Drexler

CLI chat with Drexler, a corporate-executive AI persona who speaks in broken third-person and treats every conversation like a hostile takeover. Built with Bun + TypeScript, Ink, and OpenRouter-compatible Gemma models.

"Drexler usually charge consulting fee for this. Today, pro bono. You welcome."

Quickstart

bun install -g drexler@latest
drexler

That's it. First launch prompts for an OpenRouter API key (free at https://openrouter.ai/keys) and remembers it. Subsequent launches skip the prompt.

Install

1. Install Bun (skip if already installed)

Bun ≥ 1.1 is required. Install once per machine:

| Platform | Command | | --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | macOS/Linux | curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install \| bash | | Homebrew | brew install oven-sh/bun/bun | | Windows | powershell -c "irm bun.sh/install.ps1 \| iex" | | npm | npm install -g bun |

Verify: bun --version → should print 1.1.0 or higher.

2. Install Drexler globally

bun install -g drexler@latest

This installs the drexler command into ~/.bun/bin/drexler. Make sure ~/.bun/bin is on your $PATH (Bun's installer does this automatically; if not, add export PATH="$HOME/.bun/bin:$PATH" to your shell rc).

3. Run it

drexler

On first run you'll see:

Drexler notice no API key on file. Even CEO need credentials.
Get free key at: https://openrouter.ai/keys
Enter OpenRouter API key:

Paste the key, hit return. Drexler saves it to ~/.config/drexler/config.json (mode 0600) and boots into the chat. Done.

Update

bun update -g drexler --latest

If your Bun install does not have the package in its global lockfile, reinstall it instead:

bun install -g drexler@latest

Global updates replace the existing drexler package in Bun's global install location; they do not keep stacking duplicate app copies.

Uninstall

bun remove -g drexler
rm -rf ~/.config/drexler   # optional: wipe stored key + settings

Usage

Interactive UI

Drexler runs as an Ink terminal UI when both stdin and stdout are TTYs. The normal launch shows one integrated startup panel with the mascot, tips, a Mood readout, and the Drexler Deal Desk. After startup, that dashboard remains the primary top chrome. Short terminals automatically suppress oversized startup chrome so the chat stays usable.

Type /pet to toggle pet mode for the current session. Pet mode keeps the top dashboard frame and swaps the normal mascot/tips/deal desk layout for a Drexler scene plus pet stats. /pet on and /pet off set it explicitly. Pet stats still decay and pet commands still work when the pet dashboard is hidden.

The startup panel is designed to stay stable while it boots: the mascot loading bar and Mood gauge animate without changing width, greeting copy is held in a fixed slot, and the Mood and Deal Desk boxes stay aligned when the greeting wraps. After boot, Mood resolves into a rotating Drexler-flavored posture with a short satirical subtext line.

The Deal Desk is intentionally not a frontier-model telemetry panel. It shows mood-shaped corporate nonsense like boardroom status, memo count, mandate, risk, fees, and counsel posture. Values rotate by mood and session so repeated moods still feel alive.

Conversation turns render as bordered cards aligned to the chat input width. User and Drexler responses use separate accents, wrapped text, and fixed-width borders so long responses stay inside the terminal instead of clipping at the right edge. Drexler responses use a diamond body marker. Markdown/code fence labels are cleaned up for display, and code blocks render with Dracula-inspired terminal syntax colors.

Typing / opens the directive palette. Use Tab, Enter, or ↑/↓ to select. Commands with fixed arguments open smoother option choosers:

• /theme previews all themes with descriptions.
• /startup offers fast, no-intro, and normal.
• /retry offers terse and brutal.
• /export offers md, txt, json, and html.
• /model offers 31b and 26b.

/synergy runs a rotating animated corporate event in the live UI, then returns control to the chat when the animation completes.

Keyboard notes:

• Tab, Enter, and ↑/↓ operate the directive palette.
• PageUp/PageDown scroll transcript history when it exceeds the visible viewport.
• Esc cancels an in-flight model response without quitting.
• Ctrl+C exits gracefully with an in-character farewell.

