kbot
Open-source terminal AI agent. 23 agents, 290 tools, 20 providers, local-first.

npm install -g @kernel.chat/kbot

Why kbot?

Most terminal AI agents lock you into one provider, one model, one way of working. kbot doesn't.

• 20 providers, zero lock-in — Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Groq, Mistral, SambaNova, Cerebras, OpenRouter, and more. Switch with one command.
• Runs fully offline — Embedded llama.cpp, Ollama, LM Studio, or Jan. $0, fully private.
• Learns your patterns — Bayesian skill ratings + pattern extraction. Gets faster over time.
• 23 specialist agents — auto-routes your request to the right expert (coder, researcher, writer, guardian, and 19 more).
• 290 tools — files, bash, git, GitHub, web search, deploy, database, game dev, VFX, research, MCP, and more.
• Programmatic SDK — use kbot as a library in your own apps.
• MCP server built in — plug kbot into Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Zed, or Neovim as a tool provider.

How it compares

	kbot	Claude Code	Aider	OpenCode
AI providers	20	1	6	75+
Specialist agents	23	0	0	0
Built-in tools	290	~15	~10	~10
Learning engine	Yes	No	No	No
Offline mode	Embedded + Ollama	No	Ollama	Ollama
SDK	Yes	No	No	No
MCP server	Yes	N/A	No	No
Web companion	kernel.chat	No	No	No
Open source	MIT	Source available	Apache 2.0	MIT
Cost	BYOK / $0 local	$20+/mo	BYOK	BYOK

Quick Start

# Install globally
npm install -g @kernel.chat/kbot

# Or run directly (no install)
npx @kernel.chat/kbot

# Or use the install script (auto-installs Node.js if needed)
curl -fsSL https://kernel.chat/install.sh | bash

# Interactive mode
kbot

# One-shot
kbot "explain this codebase"
kbot "fix the auth bug in src/auth.ts"
kbot "create a Dockerfile for this project"

# Pipe mode (for scripting)
kbot -p "generate a migration for user roles" > migration.sql

# Use local models (free, no API key)
kbot local

# Set up your API key
kbot auth

Specialists

kbot auto-routes to the right agent for each task. Or pick one with --agent <name>.

	Agents
Core	kernel, researcher, coder, writer, analyst
Extended	aesthete, guardian, curator, strategist
Domain	infrastructure, quant, investigator, oracle, chronist, sage, communicator, adapter
Presets	claude-code, cursor, copilot, creative, developer

290 Tools

Category	Examples
Files & Code	read, write, glob, grep, lint, format, type-check
Shell	bash, parallel execute, background tasks
Git & GitHub	commit, diff, PR, issues, code search
Web	search, fetch, browser automation, browser agent
Research	arXiv, Semantic Scholar, HuggingFace, NASA, DOI
Data	CSV read/query/write, transforms, reports, invoices
Quality	lint (ESLint/Biome/Clippy), test (Vitest/Jest/pytest), deps audit, formatting
Deploy	Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Workers/Pages, Fly.io, Railway
Database	Postgres, MySQL, SQLite queries, Prisma, ER diagrams, seed data
Containers	Docker build/run/compose, Terraform
Creative	p5.js generative art, GLSL shaders, SVG patterns, design variants
VFX	GLSL shaders, FFmpeg, ImageMagick, Blender, procedural textures
Game Dev	16 tools for Godot, Unity, Unreal, Bevy, Phaser, Three.js, PlayCanvas, Defold
Training	dataset prep, fine-tuning, evaluation, model export
Social	post to X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Mastodon — single posts and threads
Sandbox	Docker sandboxes, E2B cloud sandboxes, isolated code execution
Notebooks	Jupyter read/edit/insert/delete cells
Build Matrix	cross-platform builds — mobile, desktop, WASM, embedded, server
LSP	goto definition, find references, hover, rename, diagnostics
Memory	persistent memory save/search/update across sessions
MCP	marketplace search/install, 20 bundled servers
IDE	MCP server, ACP server, LSP bridge
Forge	create tools at runtime, publish to registry, install from registry
Meta	subagents, worktrees, planner, sessions, checkpoints, self-eval

