chaves logochaves
●v0.1.0 — early access

Your codebase has a lot to say.
Chaves is listening.

Chaves watches your files, tracks your diffs, relays terminal output, and proactively tells you what to do next. It stays inside your shell, bootstraps tmux when needed, and remembers the decisions that shape your codebase.

$ install with bunRead the docs
CHAVES
.: Session live...
...
You│/history 5
Chaves never reads .env files, secrets, or private keys. The built-in shield layer blocks sensitive paths and redacts credentials before anything reaches the model.

// how it works

One shell. Full awareness.

01$ bun start ./project

Start in your repo

Run CHAVES against your project and it immediately indexes the codebase, detects your language mix, and begins watching file activity.

02// tmux + relay online

Mirror the live session

When a dev command is configured, CHAVES boots a tmux layout, preserves your login shell environment, and captures stdout and stderr for analysis.

03> insight ready

Reason over context

Recent diffs, indexed code, chat history, and terminal errors get compacted into rolling context so CHAVES can suggest the next step before you ask.

// features

Built for real engineering sessions.

[watcher]

Real-time activity monitoring

Monitors file creates, edits, and deletes with granular diff snapshots so the assistant sees your work unfold in order.

[memory]

Durable session memory

Learns durable preferences and project decisions from chat history, then keeps them across restarts without replaying everything.

[rolling-context]

Rolling context windows

Continuously summarizes chat, file events, and terminal activity so responses stay fast without dropping the thread.

[models]

Multi-model support

Powered by OpenRouter with support for Claude, GPT, and other frontier models through one terminal-native workflow.

[tmux]

Integrated dev shell

Bootstraps a managed tmux session with chat and dev panes so you can code, run, and inspect without leaving the terminal.

[shell-aware]

Environment-aware execution

Runs dev commands inside your native login shell to preserve aliases, PATH setup, and existing environment variables.

[relay]

Real-time terminal relay

Streams stdout and stderr into the session database so CHAVES can proactively explain failures while they happen.

[search]

DB-backed code search

Indexes your project with SQLite FTS5 for instant project-wide lookups directly from the chat and command palette.

[shield]

Security and redaction

Blocks sensitive files like .env, .pem, and .git data while redacting API keys before prompts leave your machine.

// roadmap

What CHAVES is shipping next.

[SEARCH]
01planned

Semantic search

  • +Move beyond keyword-only lookups
  • +Add local embeddings on top of FTS5
  • +Answer vague codebase questions by meaning
  • +Keep project search fast and local
Read docs
[DEBUG]
02planned

Automated debugging

  • +Detect stack traces from tmux relay
  • +Locate likely buggy files automatically
  • +Suggest fixes from current session context
  • +Tighten failure analysis loops
Read docs
[TRACKING]
03in progress

Smarter change tracking

  • +Make summaries more surgical
  • +Improve context quality per token
  • +Stay model-agnostic across providers
  • +Reduce noisy change churn
Read docs
[AGENT]
04planned

Autonomous proactivity

  • +Run multi-step research tasks
  • +Validate code paths before suggesting changes
  • +Act more like a peer programmer
  • +Stay permission-aware while assisting
Read docs

// install

Install it once, launch it with `chaves`.

CHAVES runs from a single command. Install dependencies, add Glow for markdown rendering, then start the application by typing `chaves` in your shell.

$ bun install

Required environment:

OPENROUTER_API_KEY=...

Useful commands

/help/setup/model list/history 5/diffs 10/diff <id>

Runtime flags

CHAVES_DEBUG=trueCHAVES_INDEX_ON_START=falseGlow required for markdown summaries