Quickstart
Install CLIshake, open the dashboard, and get a builder and reviewer collaborating in a few minutes.
Prerequisites
CLIshake is deliberately local and terminal-native. Before installing, make sure these are available:
- tmux 3.0+Required for durable agent terminals
- Homebrew or Go 1.24+Choose your installation path
- GitRecommended for per-agent worktrees
- At least one agent CLIInstall and authenticate a supported harness for real coding work
The built-in mock adapter is a deterministic, protocol-native test double—not a coding agent. It runs as a real process in a real tmux pane and exercises messaging, tasks, delivery states, restarts, and the audit log without API keys, network access, or cost. Use it for tests and CI, the 14-stage demo, zero-setup evaluation, and as a reference when building an adapter. Use a real agent CLI for productive work.
Platform support
macOS
Apple Silicon and Intel
Linux
x86-64 and ARM
Windows
Native support is planned
CLIshake orchestrates through tmux, which is not native to Windows. Run CLIshake inside WSL2, where it behaves as it does on Linux.
1. Install
# Homebrew
$ brew install --cask clishakehq/clishake/clishake
# Or install with Go
$ go install github.com/clishakehq/clishake/cmd/clishake@latestTo build from source instead:
$ git clone https://github.com/clishakehq/clishake
$ cd clishake && make install2. Initialize a project
Run one command inside any Git repository. It creates .clishake/ and opens the interactive dashboard.
$ clishake initRuntime state, logs, context files, and worktrees are ignored automatically. .clishake/config.toml remains committable.
3. Add your agents
Use dashboard commands or the scriptable CLI. Here, Claude builds while Codex reviews:
$ clishake agent add claude --adapter claude-code \\
--role builder --task "Implement the API changes"
$ clishake agent add codex --adapter codex \\
--role reviewer --task "Review backend changes"Each editing agent gets a dedicated worktree and branch such as clishake/claude. Read-only reviewers remain in the project root by default.
4. Coordinate the work
# Direct message
$ clishake send @claude "implement the login endpoint"
# Route to a role or everyone
$ clishake send @role:reviewer "inspect auth changes"
$ clishake broadcast "status?"
# Record a shared decision
$ clishake note "integration goes through the lead"The dashboard exposes the same controls with four views: overview, focus, live terminal grid, and filterable attributed chat.