The AnvilFor this device
The essentials for code. Nothing in the way.
Recording of the TALOS CLI, talos-code 0.4.0. The command talos --version prints 0.4.0. The command talos starts the CLI, which plays its boot sequence: Signal acquisition, Network convergence, Core ignition, Synchronization bus, Talos assembly, Energy shimmer, System online.
TALOS in the terminal, on the model you choose. Lean by design: it runs well on modest PCs and spends tokens only where the work needs them.
- 01
Permissions Each tool is allowed, asked or denied, per project, in six modes — from plan to bypassPermissions.
- 02
Undo /undo restores the files a turn changed, from checkpoints kept outside your repository and outside Git.
- 03
Sessions /resume and /fork open a picker; talos --resume last continues from the shell.
- 04
Context With a known window of 64k tokens or more, long conversations are compacted at half — and the screen says so.
- 05
Extensions MCP servers, hooks, plugins and custom commands, each trusted before it runs.
- 06
Your data No telemetry. Prompts and the files TALOS reads go only to the provider you chose.
- Released
- Oct 9, 2026
- Runs on
- Node.js 24 (24.18 or later in the 24 line)
- Package
- talos-code
npm i -g talos-code then run talos npm package All files & checksums
The Procession
The real CLI, screen by screen.
talos-code 0.1.0 on a demo project. The model’s replies were scripted; the CLI, its permissions, its checkpoints and the tests ran for real.
The Tablet
Every command, carved in one place.
From the talos-code README.
TALOS(1)talos-code@0.5.2TALOS(1)
talosstart in this foldertalos -p "…"a one-shot task, no interactive screentalos -p "…" --jsonmachine-readable outputtalos --resume lastcontinue the last sessiontalos doctorwhat is ready, what is missingtalos update --checkis a newer version out
Inside the interactive screen
/model/provider/undo/resume/fork/help
The Craft
How the anvil strikes.
Trust the folder, choose the model, and work: every tool asks, every change can be undone.
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Trust the folder, choose the model.
The first run asks whether to trust the folder, then which provider and model. A key already in your environment is used only after you agree once; a typed key goes to the system’s credential store, never to a file.
-
Every tool asks.
Each tool is allowed, asked or denied, per project, in one of six modes from
defaulttobypassPermissions. MCP servers, hooks and plugins run only once you trust them. -
Nothing is lost.
/undorestores the files a turn changed, from checkpoints kept outside your repository and outside Git. Sessions resume and fork, and long conversations are compacted at half the context window.
The Foundation
What it stands on.
What it needs, what uses the network, and where your data lives.
- Needs
- Node.js 24 (24.18 or later in the 24 line).
- Tested on
- Windows 11 x64. macOS and Linux are not tested yet.
- Models
- 22 cloud providers with your key; Ollama, LM Studio and llama.cpp with none. It never falls back from a local model to a cloud one on its own.
- Network
- Your prompts and the files it reads, to the provider you chose; the public models.dev catalog, cached for 4 hours (it can be turned off); the npm registry, only for
talos update. No telemetry. - Your data
- Configuration:
%APPDATA%\TALOS-CLI(~/.config/talos-cli). Sessions, checkpoints and logs:%LOCALAPPDATA%\TALOS-CLI(~/.local/state/talos-cli).
npm i -g talos-codeThe Oracle
Asked, and answered.
Questions about using it. For installing and checking the files, see Download.
Can I use it in scripts or CI?
Yes. talos -p "…" runs a one-shot task without the interactive screen, and --json makes the output machine-readable.
Where is my API key kept?
In the operating system’s credential store, typed in hidden input. It is never written to a file.
Does it update itself?
No. talos update tells you when a newer version exists and prints the npm command; it changes nothing by itself.
Something does not work. What now?
talos doctor says what is missing. talos diagnostic bundle makes a redacted report for a bug, with no prompt or file content in it.
What are the known limits of 0.5.2?
Only Windows 11 x64 is tested. Compaction with a local Ollama model is not yet verified end to end. A local provider that answers 401 or 403 without needing a key can be set aside as if its key were wrong.
The Kin