Clients
Codebolt is the same agent runtime no matter how you talk to it. The client is the part you actually install and use — and you have four to pick from depending on what you're doing.
Pick your client
| Client | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop app | Daily coding work, multi-panel context, visual diffs, rich chat | Heaviest install, single machine |
| CLI | Scripting, CI, one-off commands, remote SSH | Command-driven, less visual |
| TUI | Terminal-only environments where you still want an interactive UI | Narrower surface model than the desktop app |
| Headless | Servers, automation, agent execution without any UI | No interactive chat |
The same project, the same agents, the same memory — only the client differs.
What stays the same across clients
- Agents and tools — the same allowlists, the same MCP servers, the same capabilities
- Memory — shadow git, episodic memory, vector store, KG all live in the project, not the UI
- Settings and profiles — config is per-project (and per-user), surface-agnostic
- The event log — every surface writes to the same append-only log
What varies
- Chat ergonomics — multi-tab in the desktop, one-shot in the CLI, single-thread in the TUI, scripted in headless. See Chat.
- Context affordances —
@mentions, panel pickers, and inline previews are desktop-only. - Inline editing — Ctrl+K-style inline edits are desktop-only.
- Multi-pane diffs — visual diffs are richest in the desktop app.
About this section
The pages under Clients are reference catalogs for each client — what panels, commands, or navigation keys exist on that client. For how to do a specific thing (install an MCP server, switch models, manage chat tabs) use the feature sections below (Chat, Agents, Tools & MCP, etc.) — those pages show all clients side by side via tabs.