Agentic coding in your terminal with any LLM
By Tanmay Verma, Founder · Last verified 07 Jun 2026
In short
Crush — Agentic coding in your terminal with any LLM. Best for Developers who prefer terminal-based workflows over GUI IDEs, Teams wanting to use multiple LLMs without switching contexts, Privacy-conscious programmers who want local code analysis. Free to use.
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A powerful, terminal-native AI coding assistant with excellent model flexibility and extensibility. Best for developers who prefer local control and CLI workflows over GUI-based tools.
Compare with: Crush vs Draftbit, Crush vs Shipixen, Crush vs AppGyver
Last verified: June 2026
Crush is a standout among AI coding assistants because it keeps everything in the terminal—no web app, no subscription lock-in, just your code and your LLM of choice. The ability to switch models mid-session is a genuine time-saver when you want to compare outputs from different providers. LSP integration gives it context awareness that rivals Copilot, but without sending your code to a third-party server unless you choose to. It works on nearly every platform, including Android and BSDs, which is rare. The main caveat is that it requires manual setup: you need to bring your own API keys and configure providers. For teams using GitHub Copilot already, Crush might feel like more work upfront, but for power users who want flexibility and privacy, it's a compelling alternative. The Charm ecosystem ensures a polished TUI experience, but note that MCP extensibility and session management are advanced features that may require reading docs. Overall, Crush is ideal for developers who live in the terminal and want granular control over their AI interactions.
Skip Crush if Skip Crush if you prefer a GUI IDE plugin, need centralized team management, or aren't comfortable configuring CLI tools and API keys.
Across the latest 3 updates: 1 community discussion and 2 news mentions.
Discussion on avoiding spam in job seeking contexts.
News on how AI affects pre-ChatGPT startup valuations.
ZDNet article on open-source repos overwhelmed by downloads.
How likely is Crush to still be operational in 12 months? Based on 6 signals including funding, development activity, and platform risk.
Crush is a terminal-based AI coding assistant that connects your local tools, code, and workflows to the language model of your choice. Built on the Charm ecosystem, it supports macOS, Linux, Windows, Android, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD. Key features include multi-model support (OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, Gemini, and more), session-based context management, LSP-enhanced code understanding, and extensibility via MCPs (http, stdio, sse). You can switch LLMs mid-session without losing context, making it flexible for iterative development. Designed for developers who want a privacy-respecting, terminal-native alternative to cloud-based assistants like GitHub Copilot, Crush runs entirely in your environment and integrates seamlessly with your existing workflow.
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Concrete scenarios for the personas Crush actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.
You're building a Go backend on a remote server over SSH. You SSH in, run 'crush', and start a session. Crush uses gopls for LSP context, and you switch from Claude Sonnet (for architecture) to a local model (for boilerplate) mid-session.
Outcome: You complete the feature without leaving the terminal, switching models freely, and preserving context across breaks.
You need to debug a complex CI pipeline. You open Crush in a tmux pane while monitoring logs in another. You ask Crush to explain a failed build step, and it uses MCP to query your internal API for logs.
Outcome: You diagnose the issue faster because Crush has context from both your session and live infrastructure.
TUI has inherent UI limits — reviewing a 500-line diff or a visual design spec is awkward compared to an IDE. Younger project than Aider or Claude Code — expect rough edges on the long tail of commands. Shell execution requires careful approval-gate setup for safety. No centralized team management or usage dashboards.
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
For each published Crush tier: who it actually fits, and what it adds vs. the previous tier. Cross-reference the cost calculator above for projected annual outlay.
Open Source
$0
Ideal for
Any developer or team wanting a free, open-source AI coding assistant — no restrictions on features or usage.
What this tier adds
Free entry point with full features: all providers, MCP support, session history, and LSP integration — no paid upgrades.
The company stage and team size where Crush's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.
Crush is fully free and open-source — no paid tiers, no hidden fees. You only pay for the LLM API calls you make. This makes it very affordable for solo developers and small teams, especially compared to Copilot ($10-$39/mo) or Cursor ($20/mo). For large teams, the lack of centralized billing may be a hidden cost in admin overhead.
How long it actually takes to get something useful out of Crush — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.
For a developer with API keys and package manager access: install via Homebrew/NPM (~1 min), set environment variables for your API keys (~1 min), and run 'crush' to start a session. First useful interaction in under 5 minutes. Configuring MCP or custom providers may take another 10-15 minutes.
How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.
Pricing, brand, ownership, or deprecation changes worth knowing before you commit. Most-recent first.
Glamourous agentic coding for all 💘. Contribute to charmbracelet/crush development by creating an account on GitHub.
Glamourous agentic coding for all 💘. Contribute to charmbracelet/crush development by creating an account on GitHub.
Common stack mates teams adopt alongside Crush, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.
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Last calculated: June 2026
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