Install MendCode

MendCode is a coding agent in your terminal. It reads your repository, edits files and runs commands with the models you already use. One binary for macOS, Linux and Windows, checked before it is written.

Install commands

System

Channel

Starting tier

curl -fsSL https://github.com/MendCode/MendCode/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

Verified SHA256 and the cosign signature of v0.0.3
Installed mendcode 0.0.3 to /Users/you/.local/bin/mendcode (starting tier: balanced)
Run mendcode to start. mendcode upgrade updates it; --channel beta or nightly switches channel.

The default. What releases/latest points to. Newest: v0.0.3, Nov 2, 2026. Without cosign the first line says the signature was not checked.

Then

Open a repository and run mendcode. The first screen picks a model, a tier and how much the agent may do without asking. The command starts you in balanced unless you pick another starting tier; the tiers below say what each one includes. Windows needs PowerShell 5.1 or newer.

Read the script before piping it to a shell: install.sh, install.ps1.

Three tiers: how much MendCode does

A tier is a starting set of features, not a lock. The installer's tier only sets the first launch and never overwrites one you already have. /tier full switches later without a restart, and /tier <feature> on moves a single feature. Every feature is in the README table.

Minimalist1,064 tokensThe agent and almost nothing around it: the smallest prompt and the quietest screen.
- Read, write, edit, shell, glob and grep: it reads your code, changes files and runs commands
- A short MendCode prompt plus your AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md and the memories you approved
- Skills when asked for, listed by a tool instead of sitting in the prompt
- A compact screen without the right bar
- Auto-resume when a usage limit pauses the turn
Left out
Code graph, sub-agents, workflows and MCP. Any of them comes back with /tier <feature> on.
curl -fsSL https://github.com/MendCode/MendCode/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh -s -- --tier minimalist
Balanceddefault2,421 tokensMinimalist plus the tools that save tokens on a real project. What the installer picks unless you ask.
Everything in minimalist, plus
- Code graph: symbols, callers and impact before reading whole files
- Sub-agents: the task tool hands side work to another agent, on a cheaper model if you set one
- Script workflows, offered only when searched for, so they cost nothing until used
- MendCode's tools inside Claude Code sessions
- Filters that trim long command output, and a notice before compaction
- A Git page to review, commit and manage worktrees
- A checkpoint before a usage limit, /handoff and a review order in /changes
- A focused prompt with your skill catalog, and a comfortable screen
Yours to turn on
Computer control on macOS, PR watch and review, the session panel and the official package kit.
curl -fsSL https://github.com/MendCode/MendCode/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh
Full3,433 tokensEverything MendCode has, for when you want to try all of it.
Everything in balanced, plus
- MCP servers from your mcp.json, their tools found on demand
- Adaptive reasoning effort, where the provider supports it
- /fanout: one prompt to 2–8 models, each in its own worktree, then compare
- Sub-agents in their own worktrees, and the ACP agent registry
- Compaction while idle, before the prompt cache expires
- The full prompt: runtime capabilities and extension prompt overrides
- The pet companion
Allowed, off until you switch it on
The headless browser, voice dictation, Code Mode, the worktree tool and pi as an engine. No tier turns these on by itself.
curl -fsSL https://github.com/MendCode/MendCode/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh -s -- --tier full

On Windows, set the tier before the install command: $env:MENDCODE_TIER = "full".

What the installer does

In this order. install.sh and install.ps1 differ only where noted.

Picks the release. The newest release of the channel, stable unless you ask for beta or nightly, or the exact tag in MENDCODE_VERSION.
Checks the SHA256. It downloads SHA256SUMS and the binary for your OS and CPU, and stops if the hash does not match.
Checks the signature, with cosign. With cosign 2.6.1 or newer installed it verifies the sigstore bundles against the release workflow at that tag. Without cosign it says the signature was not checked.
Writes one binary and a receipt. mendcode goes to ~/.local/bin (on Windows %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\mendcode), next to .mendcode-v2-install with its SHA256 and starting tier.
Tells you about PATH. On macOS and Linux it prints the export line if the directory is not on PATH and never edits your shell files. On Windows it adds the directory to your user PATH.
Installs the service, if asked. With MENDCODE_INSTALL_SERVICE=1 on macOS and Linux it runs mendcode daemon service install, without starting the daemon in that shell. Windows has no service yet.

