Autohand Code CLI

0.8.3 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript

Autohand Code CLI v0.8.3 is an autonomous LLM-powered coding agent that uses the ReAct (Reason + Act) pattern to read, reason, and write code across entire projects from the terminal. Released as alpha (pre-release) with weekly commits, it features a modular skill system, multi-LLM provider support (OpenRouter, Anthropic, OpenAI, local models), Git integration, and an interactive REPL with slash commands and file autocomplete. Differentiated by autonomous multi-file editing with user approval gates and a minimalistic design, it requires Bun ≥1.0 and Node ≥18.17.0. The CLI ships TypeScript types and is under active development.

Common errors

error Error: Cannot find module 'autohand-cli' ↓

cause Package not installed or not globally linked.

fix

Run 'bun install -g autohand-cli' or use curl installer.

error TypeError: autohand is not a function ↓

cause Importing default export incorrectly with require() in ESM-only package.

fix

Use ESM import: import autohand from 'autohand-cli'.

error Error: Unsupported Node.js version. Node.js >=18.17.0 is required. ↓

cause Running on an older Node.js version.

fix

Upgrade Node.js to >=18.17.0 using nvm or Node.js installer.

error Error: Git not found in PATH ↓

cause Git is not installed or not accessible.

fix

Install Git from https://git-scm.com and ensure it's in PATH.

error Error: Anthropic API error: 401 Unauthorized ↓

cause Invalid or missing API key for Anthropic provider.

fix

Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable or pass via --api-key flag.

Warnings

breaking v0.8.3-alpha requires Node >=18.17.0; older Node versions fail with ESM import errors. ↓

fix Update Node to >=18.17.0 or use a compatible version like v0.8.2.

deprecated The --repeat flag for non-interactive recurring mode is experimental and may change in future releases. ↓

fix Use with caution in CI; monitor for API changes.

gotcha Pressing Ctrl+C twice exits immediately; single Ctrl+C only cancels in-flight requests. ↓

fix Use Ctrl+C once to cancel a running task, Ctrl+C twice to exit.

gotcha Parallel tool execution in v0.8.3 may cause concurrency issues with subagents; depth-scaled concurrency is experimental. ↓

fix Monitor subagent behavior and disable parallel execution if needed via config.

gotcha Smart paste feature sends full content to LLM; pasting large code blocks may exceed token limits. ↓

fix Break large pastes into smaller chunks or use file mentions (@file) instead.

Install

npm install autohand-cli

yarn add autohand-cli

pnpm add autohand-cli

Imports

default

wrong

const autohand = require('autohand-cli')

correct

import autohand from 'autohand-cli'

Package is ESM-only; CommonJS require is not supported.

AutohandConfig
```
import { AutohandConfig } from 'autohand-cli'
```
TypeScript type export; available from v0.8.0+.
runAutohand
```
import { runAutohand } from 'autohand-cli'
```
Programmatic API for running tasks; not documented in README but exported.

Quickstart

Demonstrates interactive and programmatic usage of Autohand CLI with provider configuration and dry-run mode.

import autohand from 'autohand-cli';

// Interactive mode (launches REPL)
autohand();

// Command mode with auto-approval and commit
autohand({
  prompt: "add a dark mode toggle to the settings page",
  yes: true,
  autoCommit: true
});

// Dry-run with custom provider
autohand({
  prompt: "refactor the auth module",
  dryRun: true,
  provider: "anthropic",
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY ?? ''
});