Overview
Cluster Build is an AI coding assistant in your terminal — chat with a model that reads and edits your files, runs commands, and searches your code, with cloud planning and review when you need it.
Cluster Build is a terminal AI coding assistant. You chat with a frontier model
of your choice, and it can read and edit files in your project, run shell
commands, and search your codebase, all from one command: cluster.
It talks to Clusterbase's hosted agent gateway, so there are no API keys to manage: you
sign in with your Cluster account and start working.
Everything it stores — config, sessions, and your sign-in — lives under
~/.cluster/.
Most of the time Cluster Build runs locally in your terminal. When a task is
bigger than one machine, it also reaches into the cloud: /megaplan plans
against your repos on a remote VM, and /megareview runs a fleet of review agents
over your changes. See Cloud features.
Install
curl -fsSL https://assets.cluster.app/serve/cstatic-assets/releases/cli/install.sh | shThis installs the cluster binary to a user-writable directory on your PATH
(typically ~/.local/bin) so it can keep itself up to date; set INSTALL_DIR to
choose another location. Confirm it's on your PATH:
cluster --versionThen sign in:
cluster loginThe quickstart walks through your first session end-to-end.
What the assistant can do
The model has a built-in toolset scoped to your current directory:
- Run shell commands — including long-running background processes
- Read files — by line range, byte range, or surrounding code block
- View images — inspect local PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WebP files as model-visible media
- Search — list directories, find files by name or path, and grep across your codebase
- Edit files — apply patches and write changes
- Track a plan — for substantial work with multiple steps or dependencies, or when you ask for a checklist, maintain a visible task list that updates as steps move from pending to in progress to complete
The first time you use it in a directory, Cluster asks you to trust that workspace; once trusted, tools run with your normal OS permissions — no sandbox, no per-call approval. See Interactive sessions for workspace trust, plan mode, and the full slash-command reference.
Where things live
Everything Cluster Build stores is under ~/.cluster/:
| Path | Contents |
|---|---|
config.toml | Your settings — model, reasoning effort, and more |
auth.json | Your sign-in token (created by cluster login) |
sessions/ | Saved conversations you can resume |
skills/ | Your custom skills |
commands/ | Your custom slash commands |
Next steps
- Quickstart — install, log in, and run your first task.
- Interactive sessions — the TUI, tools, workspace trust, plan mode, and slash commands.
- Exec & sessions — run prompts non-interactively and manage saved sessions.
- Config basics — pick a model, set
reasoning effort, and tune
config.toml. - Cloud features — remote planning with
/megaplanand cloud code review with/megareview.