Forge Code

Forge Code (formerly Forge) is an open-source AI-enhanced terminal development environment built by Tailcall. It integrates powerful language models directly into your terminal workflow, supporting over 300 models from providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, Grok, and more. The project has over 7,500 GitHub stars and is actively maintained with 2,900+ commits.

Designed for developers who want AI assistance without leaving the terminal, Forge Code offers a zero-configuration setup with multi-provider support, secure sandbox modes, and deep integration with git workflows. It is MIT-licensed and hosted on GitHub at github.com/tailcallhq/forgecode.

Forge Code is designed to be secure by design with a restricted shell mode that prevents unintended file system changes, making it safe for production use. It also supports MCP (Model Context Protocol) for extending capabilities through external tools and services.

Quick Install:

curl -fsSL https://forgecode.dev/cli | sh

On first run, Forge will guide you through setting up AI provider credentials using the interactive login flow.

forge provider login    # Configure provider credentials interactively
forge                    # Start the interactive terminal UI

Alternative Installation

You can also build from source using Rust's cargo package manager. The project is written in Rust and the source code is available on GitHub.

Forge Code offers three distinct usage modes, each optimized for different workflows:

Mode	Command	Use Case
Interactive TUI	forge	Persistent conversational coding session with file editing, git integration, and tool usage
One-Shot CLI	forge run "prompt"	Single prompt execution for scripting and automation pipelines
ZSH Plugin	:command	Inline AI assistance via the : prefix system directly in ZSH

Interactive TUI Features

• Conversation Management — Save, resume, and manage conversations with forge conversation resume <id>
• Agent Selection — Start with a specific agent using forge --agent <agent-id>
• Sandbox Mode — Create isolated git worktrees with forge --sandbox experiment-name
• Directory Targeting — Start in a specific project directory with forge -C /path/to/project

Forge Code includes a unique ZSH plugin mode that lets you interact with the AI directly from your shell prompt using the : prefix system. This provides inline AI assistance without leaving your terminal.

Command	Action
:explain	Explain the last command or a highlighted block
:fix	Fix the last terminal error
:commit	Generate a git commit message
:doc	Generate inline documentation

Forge Code is configured through a forge.yaml file that supports provider configuration, model selection, MCP server connections, and sandbox settings.

Provider Configuration

forge provider login                    # Interactive provider setup
forge provider list                     # List configured providers
forge provider set-default openai       # Set default provider

Key Features

• Multi-provider — Supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Grok, DeepSeek, Gemini, and 300+ models
• MCP Support — Connect MCP servers for extended capabilities
• Skills System — Define reusable coding skills and conventions
• Sandbox Mode — Isolated git worktrees for experimentation
• Semantic Search — Workspace-wide semantic code search

Forge Code supports multi-agent workflows through its agent system. You can define specialized agents with different roles, tools, and provider configurations, then switch between them or use them in combination for complex tasks.

The skills system allows you to define reusable patterns and conventions that agents follow, making it easy to maintain consistency across your codebase. Skills can include coding rules, file patterns, and custom tool configurations that are automatically applied when the relevant agent is active.

Forge Code has an active community of developers and contributors. The project is open-source under the MIT license and welcomes contributions from the community.

• GitHub — Source code, issues, and discussions at github.com/tailcallhq/forgecode
• Discord — Community chat and support via the Tailcall Discord server
• Documentation — Official docs with guides, API reference, and tutorials available on the Forge Code website