Code - PraisonAI

The code command starts a code assistant session optimized for programming tasks.

praisonai code is safe by default: file writes and shell commands prompt for approval on first call. Pass --no-safe or --dangerously-skip-approval to restore the legacy ungated behaviour. See Tool Approval.

Usage

praisonai code [OPTIONS] [PROMPT]

Arguments

Argument	Description
`PROMPT`	Code-related prompt or question

Options

Option	Short	Description	Default
`--model`	`-m`	LLM model to use	`gpt-4o-mini`
`--verbose`	`-v`	Verbose output	`false`
`--tools`	`-t`	Comma-separated tool names (e.g. `web_search,github`) or a `tools.py` file path
`--workspace`	`-w`	Root the code tools at this directory (sets `PRAISONAI_WORKSPACE`). Default: current directory, or the resumed session’s directory when `--continue` / `--session` is used.
`--file`	`-f`	Attach file(s) to context
`--no-acp`		Disable ACP tools (file operations)	`false`
`--no-lsp`		Disable LSP tools (code intelligence)	`false`
`--safe` / `--no-safe`		Safe mode: prompt before file writes and shell commands (default: on). Use `--no-safe` to disable.	`true`
`--dangerously-skip-approval`		Skip all tool approval prompts and export `PRAISONAI_TOOL_SAFETY=off` for the subprocess tree	`false`
`--session`	`-s`	Session ID to resume
`--continue`	`-c`	Continue last session	`false`
`--no-context`		Disable AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md auto-loading into system prompt	`false`
`--agent`	`-a`	Named custom agent profile from `.praisonai/agents/` (tools + permission scope)
`--thinking`		Reasoning effort for this invocation: `off`, `minimal`, `low`, `medium`, `high`
`--checkpoints` / `--no-checkpoints`		Auto-checkpoint the workspace before each file-mutating turn, enabling in-session `/undo` and `/revert`	`--no-checkpoints`
`--revert <ref>`		One-shot: restore workspace to a prior checkpoint (`id`, short id, or `last`) and exit	—

Safe mode (--safe) is on by default as of PR #2369. Dangerous built-in tools ask for approval in interactive sessions and are denied in non-interactive (CI) sessions. Use --no-safe to opt out, or --dangerously-skip-approval for a complete bypass. See Approval for full details.

Piped Input

praisonai code reads piped stdin when the prompt is provided in the shell pipeline.

cat data.json | praisonai code "Write a parser for this shape"

Prompt argument is merged first, piped body second (joined with \n). See Piped Input.

Examples

Start code assistant

praisonai code

Ask a coding question

praisonai code "Write a Python function to sort a list"

Specify language context

praisonai code --language python "Explain decorators"

Disable safe mode (opt out of approval prompts)

praisonai code --no-safe "Refactor main.py"

Full bypass (no approval prompts, applies to subprocess tree)

praisonai code --dangerously-skip-approval "Clean up old logs"

Reasoning effort (per invocation)

praisonai code --thinking high "Refactor src/utils.py for readability"

Custom agent profile

# Profile defined in .praisonai/agents/plan.md
praisonai code --agent plan "Review the auth module and propose a refactor"

# Profile + reasoning effort combined
praisonai code --agent reviewer --thinking high "Audit src/security/"

See Custom Agents & Commands for profile definitions and Thinking for budget levels.

Project context

By default, praisonai code walks up from the current directory to your git root and prepends any AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md / agents.md / .agents/AGENTS.md it finds to the agent’s system prompt, layered on top of ~/.praisonai/AGENTS.md. Pass --no-context (or set PRAISON_NO_CONTEXT=true) to disable. See Context Files for details.

Workspace directory

praisonai code runs its file, edit, search, and shell tools inside one workspace directory. Everything the agent reads and writes is contained there.

Pick a workspace explicitly

praisonai code --workspace ./src "Refactor the auth module"

Everything the agent reads or writes stays inside ./src.

Pick a workspace with an environment variable

export PRAISONAI_WORKSPACE=/path/to/project
praisonai code "Add tests for user.py"

PRAISONAI_WORKSPACE is the canonical name. The older PRAISON_WORKSPACE still works for backwards compatibility, but PRAISONAI_WORKSPACE wins when both are set.

Resume back into the same directory

praisonai code --continue           # resumes the last session in its original directory
praisonai code --session abc123     # resumes that specific session in its original directory

Launch praisonai code --continue from any shell — the tools re-root into the directory the session was created in, so the conversation stays consistent. If the recorded directory no longer exists you’ll see a warning and the tools fall back to the current directory:

⚠ Session workspace no longer exists: /old/path — using current directory instead.

An explicit --workspace always wins over the resumed directory.

Windows Automation

For Windows automation scenarios, use the --no-acp flag and set UTF-8 encoding. The -w flag is now honored end-to-end, so the agent’s tools operate inside the directory you pass:

# Windows PowerShell
$env:PRAISON_APPROVAL_MODE = "auto"
$env:PYTHONIOENCODING       = "utf-8"

praisonai code -w . --no-acp "Fix the failing tests"

See the Windows Automation section in Real-world Examples for complete setup instructions.

Auto checkpointing & in-session undo

Workspace checkpointing is off by default. Enable it with --checkpoints to auto-snapshot before each file-mutating turn, unlocking /undo and /revert inside the coding REPL.

praisonai code --checkpoints "Refactor auth module"

How `/undo` differs by mode

Mode	What `/undo` does
Checkpointing off (default)	Removes the last assistant+user message from history only
Checkpointing on (`--checkpoints` or `checkpoints.auto: true`)	Removes the last turn from history and restores workspace files to the pre-turn checkpoint (diff preview first)

Interactive slash commands

Type these inside a praisonai code REPL when --checkpoints is active:

Command	What it does
`/undo`	Undo the last turn: remove from history and restore workspace files
`/revert`	Same as `/revert 1` — roll back 1 turn
`/revert 2`	Roll the workspace back 2 turns

Both commands show a diff preview before restoring and refuse to run while a turn is still in progress.

One-shot revert from CLI

praisonai code --revert last

Shows the diff preview and restores the workspace, then exits.

Project config

Enable checkpointing for all praisonai code sessions in a project:

# agents.yaml
checkpoints:
  auto: true
  storage_dir: ./.praisonai/checkpoints   # optional — shared with praisonai run

Precedence: PRAISONAI_CHECKPOINTS=on (env) > checkpoints.auto (config) > default (off). See Checkpoints for the full checkpoint feature reference.

​Usage

​Arguments

​Options

​Piped Input

​Examples

​Start code assistant

​Ask a coding question

​Specify language context

​Disable safe mode (opt out of approval prompts)

​Full bypass (no approval prompts, applies to subprocess tree)

​Reasoning effort (per invocation)

​Custom agent profile

​Project context

​Workspace directory

​Pick a workspace explicitly

​Pick a workspace with an environment variable

​Resume back into the same directory

​Windows Automation

​Auto checkpointing & in-session undo

​How /undo differs by mode

​Interactive slash commands

​One-shot revert from CLI

​Project config

​See Also

Usage

Arguments

Options

Piped Input

Examples

Start code assistant

Ask a coding question

Specify language context

Disable safe mode (opt out of approval prompts)

Full bypass (no approval prompts, applies to subprocess tree)

Reasoning effort (per invocation)

Custom agent profile

Project context

Workspace directory

Pick a workspace explicitly

Pick a workspace with an environment variable

Resume back into the same directory

Windows Automation

Auto checkpointing & in-session undo

How `/undo` differs by mode

Interactive slash commands

One-shot revert from CLI

Project config

See Also