$ termdex

Coding agent (CLI) · Codewhale (Hunter Bown)

Codewhale

Rust terminal coding agent, formerly deepseek-tui, that works with 40+ providers and local runtimes. Offers plan/work modes, receipts of every action, undo and a Runtime API.

Reviewed by the Termdex team · facts checked 2026-10-28 against 6 vendor sources · how we check

Official site

Codewhale, command-line coding agent, as shown on its official site
Codewhale's own preview image. Image: Codewhale (Hunter Bown) (official site).

Codewhale review

Codewhale is a Rust terminal coding agent, formerly called deepseek-tui. It is free, needs no account and is MIT licensed. We read the vendor's pages and repository in October 2026. We did not run an independent test.

Who it is for

Developers who want an MIT-licensed Rust agent that can switch between many cloud providers and local models. It is a poor fit for Windows users who need OS-level command sandboxing.

What stands out

Codewhale has plan and work modes. It supports more than 40 built-in providers, including Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, Mistral, Moonshot, OpenRouter and xAI. Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint also works. The default provider is DeepSeek.

Local models are documented through Ollama, vLLM and SGLang, and it detects a running Ollama. `codewhale exec` suits scripts and CI, with `--sandbox workspace-write`. The OS sandbox uses Seatbelt on macOS and bubblewrap on Linux. `/receipts` and `/undo` record and revert files changed, commands run and MCP calls.

Price and licence

Free, with no account, as of 28 October 2026. The licence is MIT, so it is open source. With your own provider key, the provider bills you directly. Local models need no key. The site also carries a sponsored OrcaRouter offer for extra DeepSeek credit. The README says the project is not affiliated with DeepSeek.

Where it falls short

Alternatives

See terminal coding agents. DeepSeek-Reasonix also ships a DeepSeek preset. OpenCode is another open-source option.

Facts: platforms, price and licence

platforms
macOSWindowsLinuxPrebuilt binaries for Linux, macOS and Windows on x64 and arm64; Android/Termux is a preview. No OS sandbox on Windows yet. A native desktop app is in development; local web UI via `codewhale web`.
price
FreeFree, no account needed. With your own provider API key the provider bills you directly; local models need no key (README and codewhale.net, seen 2026-10-28). Default provider is DeepSeek. The site carries a sponsored OrcaRouter offer for extra DeepSeek credit.
source
Open sourceLicence: MIT
github
codewhale-hq/Codewhale 41.1k stars, seen 2026-10-28

Codewhale features

✓ documented · – absent or not in its feature list · ? not verified

Codewhale strengths

  • MIT licence, 41k stars and daily commits; a real, maintained CLI coding agent
  • Local models documented: Ollama, vLLM and SGLang providers; auto-detects a running Ollama
  • `codewhale exec` for scripts/CI with `--sandbox workspace-write`; OS sandbox via Seatbelt (macOS) or bubblewrap (Linux)
  • `/receipts` and `/undo` record and revert files changed, commands run and MCP calls

Codewhale weak points

  • Version 0.10.x; the README warns that `main` documents features not yet released
  • Default permissions apply file edits without asking, and `exec --auto` uses Full Access with no shell sandbox unless `--sandbox` is passed
  • No OS sandbox on Windows; telemetry is on by default (aggregate counts, can be disabled)
  • Repository moved from Hmbown/Codewhale to the codewhale-hq organisation, and the project was renamed from deepseek-tui; old links and configs may reference old names

Who Codewhale is for

best for
Developers who want an MIT-licensed Rust agent that can switch between many cloud providers and local models.
look elsewhere if
Windows users who need OS-level command sandboxing.

Lists that include Codewhale

Sources and what we could not verify

Checked 2026-10-28. Prices and features change; the vendor's page is the authority.

Not verified