Interactive TUI

Run rho in a terminal to start an interactive coding session in the current directory.

rho

The TUI is the main way to use Rho. Ask it to inspect files, explain code, make changes, run commands, or iterate on a task with you. Rho uses the current directory as its workspace.

Start a session

Open a project and run Rho from the repository root:

cd path/to/project
rho

Rho streams the assistant response as it works. Tool use appears inline so you can see commands, file reads, and edits as they happen. Completed conversation output remains in your normal terminal scrollback, so you can use your terminal's usual scrolling and copy behavior.

For persisted history and resume behavior, see sessions.

Send prompts

Type a request and press enter to send it.

Examples:

summarize this repository

add tests for the config parser

find where the TUI handles paste events

Use a multiline prompt when you need to paste or write a longer request.

Commands

Type / at the start of the message box to open the command palette. Keep typing to filter commands, use up and down to select, press tab to complete the selected command, and press enter to run it. Slash commands run locally instead of being sent to the AI.

Command	Action
/login [provider]	Log in with a provider. No args opens a picker; direct args support openai and openai-codex.
/logout [provider]	Delete stored provider credentials. No args opens a picker; direct args support openai and openai-codex.
/model [provider/model]	Open a picker for models with available auth, or switch directly to a provider/model and save it to configuration.
/resume [id]	Show session resume help. Interactive session switching/listing is not implemented yet.
/config	Open the config picker. Reasoning changes apply immediately; max output bytes changes save for the next session.
/exit	Quit the TUI.

A single / as the first character opens the command palette. Any later / characters are treated as normal message text and do not reopen the palette.

Some commands can replace the message box with a picker. Use up and down to select, type to filter by case-insensitive regex, press tab to autocomplete the filter from the highlighted item, press enter to confirm, and press esc to cancel. In /config, the picker stays open after changing a value so you can continue adjusting settings.

Login and logout

/login opens a provider picker. /login openai opens a masked API-key entry box. /login openai-codex starts Rho's browser-based Codex OAuth flow. Credentials are stored in the native OS credential store, not in config or transcripts.

/logout opens the same provider picker and deletes credentials from the device. /logout openai deletes the stored OpenAI API key. /logout openai-codex deletes stored Codex tokens. Environment overrides are CI/development hatches and can keep a provider available after logout.

Logging in does not normally switch provider/model. Use /model to switch models and providers. If Rho started without usable auth, a successful login selects that provider's default model so the session can run.

Model picker

The model picker is populated from Rho's built-in static catalog entries for providers that currently have auth available through /login or env overrides. openai uses API-key auth models, while openai-codex uses Codex auth models.

Use /model provider/model to switch explicitly, including to a provider outside the current picker filter:

/model openai/gpt-5.5
/model openai-codex/gpt-5.5

A bare model id works when it uniquely matches the catalog. Uncataloged bare model ids stay on the current provider as an escape hatch for newly released models.

For provider and auth details, see authentication and models.

Interrupt, reset, or quit

• Press esc to interrupt the current response without closing Rho.
• Press ctrl-r to reset the conversation history. The next message starts a new session.
• Press ctrl-c to clear the current input line.
• Press ctrl-c twice to quit.

Useful controls

Most editing keys work the way they do in a normal terminal input.

Key	Action
esc	Interrupt the current response, or hide the command palette when it is open
/ at start	Open the command palette
up / down	Select a command while the palette is open
tab	Complete the selected command while the palette is open
enter	Send a prompt, or run a selected slash command
ctrl-r	Reset conversation history
ctrl-c	Clear input, then quit if pressed again

Use automation and CLI when you want a single answer outside the TUI.