Coder from scripts

openagents coder runs the same chat as the terminal app, without the screen: for scripts, CI jobs, and other agents. It comes with Coder; see Download and install. Run openagents coder --help for every command.

Send a message

openagents coder chat -p "Explain the files in this folder. Change nothing."

The reply prints to standard output. Other ways to give the message:

openagents coder chat --prompt-file task.md
echo "What changed in the last commit?" | openagents coder chat --stdin

Continue a chat

Give the chat a name with --session, and use it again to continue:

openagents coder chat -p "Add a test for slugify" --session slug
openagents coder chat -p "Now run it" --session slug

Without --session, each call starts a new chat. Chats are saved like the terminal's, so /resume in coder opens them too.

Where it works

In a Git project, each scripted chat works in its own copy of the project (a worktree in .coder/worktrees/, on a chat/ID branch), so your checkout stays as it was and several chats can run at once. Add --in-place to work in the folder itself, and --in DIR to work in another folder.

Choose who answers

Option	Who answers
`--mode auto`	Coder picks, as Auto does in the terminal (the default).
`--mode coder`	Coder's own loop.
`--mode codex`	Codex, on this computer's ChatGPT sign-in.

A choice holds for the chat's later messages too; --mode auto lifts it. --instructions TEXT or --instructions-file FILE adds standing instructions for the chat.

Models

These set the model for Coder's own loop. Pick a slug from the list:

openagents coder models list                       # the models you can pick
openagents coder models set openrouter/free        # pick one
openagents coder models set auto                   # let OpenAgents pick
openagents coder models set SLUG --reasoning low --max-tokens 4000

JSON output

Add --json to stream one JSON object per line as the chat runs (each step, its result, and the reply), ending with a finished line that has the reply and the chat's file:

openagents --json coder chat -p "List the TODOs in src/" --session todo

Ask before acting

openagents coder chat -p "Clean up the build scripts" --approvals stdin --json

With --approvals stdin, any command that isn't read-only waits: an approval line appears in the output, and you answer by writing confirm ID or reject ID to standard input.

Hand work to another agent

openagents coder delegate --to codex --task "Review the last commit for bugs" --read-only
openagents coder delegate --to claude-code --task "Write tests for src/parse.rs"

--to takes claude-code, codex, opencode, coder, auto, or any agent ID from openagents coder agents list. --model picks its model. It prints the agent's short result.

Everything else

Command	Does
`openagents coder status`	Who answers, the model, plugins, and the folder.
`openagents coder plugins list`	Plugins, and whether each is on. `enable ID` and `disable ID` change one.
`openagents coder agents list`	Agents found on this computer. `enable ID`, `disable ID`, `refresh`.
`openagents coder sessions list`	Saved chats. `read ID` prints one; `delete ID` removes one.
`openagents coder export ID`	Save a chat as a file.
`openagents coder memory list`	What Coder remembers here. `memory instructions` lists the instruction files it reads.
`openagents coder trace upload --last`	Upload the latest chat as a trace.

--state DIR keeps Coder's data in another folder, so a script doesn't touch your own settings and chats. Keys come only from environment variables (such as OPENROUTER_API_KEY) or configuration on standard input, and are never printed.

The openagents command

openagents does more than Coder: chat with OpenAgents, change settings, work with GitHub issues, connect a phone, and call models on the OpenAgents API. Run openagents --help for the list, and see The openagents command.

Next: Coding agents.