~20MB native code editor with built-in AI agents. Open source.

Website  ·  Get It  ·  ClifPad  ·  ClifCode  ·  Development  ·  Releases

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Cursor is 400MB. VS Code is 350MB. Zed doesn't do AI.

ClifPad is ~20MB. A native Rust IDE with a 7KB SolidJS frontend. VS Code-quality editing via Monaco. Real terminal via PTY. Git built into the backend. AI via ClifCode and Claude Code — both integrated, both optional.

No Electron. No telemetry. No subscription. Open source.

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📦 Get It

ClifPad — Desktop IDE macOS "App can't be opened"? — Run xattr -cr /Applications/ClifPad.app then open normally. Why?

ClifCode — Terminal Agent cargo install clifcode npm i -g clifcode Run clifcode in any project directory. That's it. Other install methods # Or clone and build locally git clone https://github.com/DLhugly/Clif-Code.git cd Clif-Code/clif-code-tui && cargo install --path .

All releases & checksums

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🖥️ ClifPad

📝 Monaco Editor — 70+ languages, IntelliSense, multi-cursor, minimap, code folding. Same engine as VS Code.

🖥️ Real Terminal — Native PTY via Rust. Your actual shell with 256-color, resize, 10K scrollback.

🔍 Dev Preview — One-click npm run dev, auto-detects localhost, live iframe preview.

🌿 Git — Branch, status, stage, commit, per-file +/- diff stats, visual commit graph. All Rust.

🤖 AI Agents — Built-in support for ClifCode (our open-source TUI agent) and Claude Code. Also connects to OpenRouter (100+ models) and Ollama (fully local). Ghost text completions. All opt-in.

🎨 5 Themes — Midnight, Graphite, Dawn, Arctic, Dusk. Editor, terminal, and UI stay in sync.

⌨️ Keys — Ctrl+`` terminal, Ctrl+B sidebar, Ctrl+S save, Ctrl+Shift+P palette.

📊 The Size Flex

	Binary	Runtime	RAM idle
ClifPad	~20MB	7KB	~80MB
Cursor	~400MB	~50MB	~500MB+
VS Code	~350MB	~40MB	~400MB+
Zed	~100MB	native	~200MB

Tauri 2 compiles to a single native binary. SolidJS has no virtual DOM overhead. Rust handles file I/O, git, PTY, AI streaming — zero garbage collection.

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⚡ ClifCode

The open-source AI agent that powers ClifPad's AI — and works as a standalone terminal tool.

Like Claude Code, but you own it, configure it, and run it with any LLM.

   _____ _ _  __ _____          _
  / ____| (_)/ _/ ____|        | |
 | |    | |_| || |     ___   __| | ___
 | |    | | |  _| |    / _ \ / _` |/ _ \
 | |____| | | | | |___| (_) | (_| |  __/
  \_____|_|_|_|  \_____\___/ \__,_|\___|

  AI coding assistant — works anywhere, ships fast

  ◆ Model  anthropic/claude-sonnet-4    ◆ Mode  auto-edit
  ◆ Path   ~/projects/my-app

  Type a task to get started, or /help for commands
  ─────────────────────────────────────────────

  ❯ refactor the auth module to use JWT tokens

  [1/7] ••• thinking
    ▶ read  src/auth/mod.rs
    ▶ read  src/auth/session.rs
    ◇ find  config.toml
    ✎ edit  src/auth/mod.rs  +42 -18
    ✎ edit  src/auth/session.rs  +15 -8
    ▸ run   cargo test
    ✓ All 23 tests passed

  ✦ ClifCode  Refactored auth module to use JWT tokens.
              Replaced session-based auth with stateless JWT
              verification. Added token expiry and refresh logic.

  ∙ 2.1k tokens  ∙ ~$0.0312

What it does: Tool-calling AI agent that reads your codebase, writes code, runs commands, searches files, and auto-commits — all from a TUI. Bring your own API key, use any LLM, or run fully local with Ollama.

