opencode

nca - 10x lighter alternative to opencode/claudecode written in rust

Luigi

• 1 min read

A lightweight, Rust-powered alternative to OpenCode/ClaudeCode that runs 10x lighter in terms of RAM usage. It's an early project but already functional with core features like tools and skills.

What NCA Offers

  • Interactive TUI and line REPL — switch between full-screen interface and line-oriented shell
  • Detached sessions — run nca spawn, then return with status, logs, or attach
  • Git worktrees for subagents — spawn child agents in isolated worktrees to avoid branch conflicts
  • Machine-readable output — supports --json and --stream ndjson for automation
  • Sessions persist in workspace — JSON snapshots and JSONL logs per session
  • Skills & MCP — discovers skills from AGENTS.md, workspace, and user skill directories
  • Multimodal input — paste images with Ctrl+V (fails loudly if model lacks vision)
  • MiniMax-first with OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter support
  • Auto-summarize — keeps long threads within token budget

RAM Usage

Typically stays under 20MB of RAM — about 10x lighter than Claude Code or OpenCode.

Current Limitations

  • No /undo command to undo the latest LLM CLI interactions
  • No diff and markdown rendering
  • Minor usability issues — Tab doesn't autocomplete commands and text selection missing

Install

curl -fsSL https://nca-cli.com/install | bash

Supports macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel) and Linux (x86_64 & ARM64).
Latest release: v0.3.0
GitHub