20 Providers

Provider	Cost	Local?
Embedded (llama.cpp)	Free	Yes
Ollama	Free	Yes
LM Studio	Free	Yes
Jan	Free	Yes
DeepSeek	$0.27/M in	Cloud
SambaNova	$0.50/M in	Cloud
Cerebras	$0.60/M in	Cloud
Groq	$0.59/M in	Cloud
NVIDIA NIM	$0.80/M in	Cloud
Together AI	$0.88/M in	Cloud
Fireworks AI	$0.90/M in	Cloud
Google (Gemini)	$1.25/M in	Cloud
Mistral	$2.00/M in	Cloud
OpenAI (GPT)	$2.00/M in	Cloud
Cohere	$2.50/M in	Cloud
Anthropic (Claude)	$3.00/M in	Cloud
xAI (Grok)	$3.00/M in	Cloud
Perplexity	$3.00/M in	Cloud
OpenRouter	varies	Cloud
kbot local	Free	Yes

Set any provider's env var and kbot auto-detects it. Or run kbot auth for interactive setup.

SDK

import { agent, tools, providers } from '@kernel.chat/kbot'

const result = await agent.run("fix the auth bug", { agent: 'coder' })
console.log(result.content)

for await (const event of agent.stream("explain this code")) {
  if (event.type === 'content_delta') process.stdout.write(event.text)
}

Architecture

graph TD
    A[User Message] --> B{Local-first check}
    B -->|file, git, grep| C[Instant response — $0]
    B -->|Needs AI| D{Complexity detection}
    D -->|Simple| E[Bayesian Router → Specialist]
    D -->|Multi-step| F[Autonomous Planner]
    E --> G[Provider API + Tool Loop]
    F --> G
    G --> H{290 Tools}
    H --> I[File ops, bash, git, GitHub, search, deploy, DB, game dev...]
    G --> J[Learning Engine]
    J --> K[Patterns + Solutions + User Profile]
    G --> L[Checkpointing]
    L --> M[Resume from last tool call]

Loading

MCP Server

Use kbot as a tool provider inside any MCP-compatible IDE:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "kbot": { "command": "kbot", "args": ["ide", "mcp"] }
    }
  }
}

Works with Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Zed, Neovim.

Commands

Command	What it does
kbot	Interactive REPL
kbot "prompt"	One-shot execution
kbot auth	Configure API key
kbot local	Use local AI (Ollama, embedded, LM Studio, Jan)
kbot serve	Start HTTP REST + SSE streaming server
kbot audit <repo>	Security + quality audit of any GitHub repo
kbot contribute <repo>	Find good-first-issues and quick wins
kbot share	Share conversation as GitHub Gist
kbot pair	File watcher with auto-analysis
kbot team	Multi-agent TCP collaboration
kbot record	Terminal session recording (SVG, GIF, asciicast)
kbot voice	Text-to-speech output mode
kbot watch	Real-time file analysis on change
kbot bootstrap	Outer-loop project optimizer (visibility scoring)
kbot plugins	Search, install, update community plugins
kbot models	List, pull, remove, catalog local models
kbot changelog	Generate changelog from git history
kbot completions	Shell completions (bash, zsh, fish)
kbot cloud	Sync learning data to kernel.chat
kbot ide mcp	Start MCP server for IDEs
kbot doctor	10-point health check

Power-User Flags

kbot --architect "design the auth system"    # Architecture mode — plan before code
kbot --thinking "solve this hard problem"    # Extended reasoning with thinking budget
kbot --self-eval "write a parser"            # Self-evaluation loop — scores and retries
kbot --computer-use "fill out this form"     # Computer use — controls mouse and keyboard
kbot -p "query" > output.txt                 # Pipe mode — clean output for scripting

Security

• API keys encrypted at rest (AES-256-CBC)
• Destructive operations require confirmation
• Shell commands sandboxed with blocklist
• Tool execution timeout (5 min) with middleware pipeline
• Config files restricted to owner (chmod 600)
• 0 P0/P1 security issues (audited March 2026)

Development

cd packages/kbot
npm install
npm run dev          # Run in dev mode
npm run build        # Compile TypeScript
npm run test         # Run tests (vitest)

Web Companion — kernel.chat

kbot has a web companion at kernel.chat — same agents, persistent memory, and a visual interface. Free to use (20 messages/day).

Community

• Web: kernel.chat
• npm: @kernel.chat/kbot
• Discord: discord.gg/kdMauM9abG
• GitHub: isaacsight/kernel
• Issues: Report a bug

License

MIT — kernel.chat group