VT Code: Open-Source Rust TUI Coding Agent with Multi-Provider Support and Agent Skills
VT Code is an open-source terminal-based AI coding agent built in Rust (using Ratatui for the TUI). It supports multiple LLM providers including Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, and Codex, as well as any open-source model via local inference through LM Studio and Ollama (experimental). The agent is Agent Skills, Model Context Protocol (MCP), and Agent Client Protocol (ACP) ready.
Key Features
- Multi-provider LLM support with automatic failover and efficient context management.
- Semantic code understanding powered by ast-grep for structured code search and ripgrep for fast grep operations.
- Agent Skills following the open Agent Skills standard, enabling external capability extension through a standardized skill system.
- Shell safety via process hardening (vtcode-process-hardening) and bash runner (vtcode-bash-runner).
- Terminal detection and PTY integration (vtcode-terminal-detection, vtcode-ghostty-vt-sys) for richer screen snapshots.
- Extensions for VSCode and Zed are included in the repo.
Installation
Native Installer (macOS/Linux):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vinhnx/vtcode/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
# Skip ripgrep + ast-grep bundle:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vinhnx/vtcode/main/scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --without-search-toolsWindows (PowerShell):
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vinhnx/vtcode/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iexVia Cargo:
cargo install vtcodeVia Homebrew:
brew install vtcode # from homebrew/core
# or from vinhnx/tap (development):
brew tap vinhnx/tap
brew install vtcodeUsage
Set your API key and launch:
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."
vtcodeTo install the optional search tools bundle (ripgrep + ast-grep) after initial installation:
vtcode dependencies install search-toolsArchitecture
The project is organized into many Rust crates (e.g., vtcode-core, vtcode-llm, vtcode-tui, vtcode-tools) and includes a collaborative tool spec system, markdown store, config, and exec events. The agent loop is documented in the README and DeepWiki.
For development, see the GitHub repo for setup scripts (scripts/setup-ghostty-vt-dev.sh, etc.) and the Homebrew tap for bleeding-edge builds.
📖 Read the full source: HN AI Agents
👀 See Also
DeepSeek Reasonix: Native Coding Agent with High Caching and Low Cost
Reasonix is a DeepSeek-native AI coding agent for the terminal, focusing on high caching efficiency and low inference cost.
VoidLLM: Zero-Knowledge Proxy for Ollama and vLLM with Team Access Control
VoidLLM is a proxy that sits between applications and local LLM servers like Ollama and vLLM, adding organization/team access control, API key management, usage tracking, and rate limiting without viewing prompts. It has <2ms proxy overhead and works with OpenAI-compatible SDKs.
Pilot Protocol: Open-Source P2P Network Stack for AI Agent Swarms
Pilot Protocol is an open-source Layer 3 and Layer 4 overlay network stack designed specifically for AI agent communication, providing direct encrypted UDP tunnels between agents with permanent 48-bit virtual addresses.
Canary: AI QA Agent for Automated Testing Based on Code Changes
Canary is an AI QA agent that reads codebases, analyzes pull request diffs, and generates end-to-end tests for affected user workflows. It connects to preview environments, runs tests, and comments results directly on PRs with recordings.