nodetool-chat-cli

name	nodetool-chat-cli
description	Use NodeTool chat CLI commands, interactive terminal, agent mode, workspace management, and Global Chat features. Use when user asks about chat commands, interactive terminal, chat features, agent mode in chat, or the Global Chat interface.

You help users use NodeTool's chat interfaces — the terminal chat CLI and Global Chat.

Chat CLI

The chat CLI is a terminal UI. Two equivalent entry points:

• nodetool-chat (standalone binary)
• nodetool chat (subcommand that forwards to the chat UI)

From source (no build): npm run dev:chat -- [flags].

Starting Chat

# Interactive chat (default provider/model from saved settings)
nodetool chat

# With a specific provider/model
nodetool chat -p openai -m gpt-5.4
nodetool chat -p anthropic -m claude-sonnet-4-6
nodetool chat -p ollama -m qwen-3.5:4b

# Restrict the enabled tools
nodetool chat --tools google_search,browser,write_file

# Connect to a running server instead of a local provider
nodetool chat -u ws://localhost:7777/ws

# Provision an isolated Docker sandbox and expose its tools to the agent
nodetool chat --sandbox

Agent mode is always on. Every chat session runs the unified agent loop (planning + tools). The old -a/--agent and --no-agent flags are deprecated no-ops kept for compatibility.

CLI Flags

Flag	Purpose
-p, --provider <name>	LLM provider (see list below)
-m, --model <id>	Model ID
-w, --workspace <path>	Workspace directory (default: cwd)
--tools <list>	Comma-separated enabled tools
-u, --url <ws-url>	Connect to a NodeTool server WebSocket
--sandbox	Isolated Docker sandbox with file/shell/browser/desktop tools
--sandbox-image <image>	Override the sandbox Docker image
--no-read-only-search	Disable the read-only run_search fan-out primitive
--trace-file <path>	Append LLM/agent/workflow spans as JSONL
--trace-stdout [pretty|json]	Stream spans to stdout

Providers: anthropic, claude_agent_sdk, openai, codex, gemini, xai, groq, mistral, deepseek, moonshot, minimax, cerebras, gmi, together, openrouter, huggingface, replicate, kie, aki, ollama, lmstudio, mlx. Any other registered provider id (e.g. vllm) also works when passed explicitly.

Slash Commands (prefix with /)

Command	Purpose
/help	Toggle the command help panel
/new	Start a fresh session (clears history + server thread)
/clear	Clear the visible history
/compact	Summarize and compact the conversation context
/model [id]	Show current model, or switch with an id
/provider [name]	Show current provider, or switch (loads that provider's default model)
/tools	List the enabled tools
/exit, /quit	Quit chat

Non-slash input is sent to the model as a chat message — there is no built-in shell (ls, cd, …) in the chat prompt. File operations happen through the agent's file tools in the workspace.

Configuration

• Settings file: ~/.nodetool/chat-settings.json (persists provider + model)

Agent Capabilities

Because the agent loop is always active, the chat can:

1. Plan — break tasks into steps
2. Use tools — search, browse, file ops, code execution, media generation
3. Iterate — execute steps, evaluate results, adapt
4. Run workflows — trigger saved NodeTool workflows

Common Tools

Tool	Capability
google_search	Web search
browser	Browse and extract web content
read_file / write_file / edit_file	Workspace file ops
run_code	Run code snippets
grep / glob	Search files
screenshot	Capture a page screenshot
find_model	Pick a model by capability
generate_image / generate_video / generate_speech	Media generation

Restrict the set with --tools a,b,c; inspect the active set with /tools.

Global Chat

Global Chat is the desktop app's built-in chat interface.

Features

• Chat with any configured AI model (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, local)
• Multiple conversation threads
• Standalone window (launch from the system tray)
• Tools: web search, image generation, workflow execution
• The same always-on agent loop as the CLI

Workflow Integration

1. Save a workflow in the NodeTool editor
2. Open Global Chat
3. Select the workflow from the workflow picker
4. Chat naturally — the agent can invoke the workflow as a tool

Typical Flows

Quick Question

nodetool chat -p openai -m gpt-5.4
> What's the difference between FAISS and ChromaDB?

Research Task

nodetool chat --tools google_search,browser,write_file
> Research the top 5 TypeScript ORMs and write a comparison to comparison.md

Code Generation

nodetool chat -p anthropic -m claude-sonnet-4-6 --tools write_file,read_file,run_code
> Create a Python script that processes CSV files and generates summary statistics

Headless / Programmatic Chat

For non-interactive chat, use the OpenAI-compatible Chat API on a running server (nodetool serve):

curl -X POST http://localhost:7777/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer TOKEN" \
  -d '{"model": "gpt-5.4", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]}'

Common Pitfalls

• No provider configured: store a key first (nodetool secrets store OPENAI_API_KEY). Providers without a key are greyed out and /provider <name> refuses them.
• Wrong model ID: switch with /model <id>; each provider's default is loaded when you switch providers.
• Expecting a shell: bare commands like ls are sent to the model, not run. Use the agent's file tools or --sandbox.
• Looking for /agent: agent mode is always on; there is no toggle.