What is PlexCode?

PlexCode is an open-source terminal UI (TUI) that brings your Perplexity Pro session to the command line. Instead of switching browser tabs, you can search, research, and write code — all without leaving the terminal.

It works by driving Perplexity's web interface via Playwright in headless mode, using your existing login session. No API key, no extra subscription.

⚡ Agentic mode teaches Perplexity to autonomously read your local files before answering — like a lightweight coding assistant that actually knows your codebase.

Features

• Full Perplexity access — Deep Research, Model Council, Create, Learn modes
• Model switching — Sonar, Claude Sonnet/Opus, GPT-5.4, Gemini, Nemotron
• Agentic mode — AI reads local files via whitelisted shell tools (/agent)
• Session persistence — log in once, runs headless forever after
• Fast startup — uses your existing Chrome installation to dodge bot detection
• Zero API cost — your Perplexity Pro session, your data

Quick Start

Install

npm install -g plexcode

First run (browser login)

plexcode

A Chrome window opens. Log in to Perplexity, then press Enter in the terminal. Your session is saved — future runs are fully headless.

One-shot prompt

plexcode "explain the CAP theorem in simple terms"

Slash Commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | /agent | Toggle agentic mode — AI can read your local files | | /mode | Switch search mode (Deep Research, Create, Learn…) | | /model | Switch AI model | | /new | Start a new conversation | | /help | Show all commands | | /logout | Clear saved session | | /quit | Exit PlexCode |

Keyboard Shortcuts

| Key | Action | |-----|--------| | Enter | Send message | | Escape | Interrupt AI generation | | Ctrl+C | Quit |

Agentic Mode

Type /agent to enable the Shadow Agentic Loop — PlexCode injects a hidden system prompt teaching Perplexity how to request local file reads. As the AI answers your question, it can autonomously run whitelisted commands to gather context:

> /agent
⚡ Agentic mode ON — I can now read your local files.

> what does browser.ts do?
  [⚡ Tool 1/4: ls src/lib/]
  [⚡ Tool 2/4: cat src/lib/browser.ts]
  → Full code-aware explanation

Allowed commands: cat, ls, head, tail, grep, find, wc, pwd, file, tree

Shell injection, pipes, and write-capable commands are blocked.

How It Works

Your prompt
    │
    ▼
PlexCode (Ink TUI)
    │  Playwright (headless Chrome)
    ▼
perplexity.ai  ←──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
    │  Response stream                                          │
    ▼                                                           │
Detect <TOOL> tag?                                             │
    ├── Yes → executeTool() → [Tool Result] message ───────────┘
    └── No  → clean response → display in TUI

PlexCode parses the Perplexity DOM response, intercepts <TOOL> XML tags emitted by the model, executes the command locally (up to 4 iterations), and feeds results back — all without any native function-calling API.

Configuration

Settings are persisted via conf at ~/.config/plexcode/:

| Setting | Description | Default | |---------|-------------|---------| | defaultModel | Model ID on startup | sonar | | defaultMode | Search mode on startup | default |

Requirements

• Node.js ≥ 18
• Google Chrome installed locally (recommended — avoids bot detection)
• A Perplexity Pro account

Development

git clone https://github.com/efekurucay/plexcode
cd plexcode
npm install
npm run dev

npm run build   # compile TypeScript → dist/

Project Structure

src/
├── cli.tsx              # CLI entry point (Commander)
├── app.tsx              # Main React/Ink app
├── types.ts             # Types, models, modes
├── theme.ts             # Color palette
├── components/
│   ├── Header.tsx
│   ├── MessageList.tsx
│   ├── Message.tsx
│   ├── InputArea.tsx
│   ├── Spinner.tsx
│   ├── ModelPicker.tsx
│   ├── ModePicker.tsx
│   └── LoginScreen.tsx
└── lib/
    ├── browser.ts       # Playwright engine + agentic loop
    ├── toolExecutor.ts  # Whitelisted local command runner
    ├── config.ts        # Persistent settings
    └── markdown.ts      # ANSI markdown renderer

Known Limitations

| Limitation | Notes | |------------|-------| | Sequential requests | One request at a time (browser-based) | | Selector fragility | Perplexity UI updates may break DOM parsing | | Long context | Very deep threads may get truncated by Perplexity | | Rate limits | Perplexity's own web rate limits still apply | | ToS | Automating the web UI may violate Perplexity's ToS — personal use only |

Contributing

PRs and issues are welcome! If Perplexity updates their UI and PlexCode breaks, the relevant selectors are in src/lib/browser.ts:

const INPUT_SELECTORS = [
  "[role='textbox']",
  'textarea#ask-input',
  'textarea',
  "[contenteditable='true']",
];

Use Chrome DevTools on perplexity.ai to find updated selectors.

License

MIT © Efe Kurucay