Getting started: from your first instruction to reading the task tree

What is a CLI coding agent?

A CLI coding agent is an AI program that runs in a terminal. Tell it what you want in plain words — "add a show-password button to the login screen" — and it reads your code, edits files, runs commands, and reports back. The best known are Claude Code from Anthropic and Codex CLI from OpenAI.

TiniaCode doesn’t replace your agent. It runs the agents you install and organises their work into a task tree, history and notes, so you can see everything at a glance — even the next day. You manage your agent accounts and fees with each provider.

1. Install an agent and sign in

Do this in the "Agents" step of first-time setup (or the agents section in Settings). Either agent is enough.

1. If it says the agent isn’t installed, click Install. A terminal opens and runs the provider’s official install command.
2. If it says you need to sign in, click Sign in and log in with your provider account in the terminal and browser.
3. Click Check again to confirm it now shows you as signed in.

# Claude Code
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Codex CLI
npm install -g @openai/codex

2. Open a project

• Use Open folder… (Ctrl+K then Ctrl+O) to choose your project folder. Folders you’ve opened before are one click away under "Recent projects".
• On Windows, folders inside WSL are the fastest.
• If the folder isn’t a Git repository yet, TiniaCode creates one with your first instruction and saves finished work automatically.

3. Give your first instruction

Type what you want done in the conversation box and send it. A good instruction covers three things: what, where, and what “done” looks like.

Add a one-sentence description of the project at the top of README.md.
Don’t change anything else, and show me the line you added when you’re done.

When the agent finishes, you get a one-line summary of what it did — and by default, TiniaCode reads it out loud too. Don’t want audio? Turn off "Speak when work starts and finishes" in Settings.

4. See what the agent did

• Task tree — the first column. Work stacks up as task → session → instruction; click any row to jump straight to that conversation. Come back the next day and yesterday’s work is right here.
• History tab — in the "To-dos, history and memos" column. Type into "Search request history" to find past instructions by text, model, session or folder.
• Todo tab — you and your agents share the project’s .tiniacode/TODO.md: - [ ] to do, - [>] in progress, - [x] done. The agent’s own plan appears separately as "Agent to-dos".
• Notes tab — keep your thinking and decisions. Ctrl+N starts a new note, and you can bring back earlier versions and deleted notes.

5. Try Pro

Core is free and needs no account. Picking up where you left off on another machine (multi-device data sync), built-in messenger collaboration, and viewing and editing notes from every project you register in one place are Pro features. Create an account in the app to start a 14-day free Pro trial — no card required.

1. Click the Messenger button at the edge of the conversation column.
2. Click Create account and enter your email, name and a password (8+ characters).
3. Answer two security questions. Your answers are the only way back into your account if you forget your password, so make sure you’ll remember them.

When the trial ends you go back to Core, and nothing is deleted. To keep Pro, buy Pro with the same account (USD 30/year, full refund within 30 days).