Pilot
A terminal-first, provider-neutral coding-agent platform with guarded tools and resumable sessions.
- Status
- In progress
- Started
- Jul 2026
- Role
- Creator and maintainer — product design, agent runtime, terminal UX, safety model, and release tooling.
- Stack
- TypeScript · Node.js · SQLite · Ollama · Terminal UI
Use different coding models through one terminal workflow, with explicit permissions and sessions you can resume.
What it is
Pilot brings an agentic coding workflow into the terminal without tying the experience to one model provider. It streams model output, gives agents repository and process access through a registered tool boundary, pauses for approval when an action can change the system, and stores sessions so work can continue later.
Why I built it
Coding agents need broad repository context and useful tools, but granting unrestricted filesystem and process access makes them difficult to trust. Provider-specific clients also make it costly to change models as the ecosystem moves.
How it addresses the problem
Pilot separates the agent loop from model providers and exposes capabilities through explicit tools. Read-only work can flow quickly, while edits and commands cross a visible approval boundary. Context budgets, ignored-file rules, layered instructions, and persistent SQLite sessions keep long-running work understandable and recoverable.
What the project actually does
Provider-neutral agent loop
Runs Ollama and configurable OpenAI-compatible models behind one terminal workflow, with per-model capabilities and context windows.
Purpose-built terminal UI
Offers a full-screen TUI with multiline editing, streaming Markdown, history, file completion, permission prompts, plus plain and JSON modes.
Guarded tool access
Repository and process access only happens through registered tools; non-read-only calls show the exact operation and require scoped approval.
Intentional context
@ mentions attach files or folders while respecting ignore files, protected paths, file-count limits, and per-turn byte budgets.
Resumable by design
Sessions and tool activity are stored in SQLite, while global and workspace JSONC configuration makes behavior inspectable and repeatable.
Bounded autonomy
Elapsed-time, cycle, tool-call, token, and optional cost ceilings prevent an agent turn from running without clear limits.
How the pieces connect
- 01 Terminal UI
- 02 Context builder
- 03 Agent loop
- 04 Model adapters
- 05 Registered tools
- 06 SQLite sessions
From zero to a useful result
- 01
Install the CLI
Install Pilot globally with a current Node.js runtime.
npm install -g @pilotrun/cli - 02
Check your environment
Run the built-in doctor, then list the models Pilot can currently use.
pilot doctor && pilot models - 03
Start working
Open an interactive session in a repository, or give Pilot a one-shot task from a script.
pilot chat
Start from the terminal
npm install -g @pilotrun/cli