CORA-CLI

CORA CLI is a coding assistant that lives in your terminal. You type what you want in plain English; it reads your code, explains it, plans changes, writes them, runs your tests, and reviews the result.

Three things make it different from a chat window in a browser:

It can see your actual project. It opens the real files in the folder you started it in, not a copy you pasted in.
It can do things, not just describe them. It can edit files and run commands and every one of those stops and asks you first.
You are always the one who decides. CORA suggests, edits, and reports, but can never edit without your approval.

What to know before anything else

Everything happens in one folder

CORA CLI works on the folder you were in when you started it. That folder is your project (also called the workspace).

Nothing changes without your say-so

Every file edit and every command shows you what it wants to do and waits for you to press a key.

Your conversations stay on your computer

They are saved in a folder in your home directory.

Reading the screen

CORA's screen always has the same parts:

cora 0.1.10                                  ← the header

› What does this project do?                 ← what you asked
● read .../package.json                      ← what cora did
● searched for "express" in src
This is a small web service that ...         ← the answer

┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ›                                         │ ← the prompt box: you type here
└ code · ~/my-project ──────────────────────┘ ← mode and project folder
helper scout searching for the router        ← helpers, when any are running

Part

What it tells you

Header

The product name and version.

Transcript

The conversation so far: your messages, what CORA did, and what it said. It scrolls; your mouse wheel works.

Tool rows

One line per action CORA took: read a file, ran a command, edited something. A grey dot means fine; a red cross means something failed.

Working line

While CORA is thinking, a line showing that it is busy and how long it has been going.

Prompt box

Where you type. Its bottom edge shows the mode on the left and the project folder on the right.

Helper strip

Appears under the prompt only while CORA has sent a helper off to read something.

Context warning

Appears only when the conversation is getting long see Conversations and Context.

Two comfort features:

Click a tool row to open it and see what it actually printed. Click it again to close it. If you prefer the keyboard, Ctrl+O opens the newest one.
Scroll with the mouse wheel. To select text with the mouse, hold Shift while you drag the terminal needs that because CORA is listening for clicks.