Getting Started with Cody CLI
Cody CLI is AINative Studio's AI-powered terminal coding assistant. It runs in your terminal and uses AI to help you write, refactor, and understand code — with 9 coding models, 5-level agent nesting, and zero-signup onboarding.
Current version: v0.11.0
Installation
npm (recommended)
npm install -g @ainative/cody-cli
npx (no install required)
npx @ainative/cody-cli
curl installer (macOS / Linux)
curl -fsSL https://ainative.studio/install-cody.sh | sh
Homebrew
brew tap ainative-studio/cody
brew install cody
Quick Start — Zero Signup
Cody works immediately after install — no account, no email, no API key required:
npm install -g @ainative/cody-cli
cody
A temporary token (tmp_ prefix) is auto-provisioned on first run. You get free-tier models instantly. Temporary tokens expire after 72 hours — upgrade to a full account to keep your data and unlock paid models. Once authenticated, all new keys use the sk_ prefix.
See Authentication for all auth options.
First Run
Interactive mode
cody
Single prompt
cody -p "Explain this codebase"
Print mode (pipe-friendly)
cody --print "What does this function do?"
Specify a model
cody --model kimi-k2 -p "Fix this bug"
Dry run (preview without API call)
cody --dry-run -p "Refactor this function"
Key Concepts
- Tools — Cody can read/write files, run bash commands, search codebases, browse the web, and more.
- MCP Servers — Connect external tools via the Model Context Protocol.
- Memory — Cody persists context across sessions via ZeroDB.
- CODY.md — Place instructions for Cody in a
CODY.mdfile at your project root. - Skills — 11 built-in skills with a marketplace for community skills.
- Agents — 5-level nested sub-agents for complex multi-step workflows.
Essential Commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/goal <condition> | Work autonomously until condition met |
/code-review | Review git diff for bugs |
/security-review | OWASP Top 10 vulnerability scan |
/pr-review | Review a pull request |
/bg <task> | Run task in background |
/auto on | Enable smart permission classification |
/workflow run <file> | Execute YAML workflow |
/agent-view | List running agents |
/model | Switch models interactively |
/config key=value | Set config inline |
See the full Commands Reference for all 30+ commands.
Available Models
Cody ships with 9 top coding models — 4 free, 5 paid:
| Model | Tier | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| deepseek-4-flash | Free | Default (free) — 79% SWE-Bench |
| kimi-k2 | Free | Default (paid) — 80.2% SWE-Bench |
| qwen3-coder-flash | Free | Strong agentic coder |
| llama-3.3-70b-instruct | Free | Reliable fallback |
| qwen-coder-32b | Professional | Balanced quality + speed |
| glm-5 | Professional | Strong coding + tools |
| kimi-k2-thinking | Professional | Reasoning model |
| claude-sonnet-4.5 | Enterprise (BYOK) | Premium quality |
| claude-opus-4 | Enterprise (BYOK) | Highest quality |
All 9 models support tool use. See Model Configuration for details.
Next Steps
- Authentication — OAuth, API keys, auto-provisioning
- Commands Reference — All slash commands
- Features — Full feature overview
- Model Configuration — Configure and switch models
- MCP Servers — Connect external tools
- Memory — Persistent context across sessions