CLI and TUI

Slash commands, keyboard, status line, autocomplete.

ATOM is an Ink (React) TUI. Entry is src/cli.tsx, rendered by src/App.tsx. There is no persistent header, only the launch-time banner. The status line is the sole info bar.

Launch

npm start        # run the TUI from source (needs a TTY)
atom             # run the installed binary (runs dist/cli.js)
atom --help      # usage, env vars, commands, providers (exits, no TUI)

--help (or -h) prints usage and exits. Any other invocation starts the TUI, even without a key.

Slash commands

Type / to autocomplete as you type. Full registry (src/App.tsx):

Command	What it does
`/model`	Unified model picker across keyed providers (type to filter, windowed list, cross-provider pick switches provider)
`/provider`	Provider plus key picker; validates and stores in `~/.atom/auth.json`
`/effort`	Reasoning-effort picker (sent only for opencode-zen supported models)
`/tools`	List tools with one-line descriptions
`/skills`	List installed skills (project plus global)
`/skill`	Invoke a skill by name (`/skill:name`; skills also complete in the `/` menu)
`/context`	Show context usage by source (system, tools, history, skills, config, prefix-cache)
`/queue`	List queued follow-ups (`/queue clear` wipes; cap 10, in-memory only)
`/steer`	Steer the running turn, or send when idle (`/steer <text>`)
`/mode`	Print the current permission mode
`/yolo`	Toggle yolo mode (tools run without asking). `Tab` toggles too
`/trust`	Toggle session trust: auto-approve write/edit/bash without full yolo. Again revokes
`/allow <tool[:glob]>`	Pre-approve a tool pattern this session
`/deny <tool[:glob]>`	Forbid a tool pattern this session. Deny wins over trust/yolo
`/rules`	List session allow/deny rules. `/rules clear` wipes them
`/clear`	Clear conversation history (keeps session token totals)
`/compact [focus]`	Summarize older turns into one summary. Optional focus text
`/resume`	Restore the last saved session (turns, history, settings, usage)
`/rewind`	Restore files to a session checkpoint. Files only, never shell side effects
`/help`	List commands with one-liners
`/exit`, `/quit`	Exit ATOM

/compact, /allow, /deny, /rules accept prefix forms (/compact focus..., /allow bash:npm test*).

Keyboard

Tab: toggle normal/yolo
Esc: stop a running response (footer shows esc stops while busy)
/: open command autocomplete
y once, a always, t trust all, n deny: answer write/shell approval prompts in normal mode

Status line

Format: provider, model, session token usage, reasoning, mode, plus live phase/elapsed/waiting while busy.

Token segment (src/context-windows.ts):

token: n/a: no usage reported yet. Never estimated
token: (P%) NK: known context window. NK is cumulative session spend in K (round(total/1024)). P% is current context load over the verified window (last prompt_tokens, else the 4 chars/token estimate)
token: NK: model has no verified window. Bare total only
token: 0K / token: (0%) 0K: zero usage, with/without a known window

Reasoning and streaming

Tokens, tool activity, and phase status render live. Reasoning streams in its own dim block above the answer draft (transient). Tool calls execute locally and results feed back into the loop, up to 30 steps per turn (ATOM_MAX_TOOL_STEPS, clamped 5-100).

See Sessions, Compaction, and Permissions for the systems behind these commands.

← Getting started

Core concepts →