ARKA Code

Your AI Pair Programmer in the Terminal

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What is ARKA Code?

ARKA Code is a terminal-based agentic coding assistant that lives in your command line. It understands your codebase, executes tasks autonomously, and helps you build faster — all through natural language.

Just type naturally. No special syntax, no quotes, no prefixes.

Quick Start

# Install globally
npm install -g @arka-ai/code

# Login with your ARKA AI account
arka login

# Start coding!
arka

What's New in v2.0.16

• Reduced Flicker - 32ms throttled streaming updates (~90% fewer re-renders)
• Static Message History - Completed messages frozen from reconciliation cycle
• zod Validation - Runtime schema validation for configs and API responses
• execa Integration - Modern process execution with better error handling
• Compare Mode - Multi-model comparison working with proper API routing
• Actions Panel (Ctrl+A) - Unified panel showing all available shortcuts

Powered by ARKAbrain

Unlike single-model tools, ARKA Code uses ARKAbrain — our intelligent routing system that automatically selects the best AI model for each task:

| Task Type | Model Selection | |-----------|-----------------| | Complex refactoring | Claude Sonnet | | Quick explanations | GPT-4o-mini | | Code generation | Claude / GPT-4o | | Bug fixing | Best available |

You get the best model for every task without manual switching.

Features

Agentic Coding

Read, write, edit files and execute commands autonomously. ARKA Code understands context and takes action.

Intelligent Routing

ARKAbrain automatically selects the optimal AI model based on your task complexity and type.

Beautiful Terminal UI

Modern Ink-based interface with syntax highlighting, markdown rendering, and real-time streaming.

Multi-Model Compare

Compare responses from multiple AI models side-by-side to find the best solution.

Session Memory

Remembers your preferences, coding conventions, and project decisions across sessions.

Tool Execution

Built-in tools for file operations, shell commands, git, and codebase exploration.

Keyboard-Driven

Efficient Ctrl+ shortcuts for power users. Toggle layouts, switch models, and navigate with ease.

Permission Control

Choose how ARKA handles actions: ask every time, auto-approve edits, or full autonomy.

Usage

Usage: arka [options] [command] [prompt...]

Arguments:
  prompt                     Initial prompt to send

Options:
  -V, --version              Output version number
  -k, --api-key <key>        API key (overrides config)
  -u, --api-url <url>        API URL (overrides config)
  -r, --resume               Resume previous session
  -p, --permission <mode>    Permission mode: ask, auto-edit, auto-all
  --read-only                Read-only mode (no file writes or commands)
  -h, --help                 Display help

Commands:
  login                      Authenticate with ARKA AI
  logout                     Log out and clear credentials
  compare [prompt...]        Multi-model comparison mode

Keyboard Shortcuts

Quick access: Press Ctrl+A to open the Actions Panel showing all available shortcuts.

| Shortcut | Action | |----------|--------| | Ctrl+A | Actions Panel (all shortcuts) | | Ctrl+M | Model selector | | Ctrl+T | Tools panel | | Ctrl+L | Toggle layout | | Ctrl+Y | Copy last response | | Ctrl+Q | Quit | | ? | Help | | Esc | Close panel |

Compare Mode

Compare responses from multiple AI models side-by-side:

# Default models
arka compare "write a function to parse JSON"

# Specify models
arka compare -m gpt-4o,claude-3.5-sonnet,deepseek-chat "explain recursion"

Natural Language Interface

Just describe what you want — no commands, no syntax:

You: fix the type errors in src/utils.ts
You: add validation to the user registration form
You: write unit tests for the payment module
You: refactor this function to use async/await
You: explain how the auth middleware works

Permission Modes

Control how ARKA Code handles file and command permissions:

| Mode | Behavior | |------|----------| | ask (default) | Prompt for permission before each action | | auto-edit | Auto-approve file edits, ask for commands | | auto-all | Auto-approve all actions (use with caution) |

arka -p auto-edit "refactor this file"

Configuration

Environment Variables:

export ARKA_API_KEY=arka_xxxxx

Config File (~/.arka/config.json):

{
  "provider": "arka",
  "model": "auto",
  "tone": "concise",
  "layoutEnabled": true
}

Authentication

ARKA Code requires an ARKA AI Pro subscription.

1. Visit arka-ai.com and sign up
2. Run arka login to authenticate
3. Start coding!

See the Authentication Guide for details.

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• ARKA AI Pro subscription
• Terminal with Unicode support

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MIT © ARKA AI