dex

AI development tool with extensible skill system and ACP protocol support.

Install

npm install -g dex-cli

Requires Node.js >= 20 and an Anthropic API key.

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key-here
# or
dex config set apiKey your-key-here

Quick Start

dex review              # Review uncommitted changes
dex review --staged     # Review staged changes only
dex commit-msg          # Generate a commit message
dex explain src/app.ts  # Explain a file
dex refactor src/old.ts # Get refactoring suggestions
dex test-gen src/api.ts # Generate tests
dex fix src/bug.ts      # Fix bugs with AI agent (tool use)

Pipe support:

git diff | dex review           # Pipe a diff
cat src/auth.ts | dex explain   # Pipe code

Commands

Command	Description
dex review [--staged]	Code review
dex commit-msg	Generate commit message
dex explain <file>	Explain code
dex refactor <file>	Refactoring suggestions
dex test-gen <file>	Generate tests
dex fix <file> [-i "issue"]	Fix bugs with agentic tool use
dex chat [--tools]	Interactive AI chat with tool access
dex run <skill>	Run any skill by name
dex serve	Start ACP server for editor integration
dex serve --mcp	Start MCP server for Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.
dex doctor	Check system setup
dex config list|get|set	Manage configuration
dex skill list|info|init|add|remove	Manage skills
dex completion bash|zsh|fish	Shell completions

Global Flags

• --verbose / -v — Show debug output and token usage
• --json — Structured JSON output
• --version / -V — Show version

Custom Skills

Create your own skills:

dex skill init my-skill    # Generate skeleton
cd my-skill
# Edit handler.ts and manifest.json
dex skill add .            # Install globally
dex my-skill               # Run it

manifest.json

{
  "name": "my-skill",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "My custom skill",
  "inputs": {
    "args": [{ "name": "file", "description": "Target file", "required": true }],
    "flags": [{ "name": "verbose", "type": "boolean", "default": false }],
    "context": ["current-file", "file-tree", "git-diff", "stdin"]
  },
  "agent": {
    "maxTurns": 5,
    "allowedTools": ["read_file", "write_file", "list_files", "bash"]
  }
}

Available Context Sources

Source	Description
git-diff	Unstaged changes
git-diff-staged	Staged changes
git-log	Recent commit history
file-tree	Project directory tree
current-file	File specified by file arg
package-json	Project package.json
stdin	Piped input

Available Tools (for agentic skills)

Tool	Description
bash	Execute shell commands
read_file	Read file contents
write_file	Create/modify files
list_files	List directory tree

ACP Server (Editor Integration)

Start the ACP server for Zed, JetBrains, or other editors:

dex serve

The server communicates via stdio JSON-RPC 2.0. Configure your editor to use dex serve as an ACP agent.

Supported Methods

• initialize — Returns capabilities and available skills
• session/new — Create a new session for a skill
• session/prompt — Execute a skill within a session
• session/cancel — Cancel an active session

MCP Server (Model Context Protocol)

Start an MCP-compliant stdio server so any MCP client can use dex skills and tools:

dex serve --mcp

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dex": {
      "command": "dex",
      "args": ["serve", "--mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor / Windsurf / Cline

Same pattern -- point the MCP client at dex serve --mcp as a stdio command.

Exposed Tools

All dex skills are exposed as MCP tools with a dex_ prefix (e.g. dex_review, dex_commit-msg). Built-in tools (bash, read_file, write_file, list_files, search_files, apply_diff) are also available.

Supported MCP Methods

• initialize -- Returns protocol version, capabilities, and server info
• tools/list -- Lists all available tools (skills + built-in)
• tools/call -- Execute a tool by name with arguments

Shell Completions

# Bash
eval "$(dex completion bash)"

# Zsh
eval "$(dex completion zsh)"

# Fish
dex completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/dex.fish

Configuration

dex config list              # Show all settings
dex config set model claude-opus-4-20250514  # Change model
dex config set maxTokens 16384              # Increase token limit

Settings are stored in ~/.dex/config.json (global) and .dex/config.json (project).

Environment variables: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, DEX_MODEL.

License

MIT