Topchester
Changelog Docs

TUI

Run topchester in an interactive terminal to open the chat-style TUI.

topchester
topchester --resume latest

The TUI has a thread area, a visible plan block when the agent is working through a plan, a prompt box, and a status line.

The status line shows readiness, folder name, active model, provider, and knowledge-base state:

ready · my-project · qwen/qwen3-coder [openrouter] · kb: ready

Everyday controls

  • Enter sends a message.
  • Shift+Enter adds a new prompt line in terminals that report it distinctly.
  • / opens slash command suggestions.
  • Type @ plus part of a file name to search project files; Tab completes the selected path.
  • Up and Down browse prompt history or slash suggestions, depending on focus.
  • Tab completes the selected slash suggestion.
  • Ctrl-C once asks for confirmation; Ctrl-C again exits.

Topchester renders inline instead of using the terminal alternate screen, so terminal scrollback remains available.

Tool visibility

Tool calls appear as compact rows in the thread so you can see what the agent is reading, editing, running, or fetching. Web reads use web_fetch: <url> before completion and include the HTTP status plus byte or truncation state afterward, for example:

web_fetch: https://example.com/docs (200, 12,480 bytes)
web_fetch: https://example.com/large-doc (200, truncated)

web_fetch is for public HTTP(S) pages. It blocks localhost and private-network addresses, strips URL credentials, stops at cross-host redirects, rejects raw bodies over 5 MB, and marks returned text that was capped at 40,000 characters.

Busy input

While a chat turn is running, the prompt stays editable. Pressing Enter on normal text queues it as the next follow-up turn. Queued prompts are local to the running TUI process and are not saved as user messages until they actually start.

Use /queue <prompt> to explicitly queue a follow-up. When the agent is idle, /queue <prompt> starts immediately like a normal prompt. While the agent is busy, the prompt waits behind the active turn and the TUI shows a compact queued follow-up count.

Use /steer <prompt> to send best-effort guidance to the active turn. If the runtime reaches a safe tool-result checkpoint, the guidance is folded into the next model prompt without creating a visible user message. If it is not consumed before the active turn completes, Topchester queues it as a follow-up so the text is not lost.

V0 queues are not persisted across restarts, cannot be edited or removed from a queue-management view, and do not have a configurable busy input mode. Switching sessions with /new, /fork, or /restore drops queued follow-ups and pending steering with a visible notice.

Startup checks

Interactive startup checks the configured agent.fast model and knowledge-base path health. If model config is missing, the TUI points you to /connect openrouter, /model, or direct config edits.