🔧 9 Built-in Tools

Tool	Description
read_file	Read file contents with offset support for large files
write_file	Create or overwrite files, auto-creates directories, shows diff
edit_file	Targeted string replacement with fuzzy matching fallback (60%+ similarity)
find_file	Recursive file search by name (5 levels deep, top 30 results)
search	Grep-based pattern search across 15+ file types
list_files	Tree view directory listing (3 levels, 200 entry max)
run_command	Execute shell commands in workspace context
change_directory	Switch workspace, auto-updates repo map
submit	Mark task complete, triggers git auto-commit

🎛️ 3 Autonomy Modes

Mode	Behavior
suggest	Shows diff, prompts Y/n before every write
auto-edit (default)	Applies changes automatically, shows collapsed diff (Ctrl+O to expand)
full-auto	Hands-off — applies all changes silently

✨ Feature Highlights

Feature	Details
Agentic loop	Up to 7 tool calls per turn with chained reasoning
Parallel tools	Read-only calls execute concurrently on threads
Session persistence	Auto-saves every conversation — resume any session by ID
Git auto-commit	Commits on task completion — author: ClifCode <clifcode@local>, undo with /undo
Repo mapping	Auto-generates directory tree (4 levels deep) injected into context
Auto-context	Reads README, Cargo.toml, package.json, pyproject.toml, go.mod, Dockerfile, .clifcode.toml, etc.
Smart compaction	3-tier context management: truncate large results → stub old results → drop old turns
Fuzzy edit matching	When exact match fails, line-based sliding window with 60%+ similarity threshold
Cost tracking	Per-turn token usage and estimated cost displayed inline
Streaming markdown	Live token-by-token rendering with code block detection
npm distribution	6 platform binaries: macOS/Linux/Windows × x64/ARM64

📋 Slash Commands

◆ Session     /new  /sessions  /resume [id]  /cost  /clear  /quit
◆ Workspace   /cd   /add       /drop         /context
◆ Settings    /mode /backend   /config
◆ Git         /status  /undo
◆ Help        /help

Command	What it does
/new	Start a fresh conversation
/sessions	List all saved sessions with date and preview
/resume [id]	Resume a saved session (interactive picker if no ID)
/cost	Show session token usage and estimated cost
/mode	Switch between suggest / auto-edit / full-auto
/backend	Show current provider and model
/config	Re-run provider setup wizard
/cd [dir]	Change workspace directory
/add <file>	Add file to persistent context
/drop <file>	Remove file from context
/context	Show conversation messages and context files
/status	Show git status --short
/undo	Soft-reset last ClifCode commit (keeps changes staged)

🔌 Providers

Provider	Setup	Default Model
OpenRouter (default)	CLIFCODE_API_KEY	anthropic/claude-sonnet-4
OpenAI	--api-url https://api.openai.com/v1	gpt-4o
Anthropic	--api-url https://api.anthropic.com/v1	claude-sonnet-4-20250514
Ollama	--backend ollama (no API key needed)	qwen2.5-coder:7b
Any OpenAI-compatible	--api-url <endpoint>	user-specified

🚩 CLI Flags

clifcode                                          # interactive mode
clifcode -p "explain this codebase"               # non-interactive single prompt
clifcode --backend ollama                         # use local models
clifcode --autonomy suggest                       # confirm every write
clifcode --resume                                 # resume last session
clifcode --resume <session-id>                    # resume specific session
clifcode -w /path/to/project                      # set workspace
clifcode --api-model gpt-4o --api-url https://api.openai.com/v1  # custom provider
clifcode --max-tokens 2048                        # max completion tokens

Flag	Env Variable	Default
--backend <auto|api|ollama|stub>	—	auto
--api-url <url>	CLIFCODE_API_URL	OpenRouter
--api-key <key>	CLIFCODE_API_KEY	—
--api-model <name>	CLIFCODE_API_MODEL	anthropic/claude-sonnet-4
--workspace, -w <path>	—	current directory
--max-tokens <n>	—	1024
--prompt, -p <text>	—	—
--autonomy <mode>	—	auto-edit
--resume [id]	—	—

⚔️ Why ClifCode?

	ClifCode	Claude Code	Aider
Open source	✅ MIT	✅ Apache-2.0	✅ Apache-2.0
Any LLM provider	✅ 100+ via OpenRouter	Anthropic only	✅ Multi-provider
Local models (Ollama)	✅	❌	✅
Tool-calling agent	✅ 9 tools	✅	❌ diff-based
Session persistence	✅ Resume any	✅	❌
Git auto-commit	✅	✅	✅
TUI interface	✅	✅	✅
Cost tracking	✅ Per-turn	✅	✅
Runtime	Rust (native binary)	Node.js	Python
No subscription	✅ BYO key	API costs	✅ BYO key

ClifCode gives you the agentic tool-calling experience of Claude Code with the provider freedom of Aider — in a single native Rust binary.

