Interactive TUI
Launch Ante without a prompt to enter the interactive TUI:
ante
Overview
The TUI is built with ratatui and provides a rich chat interface directly in your terminal. It renders inline (up to 24 lines) and uses debounced rendering at approximately 100fps for smooth output.
Key features
Chat interface
The main view shows a conversation between you and the agent. Type your prompt in the input area and press Enter to send. The agent's responses stream in real-time with markdown rendering.
Tool approval
When the agent wants to execute a tool that requires approval (like Bash or Write), you'll see an approval prompt. You can:
- Allow the tool call
- Deny it and the agent will adjust its approach
Diff view
When the agent proposes file edits, Ante switches to a fullscreen diff view on an alternate screen. You can review the exact changes before approving.
Model and provider selection
Use the built-in selectors to switch models or providers during a session without restarting.
Theme selection
Ante includes a theme system for consistent styling. Choose a theme through the theme dialog.
Slash commands
The TUI supports built-in slash commands for common actions:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/clear | Clear conversation history |
/init | Initialize codebase analysis |
/exit | Exit (aliases: exit, quit) |
/theme | Open theme selection dialog |
/diff | Show git diff (including untracked files) |
/connect | Connect to a provider (OAuth) |
/model | Open model selector |
/offline-mode | Open offline model selector |
/welcome | Show onboarding/welcome dialog |
/statusline | Configure the status line |
Some commands are "visible" (appear in conversation history) and others are "silent" (execute without adding to history). /clear, /init, and /exit are visible; the rest are silent.
Skills also appear as slash commands with scope indicators: [p] for project-level, [u] for user-level, [s] for system-level, and [a] for agent-level skills.
Keyboard shortcuts
Chat input
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Enter | Send message |
Ctrl+Enter / Alt+Enter / Shift+Enter | Insert newline |
Up / Down | Move cursor, then navigate history |
Tab | Complete command or file path suggestion |
Ctrl+R | Start reverse-i-search through prompt history |
Ctrl+C | Interrupt current task (double-press to exit) |
Ctrl+D | Exit application |
Escape | Close popup or interrupt active task |
Global shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+T | Open theme dialog |
Ctrl+E | Stop running llama server (offline mode) |
Ctrl+O | Toggle local inference log panel |
Ctrl+K / Ctrl+J | Scroll inference log up/down |
Diff view (fullscreen)
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
j / Down | Scroll down |
k / Up | Scroll up |
Page Down / Page Up | Page scroll |
Home / End | Jump to top/bottom |
q / Escape | Close diff view |
Tool approval
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
a | Accept tool call |
A | Accept all tool calls for this session |
r | Reject/skip tool call |
d | View diff preview |
Reverse search (Ctrl+R mode)
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+R | Next match |
Ctrl+S | Previous match |
Enter | Accept match |
Escape / Ctrl+G | Cancel search |
@ mentions
Type @ in the input to reference files or directories. A file search dropdown appears as you type:
@path/to/file.rs— embeds the file contents in your message@path/to/dir/— embeds the directory tree listing
If you paste multiple file paths, Ante auto-prefixes them with @ for convenience.
CLI flags for TUI mode
ante --model claude-sonnet-4-5
ante --provider openai
ante --system-prompt "You are a Python expert"
ante --append-system-prompt "Always use type hints"
ante --allowed-tools Read Grep Glob
ante --disallowed-tools Bash Write
Streaming
Streaming is enabled by default in TUI mode. To disable it:
ANTE_DISABLE_STREAMING=1 ante