console_chat: Start Console Chat

In aisdk: Unified Interface for AI Model Providers

Start Console Chat

Description

Launch an interactive chat session in the R console. Supports streaming output, slash commands, and colorful display using the cli package.

The console UI has three presentation modes:

• clean: compact default output with a stable status bar

• inspect: keeps the compact transcript but adds a per-turn tool timeline and an overlay-backed inspector

• debug: shows detailed tool logs and thinking output for troubleshooting

In agent mode, console_chat() can execute shell and R tools, summarize tool progress inline, and open an inspector overlay for the latest turn or a specific tool. The current implementation uses a shared frame builder for the status bar, tool timeline, and overlay surfaces, while preserving an append-only terminal fallback.

By default, the console operates in minimal agent mode with four tools: bash, read_file, write_file, and edit_file. Set profile = "legacy" to restore the previous broad all-in-one agent, or agent = NULL for simple chat without tools.

Usage

console_chat(
  session = NULL,
  system_prompt = NULL,
  tools = NULL,
  hooks = NULL,
  stream = TRUE,
  verbose = FALSE,
  agent = "auto",
  skills = NULL,
  working_dir = tempdir(),
  sandbox_mode = "permissive",
  show_thinking = verbose,
  startup_dir = getwd(),
  initial_prompt = NULL,
  profile = c("minimal", "legacy"),
  extensions = "auto"
)

Arguments

session	A ChatSession object, a LanguageModelV1 object, or a model string ID to create a new session.
system_prompt	Optional system prompt (merged with agent prompt if agent is used).
tools	Optional list of additional Tool objects.
hooks	Optional HookHandler object.
stream	Whether to use streaming output. Default TRUE.
verbose	Logical. If TRUE, show detailed tool calls, tool results, and thinking output. Defaults to FALSE for a cleaner console UI.
agent	Agent configuration. Options: "auto" (default): Use the built-in console agent with terminal tools NULL: Simple chat mode without tools An Agent object: Use the provided custom agent
skills	Optional skill paths, "auto", or a SkillRegistry object for the built-in console agent. Defaults to automatic skill discovery when agent = "auto".
working_dir	Working directory for sandboxed console tools. Defaults to tempdir().
sandbox_mode	Sandbox mode for the console agent: "strict", "permissive" (default), or "none".
show_thinking	Logical. Whether to show model thinking blocks when the provider exposes them. Defaults to verbose.
startup_dir	R session startup directory used for project-aware context. Defaults to getwd().
initial_prompt	Optional user prompt to send automatically before entering the interactive REPL.
profile	Console profile. "minimal" is the default Pi-like tool set; "legacy" restores the previous all-in-one console agent.
extensions	Extension loading mode. Defaults to "auto".

Value

The ChatSession object (invisibly) when chat ends.

Examples

if (interactive()) {
  # Start with default agent (intelligent terminal mode)
  console_chat("openai:gpt-4o")

  # Start in debug mode with full tool logs
  console_chat("openai:gpt-4o", verbose = TRUE)

  # Simple chat mode without tools
  console_chat("openai:gpt-4o", agent = NULL)

  # Start with an existing session
  chat <- create_chat_session("anthropic:claude-3-5-sonnet-latest")
  console_chat(chat)

  # Start with a custom agent
  agent <- create_agent("MathAgent", "Does math", system_prompt = "You are a math wizard.")
  console_chat("openai:gpt-4o", agent = agent)

  # Available commands in the chat:
  # /quit or /exit - End the chat
  # /save [path]   - Save session to file
  # /load [path]   - Load session from file
  # /model         - Open the provider/model chooser
  # /model [id]    - Switch to a different model
  # /model current - Show the active model
  # /history       - Show conversation history
  # /stats         - Show token usage statistics
  # /clear         - Clear conversation history
  # /stream [on|off] - Toggle streaming mode
  # /inspect [on|off] - Toggle inspect mode
  # /inspect turn - Open overlay for the latest turn
  # /inspect tool <index> - Open overlay for a tool in the latest turn
  # /inspect next - Move inspector overlay to the next tool
  # /inspect prev - Move inspector overlay to the previous tool
  # /inspect close - Close the active inspect overlay
  # /debug [on|off]  - Toggle detailed tool/thinking output
  # /local [on|off]- Toggle local execution mode (Global Environment)
  # /help          - Show available commands
  # /agent [on|off] - Toggle agent mode
}

aisdk documentation built on May 29, 2026, 9:07 a.m.