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hax, a minimalist terminal-native coding agent
gist
hax is a small native C coding agent for the terminal. It starts instantly, uses a few megabytes of RAM so local models keep the rest, and treats llama.cpp and Ollama as first-class providers alongside OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, and Codex. The interface streams Markdown without seizing the terminal, and a transcript view shows exactly what was sent and returned. It follows Unix conventions and composes via subprocesses instead of plugins, MCP marketplaces, or permission prompts; those omissions are intentional.
ideas
- Leave RAM for the model. A few-megabyte C binary starts instantly and treats local llama.cpp and Ollama runtimes as first-class.
- Do not seize the terminal. Streaming redraws only the current line or input, so native scrollback stays usable.
- Make the wire inspectable. A transcript view shows the exact request and reply; an optional protocol trace is available.
- Compose like Unix, not a marketplace. XDG paths, one-shot stdout, plain config, and subprocesses replace plugins, MCP catalogs, and permission prompts.
quotes
“A single native C binary with a small dependency set.”
“Does not take over or mess with your terminal.”
“See exactly what was sent to the model and what it replied in a usable transcript view (Ctrl+T).”
“If you want MCP marketplaces, a plugin runtime, IDE panels, or per-command permission prompts, other agents build exactly that”