Getting Started with Lash

Lash is an open source AI coding agent built for the terminal. It supports 15+ AI providers, MCP tools, and a beautiful TUI — all from your command line.

Install

Pick your preferred method:

# Homebrew (recommended)
brew install lacymorrow/tap/lash

# npm
npm install -g lashcode

# curl
curl -fsSL https://lash.lacy.sh/install | bash

First Run

After installation, run lash to start an interactive session:

lash

You'll see the TUI launch with a conversation interface. Type a question or task and Lash will use your configured AI provider to help.

Configure Your AI Provider

Lash works with multiple AI providers. Set your preferred provider's API key:

# Anthropic (Claude)
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

# OpenAI (GPT)
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

# Google (Gemini)
export GOOGLE_API_KEY=...

Lash auto-detects which keys are available and uses the first one it finds.

Non-Interactive Mode

Run a single prompt without entering the TUI:

lash run -c "explain what this function does"

This is especially useful when paired with Lacy Shell, which can automatically route natural language input to Lash.

What Lash Can Do

• Code generation — Ask it to write functions, components, or entire files
• Code review — Paste code and ask for feedback
• Debugging — Describe a bug and get suggestions
• Refactoring — Ask it to improve existing code
• Documentation — Generate docs from code
• Shell commands — Ask for the right command when you can't remember syntax

MCP Tools

Lash supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which lets the AI interact with your file system, run commands, and connect to external tools. This means the AI can:

• Read and write files in your project
• Run shell commands
• Query databases
• Interact with APIs

Pair with Lacy Shell

For the best experience, install Lacy Shell alongside Lash. Lacy Shell is a ZSH/Bash plugin that detects whether you're typing a command or a question:

• git status → runs in your shell
• why is the build failing → routes to Lash

No mode switching, no prefixes. Just type naturally.

curl -fsSL https://lacy.sh/install | bash

Learn More

• GitHub Repository
• Lacy Shell — Natural language shell routing
• Follow @lacybuilds for updates