Tracking AI Code Assistance CLIs¶

This blog post tracks some of the AI code assistance CLI's that I'm trying out so I can remember what clicked, what still feels rough, and how to reinstall them on a fresh machine.

Codex CLI¶

Codex CLI focuses on workflow depth: it wraps a coding agent that can edit files in place, run commands, and keep a short log so you can steer it like a teammate from the terminal.

npm install -g @openai/codex@latest

Docs and source live in the Codex CLI repository.

Claude Code¶

Claude Code brings Anthropic's Claude models into a lightweight local shell, with conversational context windows sized for refactors and explaining diffs without needing a full IDE extension.

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

Dive deeper in the Claude Code documentation.

Gemini CLI¶

Gemini CLI provides quick prompts against Google's Gemini models, making it easy to draft code snippets, rubber-duck through design questions, or spin up bash one-liners while staying offline-first.

npm install -g @google/gemini-cli@latest

Guides and examples are collected in the Gemini CLI project page.

GitHub Copilot CLI¶

GitHub Copilot CLI layers Copilot's pair-programming experience into the terminal, offering completions, code explanations, and shell command drafts with your GitHub credentials.

npm install -g @github/copilot@latest

Source lives in the GitHub Copilot CLI repository.