Mastering Tau CLI

Published on 2026-05-04

Tau is an open-source, multi-provider AI coding CLI. Unlike standard interfaces, it uses native adapters for each provider, allowing it to communicate directly with LLM APIs for better streaming and rate-limit handling.

Installation

Ensure you have Node.js (v20+), Bash, and the GitHub CLI (gh) installed.

// Global Install:

npm install -g @abdoknbgit/tau

The Command Palette

Tau operates through a powerful set of slash commands:

Setup & Models

  • /login — Setup your API credentials.
  • /provider — Check status of available providers.
  • /models — Search and select an LLM (supports queries like /models openrouter:kimi).

Session Graph Management

Tau treats history as a graph, not a list.

  • /tree — Navigate the session graph to move between conversation nodes.
  • /branch — Fork the current point to explore a new direction.
  • /clone — Create a clean duplicate of the session.

Analytics & Reports

  • /usage — Real-time stream of provider consumption.
  • /report — Generates a high-quality session summary (MD, PDF, or HTML).

Advanced Integrations

  • GitHub Automation: Use /github to manage PRs, triage issues, and build changelogs from commit history.
  • Voice Mode: Activate /hey and hold Space to interact with your code via voice.
  • Automatic Fallbacks: Configure /fallback to automatically switch providers during outages.