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🛠️ Build & Contribute

# ClifPad — desktop IDE
cd clif-pad-ide
npm install && npm run tauri dev        # dev mode + hot reload
npm run tauri build                     # production binary

# ClifCode — terminal agent
cd clif-code-tui
cargo run --release                     # run directly
cargo install --path .                  # install to PATH

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│             Tauri 2 (Rust)              │
│  File I/O · Git · PTY · AI · Search    │
│                  │                      │
│            IPC (invoke/events)          │
│                  │                      │
│           SolidJS + TypeScript          │
│       Monaco Editor · xterm.js          │
│           Tailwind CSS 4                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Layer	Tech	Size
Backend	Tauri 2 + Rust	~20MB compiled
UI	SolidJS	7KB runtime
Editor	Monaco	tree-shaken
Terminal	xterm.js + portable-pty	real PTY
Styles	Tailwind CSS 4	zero runtime
Build	Vite 6	<5s HMR
CI/CD	Semantic Release	auto-versioned

Project Structure

Clif-Code/
├── clif-pad-ide/    🖥️  Desktop IDE — Tauri 2 + SolidJS + Monaco
├── clif-code-tui/   ⚡  Terminal AI agent — pure Rust, any API
└── .github/         🔄  CI/CD (auto-release, npm publish)

clif-pad-ide/
├── src/                     # SolidJS frontend
│   ├── components/          # editor, terminal, layout, explorer
│   ├── stores/              # reactive state (signals + stores)
│   ├── lib/                 # IPC wrappers, keybindings, themes
│   └── types/               # TypeScript interfaces
├── src-tauri/src/           # Rust backend
│   ├── commands/            # fs, git, pty, ai, search, settings
│   └── services/            # file watcher, ai providers
└── www/                     # Landing page (clifcode.io)

clif-code-tui/
├── src/
│   ├── main.rs              # CLI, TUI loop, agent orchestration
│   ├── backend.rs           # API backend (OpenRouter, OpenAI, Ollama)
│   ├── tools.rs             # Tool definitions and execution
│   ├── ui.rs                # Terminal UI rendering
│   ├── session.rs           # Session persistence
│   ├── config.rs            # Config (API keys, provider setup)
│   ├── git.rs               # Git integration
│   └── repomap.rs           # Workspace structure analysis
├── npm/                     # npm distribution packages
│   ├── clifcode/            # Main wrapper (npm i -g clifcode)
│   └── @clifcode/cli-*/     # 6 platform-specific binaries
└── scripts/
    └── bump-version.js      # Syncs versions across Cargo.toml + npm

Conventional commits — feat: bumps minor, fix: bumps patch, feat!: bumps major. Semantic release handles the rest.

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❓ FAQ

Why does macOS say "App can't be opened"? macOS Gatekeeper blocks apps that aren't signed with a $99/year Apple Developer certificate. ClifPad is open source and safe — run xattr -cr /Applications/ClifPad.app in Terminal to remove the quarantine flag, then open normally.

Is Clif safe? 100% open source. Read every line: github.com/DLhugly/Clif-Code. No telemetry, no network calls unless you enable AI. The xattr command just removes Apple's download flag — it doesn't disable any security.

Why not just pay for code signing? We will. For now, the $99/year Apple Developer fee goes toward more important things. Proper signing + notarization is on the roadmap.

Does it work offline? ClifPad: Yes — AI features are opt-in. Without API keys, it's a fully offline editor with terminal and git. ClifCode: Needs an API provider (but Ollama runs fully local with no internet).

What models does ClifCode support? Any model accessible through an OpenAI-compatible API. Default is anthropic/claude-sonnet-4 via OpenRouter, which gives access to 100+ models including GPT-4o, Gemini, Llama, Qwen, Mistral, and DeepSeek. Use --backend ollama for fully local inference with any Ollama-supported model.

How does ClifCode compare to Claude Code / Aider? ClifCode is a tool-calling agent (like Claude Code) that works with any LLM provider (like Aider). It combines the agentic loop and tool-calling architecture of Claude Code with the provider flexibility of Aider — in a single native Rust binary with no Node.js or Python runtime. See the comparison table for details.

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📜 License

MIT — use it however you want.

20MB. Native. Private. Fast.

_{Built with Rust and care by DLhugly}