
export YOTTACODE_BASE_URL=https://api.githubcopilot.com

yottacode

copilot uses GitHub’s device code flow. Model calls bill against your GitHub Copilot subscription. Available models depend on the subscription tier (Free, Pro, Pro+); the model picker marks plan-gated models.

See Providers for the full list.

Ask for help in the TUI

Launch yottacode from a project directory:

cd ~/src/my-project
yottacode

Try prompts like:

summarize this repository

find the tests for the session package and explain how persistence works

add a regression test for the bug described in this issue

Useful interactive commands:

/help — list slash commands
/provider — add, remove, or switch providers
/model — open model picker or /model <name> to switch directly
/plan — toggle plan mode (also Shift+Tab) for research before implementation
/theme — change the color theme
/skills — menu to enable/disable, install, uninstall, check, and update skills
/sessions — resume, rename, or export sessions
/memory — edit USER.md / YOTTACODE.md or browse agent-managed memories
/doctor — actively probe the configured endpoint
/init — draft or refresh .yottacode/YOTTACODE.md

Use one-shot mode for scripts

yottacode run "summarize the public API of this repo"

yottacode run prints the final answer to stdout and sends status/tool progress to stderr, so it composes cleanly with pipes, redirects, and CI logs.

Understand approvals

yottacode reads and inspects your repo without prompting; mutating actions usually ask first. You will see approval modals for file writes, shell commands, destructive git operations, and similar changes.

Caution

yottacode does not provide an in-process sandbox. For real isolation, run it inside a container or devcontainer.

Next steps

Installation CLI usage