Wouldn't it be great to have an interface that could work with any AI agent? Toad is Python's answer to a unified front-end for the many AI coding agents out there.

Toad, not to be confused with the Oracle IDE, aims to provide a more pleasant experience for the user of Agentic coding tools. The notion is that each tool comes with its own interface, its own quirks, and its own limitations. 

As such, the rise of Toad as a modern, unified terminal interface designed by Will McGugan, (author of the popular Python libraries Rich and Textual) that streamlines interactions with various AI coding agents like OpenHands and Claude Code. Built using the Textual library, it provides a high-quality user experience that features Markdown rendering, fuzzy file searching, and a sophisticated prompt editor.

Like LSP does for IDEs and programming languages, Toad utilizes the Agent Client Protocol (ACP) to ensure compatibility across multiple agentic tools, allowing developers to switch between them within a single, consistent environment.

The highlights:

• Native Shell Integration: Toad is designed so that AI conversations feel like a natural extension of the terminal, rather than a separate isolated application
  
  
• Interactive Command Execution: Unlike many tools that only display monochrome output, Toad allows developers to run interactive CLI applications (including TUIs) with full color and mouse support directly within the interface
  
  
• Shell Passthrough: Users can trigger shell commands using the ! character, or simply type commands naturally; Toad's settings can automatically trigger shell mode for specific commands without explicit prefixes
  
  
• Tab Completion: It borrows standard shell behaviors, such as tab completion for commands and file paths

Context and File Management;Toad simplifies the process of sharing code context with AI agents:

• File Context (@): Developers can use the @ symbol to pull files into the conversation context

• Project Awareness: When launched, Toad assumes the current working directory is the project directory, though users can specify different paths via arguments

As it's built on the Textual library, Toad resolves common visual frustrations associated with terminal-based AI tools such as :

• Flicker-Free Updates: It updates partial screen regions down to the character level, eliminating the visual artifacts and flickering common in other tools

• Rich Markdown Rendering: Responses feature high-quality Markdown streaming, including rendered tables and syntax-highlighted code blocks.

• Functional Scrollback: The interface supports proper scrollback, allowing users to review conversation history and copy text without garbled formatting.

These are just a few of the key advantages of using Textual, but the most important is its Agent Agnostic property. Therefore instead of switching between different vendor CLIs (like Claude Code, Gemini, or OpenHands), users access all supported agents through a single, consistent UI.

The easiest way to install Toad is by pasting the following into your terminal:

curl -fsSL batrachian.ai/install | sh

Then to see all subcommands and switches, add the --help switch:

toad --help

Toad is, of course, open source and is on Github.

So if you want to enhamce the experience of using AI coding agents, Toad is the way to go.

 More Information

Toad on Github 

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