Interactive Mode

nca provides a rich interactive experience with a full-screen TUI (Terminal User Interface) and a fallback line-oriented REPL.

TUI vs REPL

Mode	When Used	Features
TUI (default)	Terminal is a TTY, `--stream human`, no `--no-tui`	Full-screen, scrollable output, command palette, modals, mouse support
Line REPL	`--no-tui` flag, or non-TTY stdin/stdout	Simple line-by-line input/output, still supports slash commands

Force line REPL mode:

nca --no-tui

Input Modes

Regular Text

Type your message and press Enter to send it to the agent.

Shell Commands (`!`)

Prefix with ! to run a shell command directly. The output is captured and fed into the conversation context.

! cargo test
! git log --oneline -5
! ls -la src/

File Mentions (`@`)

Type @ followed by a path to inline-reference a file. nca performs fuzzy file search and auto-completion.

Can you review @src/main.rs and @src/lib.rs?

In the TUI, pressing @ opens a file picker with fuzzy search. Use Tab to navigate matches and Enter to select.

Multiline Input (`\`)

End a line with \ to continue input on the next line:

Write a function that \
takes a vector of strings \
and returns the longest one.

Slash Commands (`/`)

Type / to access slash commands. In the TUI, this opens an inline autocomplete menu.

Slash Commands

General

Command	Description
`/help`	Show help with all commands and keyboard shortcuts
`/status`	Display session status (ID, model, agent profile, permission mode)
`/clear`	Clear the screen
`/exit`, `/quit`, `/q`	Exit the session
`/new`	Start a new session
`/export`	Export the current session to markdown
`/stop`	Cancel the current agent turn

Agent Profiles

Command	Description
`/agent [profile]`	Show or switch agent profile
`/plan <task>`	Run a planning-oriented turn (read-only analysis)
`/review <task>`	Run a code review turn
`/fix <task>`	Run a bug-fix turn
`/test <task>`	Run a validation/testing turn

Available agent profiles:

Profile	Description
`@build`	Default full-access agent for development work
`@plan`	Read-only agent for analysis and planning
`@review`	Focused code review agent
`@fix`	Bug diagnosis and fix agent
`@test`	Testing and validation agent

Model and Provider

Command	Description
`/models`	Browse and select models (opens picker in TUI)
`/model [name]`	Set the active model for the session
`/connect`	Open the provider connection picker
`/provider [name]`	Show or set the default LLM provider
`/apikey <provider> <key>`	Store an API key for a provider

Session and Context

Command	Description
`/compact`	Compact session context (summarize and trim history)
`/thinking`	Toggle thinking/reasoning visibility
`/sessions`	List and switch between sessions
`/agents`	List child sub-agent sessions
`/logs`	View session event log
`/attach`	Attach to a session
`/diff`	Show recent file changes
`/cost`	Show token usage and costs
`/stats`	Show session statistics

Tools and Configuration

Command	Description
`/skills`	List discovered skills
`/memory [text]`	Show memory notes, or add a note
`/mcp`	List MCP servers
`/permissions [mode]`	Show or set permission mode
`/permission-bypass`	Toggle permission bypass
`/config`	Show runtime configuration
`/doctor`	Run configuration diagnostics
`/settings`	Show settings

Editor

Command	Description
`/editor [seed]`	Open an external editor to compose a message
`/set-editor <cmd>`	Persist the editor command (e.g., `vim`, `code --wait`)

Images

Command	Description
`/image`	Manage staged image attachments

Other

Command	Description
`/undo`	Undo last file change
`/redo`	Redo last undone change
`/auto-answer`	Auto-answer agent questions with suggested answer

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Enter`	Send message
`Esc`	Cancel current agent turn / close modal
`Ctrl+C`	Cancel request
`Ctrl+L`	Clear screen
`Ctrl+Q`	Exit
`Mouse wheel`	Scroll output
`End`	Jump to bottom of transcript (on empty input)

Agent and Model

Shortcut	Action
`Tab`	Cycle agent profile (build → plan → review → fix → test)
`F2`	Cycle through recent models (forward)
`Shift+F2`	Cycle through recent models (backward)

Command Palette and Pickers

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+P`	Open command palette
`Ctrl+V`	Paste image from clipboard (TUI only)
`Ctrl+X M`	Switch model (model picker)
`Ctrl+X E`	Open external editor
`Ctrl+X L`	Switch session
`Ctrl+X N`	New session
`Ctrl+X C`	Compact context
`Ctrl+X S`	View status
`Ctrl+X A`	Agent profile picker
`Ctrl+X H`	Show help
`Ctrl+X Q`	Exit

Within Modals and Pickers

Shortcut	Action
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate options
`Enter`	Select / confirm
`Esc`	Close modal
`j` / `k`	Navigate (in info modals)

Agent Question Modals

When the agent asks a structured question:

Shortcut	Action
`↑` / `↓`	Select an option
`Enter`	Confirm selection (or accept suggested answer on empty input)
`0`	Accept suggested answer
`1`–`n`	Select option by number
`c`	Type a custom answer

Command Palette

Press Ctrl+P to open the command palette — a searchable list of all available commands. Type to filter, use ↑/↓ to navigate, and Enter to execute.

Status Bar

The TUI displays a status bar at the bottom showing:

Current agent profile
Active model
Available shortcuts hint

Tab  agent   Ctrl+V  image   Ctrl+P  commands   !cmd  shell   @path  search   /  inline   wheel  scroll

Image Attachments

In the TUI, paste images from your clipboard with Ctrl+V or use the /image command. Images are processed through MiniMax native vision and the text description is injected into the conversation.

Vi Mode

If your NCA_EDITOR_MODE environment variable is set to vi or vim, the REPL uses vi keybindings for line editing.

export NCA_EDITOR_MODE=vi

External Editor

For composing long messages, use /editor to open your configured external editor. The content is sent as your message when you save and close.

Editor resolution order:

NCA_EDITOR environment variable
[ui].editor in config
EDITOR environment variable
vim (fallback)