Platforms

Read from the latest release. Each binary also has a sigstore bundle, and the release carries SHA256SUMS, build provenance and an SBOM.

Platform	Asset	Download
macOS, Apple silicon	mendcode-0.0.3-darwin-arm64	71.9 MB
macOS, Intel	mendcode-0.0.3-darwin-x64	77.1 MB
Linux, arm64	mendcode-0.0.3-linux-arm64	110.1 MB
Linux, x64	mendcode-0.0.3-linux-x64	109.6 MB
Windows, x64	mendcode-0.0.3-windows-x64.exe	126.4 MB

Options

Environment variables work in both scripts. install.sh also takes --channel and --tier after sh -s --.

Variable	Flag	Effect
`MENDCODE_CHANNEL`	--channel	stable, beta or nightly. Default stable.
`MENDCODE_TIER`	--tier	minimalist, balanced or full for the first launch only. Default balanced; /tier changes it later.
`MENDCODE_VERSION`	–	One exact release, such as v0.0.1. Cannot be combined with a channel.
`MENDCODE_INSTALL_DIR`	–	Where the binary goes instead of the default directory.
`MENDCODE_REQUIRE_SIGNATURE`	–	Set to 1: refuse to install unless cosign is present and the signature verifies.
`MENDCODE_INSTALL_SERVICE`	–	Set to 1: install the user daemon service after the binary. macOS and Linux only.

First launch

One screen that detects instead of asking. It reads what MendCode already knows, makes no network call and imports nothing by itself. /setup reopens it; /tutorial is a four-minute tour.

ModelPreselected from what it found: a ChatGPT login, Claude Code, Codex, API keys or pi.
Tierminimalist, balanced or full: a first request of 1,064, 2,421 or 3,433 input tokens before your AGENTS.md and skills.
Permissionask, edits, full or plan, previewed with the real approval card.
LookThe system theme or one of the themes; the whole screen repaints as you move.
ImportMCP servers and commands from Claude Code or Codex. The default is nothing.
MoreMemory, budgets and everything else stay in /customize. See docs/setup.md.

Channels

mendcode upgrade remembers the channel you pick.

Channel	Tag	Note
stable	vX.Y.Z	The default. What releases/latest points to.
beta	vX.Y.Z-beta.N	Pre-releases before a stable tag. Takes a newer stable when there is one.
nightly	vX.Y.Z-nightly.YYYYMMDD.RUN	Built from main every day at 06:17 UTC; the last 14 are kept.
dev	dev-<sha>	One commit, by exact tag or mendcode upgrade --channel dev.

Upgrade and roll back

Replaces the binary with a verified release and keeps the previous one. --rollback swaps them back offline; running it again returns to the newer one.

mendcode upgrade

mendcode upgrade --check

mendcode upgrade --rollback

See docs/upgrade.md.

Uninstall

Lists exact paths and byte counts before asking, then moves them to a recovery folder with a restore.json. --keep-config and --keep-data keep either half.

mendcode uninstall --dry-run

See docs/uninstall.md.

From source

With Bun 1.3.13 and pnpm 11.17.0. bun run build writes dist/mendcode-next for this machine.

git clone https://github.com/MendCode/MendCode && cd MendCode
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --config.minimumReleaseAge=10080
bun run build

Coming from MendCode v1

Copies v1 history into a v2 data directory. Safe to run more than once; it never writes to the v1 directory. Start with --dry-run.

mendcode migrate-v1 --from <v1 data dir> --dir <v2 data dir> --dry-run

See docs/migrate-v1.md.