CrabCode Overview
A local AI employee environment spanning the TUI, GUI, App Server, tools, MCP, plugins, browser automation, and scheduled jobs.
What it is
CrabCode is a local-first AI employee environment. It can run as an interactive terminal TUI, a desktop GUI, a one-shot CLI, an App Server for local clients, and a cron-backed automation daemon.
Open a shell in your project root, run crabcode, and it treats the current directory as the workspace: it reads code, edits files, runs commands, calls tools, manages sessions, and asks for approval when an operation crosses your configured boundary.
Runtime surfaces
| Surface | Entry | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive TUI | crabcode | Ongoing coding sessions inside the current repo |
| One-shot CLI | crabcode -p "..." | Scripts, CI, pipelines, and batch analysis |
| Desktop GUI | CrabCode desktop app | Projects, sessions, approvals, diffs, terminal output, plugins, automations, browser |
| App Server | crabcode server / crabcode-app-server serve | Desktop, IDE, local or remote clients |
| Automations | crabcode cron ... / GUI Automations | One-time or recurring jobs |
| Browser automation | crabcode browser ... / GUI Browser / /chrome | Web tasks through Playwright or Chrome extension mode |
Module map
| Module | Docs |
|---|---|
| CLI/TUI, flags, sessions | TUI quickstart, CLI reference, Sessions |
| Desktop GUI | GUI quickstart |
| Built-in tools | Tool system, Permission modes, Sandbox |
| MCP and plugins | MCP, Plugins and skills |
| Cron and GUI automations | Automations, CLI reference |
| Browser and input modes | Browser automation, Input modalities |
At a glance
| Goal | How |
|---|---|
| Install | One-line installer script (see getting-started) |
| Open the desktop app | See GUI quickstart |
| List in-TUI commands | Type /help after launching |
| List CLI flags | crabcode --help (see cli-reference) |
| Configure permissions / sandbox | See iam and security |
| Schedule work | Use crabcode cron add ... or the GUI Automations page |
| Pick a model | Type /model inside the TUI |
| Send feedback | Type /feedback inside the TUI |
Default model
CrabCode picks the main-loop model at startup. Switch with /model, or set one in your settings. The exact model ID is decided by the gateway bound to your release / account — this doc deliberately doesn't hardcode brand strings.
Recommended path
- getting-started — install and run a first session
- GUI quickstart — understand projects, approvals, diffs, plugins, automations, and browser
- cli-reference — learn flags, subcommands, background sessions, and cron
- tool system — understand built-ins, conditional tools, MCP tools, and permissions
- As needed: memory, hooks, mcp, skills, automations