#Get from zero to coding

Five minutes from now you'll be pair programming with AI in your terminal.

#Install

npm install -g crabcode  # npm
bun install -g crabcode  # or bun
cargo binstall crabcode  # or cargo-binstall (prebuilt binary, faster)
cargo install crabcode   # or cargo (build from source)
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Blankeos/crabcode/main/install.sh | sh # or linux/macos (via curl)

#First run

Launch crabcode:

crabcode

Run /connect to add your first provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.). That's it—you're ready.

🎉 That's it! If you know how to use OpenCode, you're pretty much good to go!

#Your first session

crabcode works best when you type naturally, like you're pair programming:

• Ask questions: "Explain the main function in src/lib.rs"
• Request changes: "Add error handling to this module"
• Plan first: /plan when you're not sure how to approach something
• Build directly: /build when you know what you want done

Custom slash commands can live in .opencode/commands/ or .crabcode/commands/. crabcode reads the OpenCode command format.

#Configure crabcode

crabcode uses JSONC (JSON with comments). Create a crabcode.jsonc in your project:

{
  "theme": "default",
  "model": "openai/gpt-5.2",
  "notifications": {
    "complete": {
      "terminal": "auto",
      "soundEnabled": true,
      "desktop": true,
    },
    "error": {
      "soundEnabled": true,
    },
  },
}

#How config merging works

crabcode reads up to four files (highest priority wins):

1. OpenCode global (~/.config/opencode/opencode.jsonc)
2. crabcode global (~/.config/crabcode/crabcode.jsonc)
3. OpenCode local (.opencode/opencode.jsonc in your project)
4. crabcode local (crabcode.jsonc in your project)

Set your defaults globally, override per-project when needed. See the full configuration reference.

#Use an editor through ACP

Start an ACP-compatible editor integration with:

crabcode acp

See ACP Integration for editor configuration and the current capability matrix.

#List available models

Print selectable models in provider/model format:

crabcode models
crabcode models openai

The optional provider argument is an exact provider ID. This command uses the same local credentials, custom providers, free models, and runtime model catalog as crabcode.

#Common commands

Once you're in crabcode:

#Where your data lives