Flags

| flag | what | | --------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | --model <31b\|26b\|vendor/name> | switch model (alias or full OpenRouter id, e.g. google/gemma-4-31b-it) | | --persona <path> | load a custom persona markdown file instead of bundled drexler.md | | --theme <name> | color theme (default apollo) | | --no-intro | skip the startup banner and mascot | | --fast | fast startup mode, implies --no-intro | | --version, -v | print version | | --help, -h | print usage |

Slash commands (inside the REPL)

| cmd | what it does | | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | /help | list directives | | /clear | shred conversation history (system prompt pinned) | | /exit | meeting adjourned | | /synergy | run a rotating animated morale event | | /pet [on\|off] | toggle pet dashboard mode for this session | | /feed | feed Drexler a deal memo | | /play | corporate synergy game with Drexler | | /work | Drexler grinds the deal pipeline | | /praise | affirm Drexler's contributions | | /rest | strategic nap | | /vibe | let Drexler choose his own adventure | | /name [name] | view or assign Drexler's pet name | | /profile | print Drexler's personnel file | | /model | show current model, or /model 26b to switch | | /theme | show/switch theme; append save to persist, e.g. /theme midnight save | | /startup fast\|no-intro\|normal | persist startup behavior for future launches | | /history | message count + approx tokens | | /regenerate | re-roll last response | | /redo | alias for /regenerate | | /retry terse\|brutal | re-roll last response with a style mandate | | /expand | print Drexler's latest response | | /quote | quote Drexler's latest response | | /search <term> | search the current transcript | | /export md\|txt\|json\|html [path] | export transcript | | /save [path] | archive conversation as markdown | | /save-last [path] | save Drexler's last response only | | /copy-last | copy Drexler's latest response to the clipboard |

Configuration

Drexler reads config in this priority (later wins):

1. ~/.config/drexler/config.json — written on first run
2. Environment variables
3. CLI flags

If the current config file does not exist, Drexler also checks the legacy ~/.drexlerrc path.

Environment variables

| var | purpose | | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | | OPENROUTER_API_KEY | API key (overrides config file) | | DREXLER_MODEL | model id or alias | | DREXLER_THEME | color theme name | | DREXLER_NO_INTRO | 1, true, yes, or on skips startup intro | | DREXLER_FAST | 1, true, yes, or on enables fast startup | | XDG_CONFIG_HOME | override config dir (default ~/.config/drexler) | | NO_COLOR | disable colors entirely |

Config file

~/.config/drexler/config.json:

{
  "apiKey": "sk-or-v1-...",
  "model": "google/gemma-4-31b-it",
  "maxHistory": 50,
  "personaPath": "/optional/path/to/custom-persona.md",
  "theme": "apollo",
  "noIntro": false,
  "fast": false
}

Default maxHistory: 50 messages.

Available launch/config themes: apollo, amber, mono, terminal, dealroom, midnight, paper, and plasma. NO_COLOR always forces mono.

Theme notes:

| theme | character | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------ | | apollo | signature Drexler green, the default | | amber | warm amber deal glow | | mono | plain high-contrast ANSI colors | | terminal | classic green/cyan terminal | | dealroom | restrained teal boardroom palette | | midnight | cool blue late-session desk | | paper | clean document-style contrast | | plasma | high-energy magenta trading-floor accent |

Models

| alias | id | notes | | ------ | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | | 31b | google/gemma-4-31b-it | primary default | | 26b | google/gemma-4-26b-a4b-it | fallback, auto-retry on 429 |

Pass --model vendor/name:tag for any other OpenRouter-compatible model.

From source (development)

git clone https://github.com/showOS/Drexler.git
cd Drexler
bun install
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-v1-your-key
bun run start

Tests + typecheck

bun test
bun run typecheck

Releasing a new version

bun run prepublishOnly
npm version <patch|minor>  # bumps package.json, commits, and tags
git push origin main --follow-tags

The .github/workflows/publish.yml workflow runs install, tag/package version verification, typecheck, tests, and npm publish --provenance on every v* tag push.

Troubleshooting

| symptom | fix | | ---------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | command not found: drexler | Add ~/.bun/bin to $PATH, or restart shell | | command not found: bun | Install Bun (see Install section above) | | API key rejected by OpenRouter | Update key: rm ~/.config/drexler/config.json and re-run drexler, or export OPENROUTER_API_KEY | | Garbled box-drawing characters | Use a UTF-8 terminal with a Nerd Font (e.g. iTerm2, Alacritty, WezTerm) | | Want to switch themes mid-session | Use /theme midnight, /theme dealroom, /theme amber, or any listed theme inside the REPL | | Want a faster launch | Use drexler --fast or set "fast": true in config | | Startup panel looks cramped | Enlarge the terminal, or use /startup no-intro or /startup fast | | Slash command options are not visible | Type /, /theme, /startup, /retry, /export, or /model; exact fixed-argument commands open their chooser automatically |

License

MIT — see LICENSE.