The Axon TUI
Every tool call your agent makes is visible. Every session is navigable. Every model on every provider is one keypress away. This is what it looks like when the interface was built for the agent, not bolted on after.
The TUI is a purpose-built terminal interface for working with agents. Not a chat window with a command prefix. Not a REPL with agent capabilities bolted on. A complete environment — session management, model selection, script invocation, Ollama management, policy controls — built on a custom renderer that operates well below a millisecond per frame.
The mode system
Every interaction in the TUI is a mode. You're always in one. The default is normal — type a message and send it. Switch modes by pressing the activation key on an empty input.
| Key | Mode | What it does |
|---|---|---|
: | command | App commands, agent management, Ollama, policy |
* | model | Select agent or switch model provider |
@ | session | Browse and switch sessions |
! | script | Run a script from the active agent |
> | prompt | Load a prompt into the input |
/ | page | Navigate to a different page |
" | theme | Switch colour theme (live preview) |
# | voice | Voice input via microphone |
? | help | Keyboard reference |
Press the same key again or hit Escape to return to normal. The active mode is shown as
a symbol prefix in the input bar.
This is the whole interface. Once the mode system clicks, every capability in the TUI is one or two keystrokes away.
Three types of agent
The TUI connects to agents running anywhere. Switch between them with * and the agents
tab.
Local agents — agents you've built, running on your machine. The TUI spawns the agent process, connects, and keeps it alive for the session.
Deployed agents — agents running on Axon Cloud. The TUI connects over WebSocket with automatic token auth. Connect to any deployed agent you own.
Repo agents — agents discovered from the current git repository. No setup required —
if the repo has a .agents/ folder, those agents appear automatically. See
Workspace Agents.
The same session interface works for all three. The connection details are invisible once you're in.
What's next
Connecting — local agents, cloud agents, and arbitrary Axon servers with API keys.
Models — Axon Cloud, OpenRouter, Codex, and Ollama. All providers from one palette.
The Palette — the full command reference, script invocation, and prompt loading.
Pages — the four views: chat, environment, context, account.