AI Tools

Powerful AI assistants in your terminal

AI assistants can help you write code, automate tasks, answer questions, analyse files, and much more. These tools run in your terminal and can work with files on your computer.

Prerequisites

These tools require Node.js. If you didn't select Node.js during the bootstrap script, run it again and enable the Node.js option first.

Quick Comparison

Tool Provider Best For
Claude Code Anthropic Complex reasoning, file analysis, writing
OpenCode Open Source Multi-provider support, customisation
Codex CLI OpenAI GPT-4 users, OpenAI ecosystem

Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic's official CLI for Claude. It excels at complex reasoning, can read and write files, and works great for both coding and non-coding tasks.

Installation

Ubuntu 
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Setup

You'll need an Anthropic API key. Get one from console.anthropic.com.

Ubuntu 
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Add this to your ~/.bashrc to make it permanent.

Usage

Ubuntu 
claude

Run this in your project directory to start an interactive session.

OpenCode

OpenCode is an open-source AI coding assistant that supports multiple providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, local models). It's highly customisable and great for power users.

Installation

Ubuntu 
uv tool install opencode

Usage

Ubuntu 
opencode

On first run, it will prompt you to configure your API keys. You can use Anthropic, OpenAI, or local models via Ollama.

Codex CLI

Codex CLI is OpenAI's official AI assistant. It uses GPT-4 and integrates well with the OpenAI ecosystem.

Installation

Ubuntu 
npm install -g @openai/codex

Setup

You'll need an OpenAI API key. Get one from platform.openai.com.

Ubuntu 
export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Usage

Ubuntu 
codex

Tips for Using AI Assistants

  • Provide context - Tell the AI what you're trying to accomplish, not just what to do
  • Review output - Always review what the AI produces before using it
  • Use in the right directory - Run the tools from the folder containing files you want to work with
  • Start small - Begin with simple tasks to learn how each tool works
  • Iterate - If the first response isn't right, refine your request
API Costs

These tools use paid APIs. Monitor your usage at the respective provider dashboards to avoid unexpected charges. Start with smaller tasks to understand usage patterns.

Installing via Bootstrap

If you ran the bootstrap script with AI Tools enabled, these are already installed. To add them later, re-run the bootstrap script and select the AI Tools option (make sure Node.js is also selected).