A tmux-based AI assistant

Sidechat, part of the DAY50 suite of open-source tools for AI workflows, is an LLM conversation panel that helps diagnose problems visible in terminal sessions.

It suppports

• adding the following:
  • screenshots
  • multiple panes as a stack.
  • command output
  • external context
  • memories
• reading from multiple clipboards
• tool calling ... even for models that don't support it.
• MCP
• context editing (try /edit)
• agentic loops
• cycling pane focus
• local and remote servers thanks to the llcat backend.
• reading sections of manpages with mansnip.
• turning off and on pane capturing

Sidechat sits agnostically on top of tmux. There's no substantive workflow change needed. You can just beckon your trusty friend at your leisure.

Unlike opencode and friends you don't have to edit a json file to use a local model nor do you have to violate the single-source-of-truth pattern and specify your own copy of the models that can be trivially found by using a basic end point.

We also know that "local model" means "model I control the infra for" and not necessarily something running on the same exact computer. So when you enter server addresses they get maintained in a list you can toggle through. You can even leave notes in them.

demo.webm

Very simple to install

curl day50.dev/sidechat | sh

or, using ursh by DAY50, you can put it in guardrails and make sure it complies with policies:

ursh day50.dev/sidechat

You should also use sc-add which can pipe anything into the context. Here's an example:

Once you're in there's a few slash commands. Use /help to get the current list.

Multiline is available with backslash \, just like it is at the shell

There's lots of nice features. Here's the self-update. As you can see it will

• install the update
• replace itself
• pick up where you left off

Here's some screenshots of how it seamlessly works with Streamdown's built in Savebrace feature and how it helps workflow.

Also you don't need tmux! Often you'll be doing things and then realize you want the talk party and you're not in tmux.

That's fine! If you use DAY50's streamdown, sc-picker works like it does inside tmux. You can also sc-add by id. It's not great but you're not locked in. That's the point!

Advanced features

Amnesia

/amnesia is a selective memory feature to fight against context rot. I

• Use /prev to see the previous conversations
• Scroll up (or use the fzf fuzzy finder) to find one I want to talk about
• Use /amnesia to get a summary of the conversation
• Use fzf to select the topics I want to carry on to the new context
• Then a new context is made, the concepts get injected and we're ready to go

amnesia.mp4