Quickstart cheat sheet

Already comfortable with coding agents? This is the cheat sheet. For the long version, start with Your first session.

Install

brew tap MathAndMagic/magic-coder
brew install magic-coder

Or grab a binary from the releases page. Full options on Install.

coder

First run triggers a browser-based sign-in to BridgeApp. On a headless box, add --no-open-browser. Inside the TUI, /login re-signs in, /logout clears the credential.

Most common invocations

Goal	Command
Open the TUI in the current repo	`coder`
Send a startup prompt immediately	`coder --query "fix the failing tests"`
Trust the workspace up front	`coder --trust`
Allow operations in another directory	`coder -w /path/to/other/root`
Start in plan mode	`coder --plan`
Resume an existing thread	`coder --continue <uuid>`
Pick a model for the session	`coder --model <model-name>`
Higher reasoning effort	`coder --reasoning-effort high`
Long-context mode	`coder --allow-long-context`
Non-interactive run	`coder --trust --automagic --query "<task>"`
Print login URL instead of opening browser	`coder --no-open-browser`
Use a non-production BridgeApp	`coder --server-url <host>`

--automagic requires a startup target (--query and/or --continue), pre-saved auth, and a trusted workspace (or --trust on the same run). It auto-approves every tool call and exits when the agent finishes.

Slash commands

Type these in the input box during an interactive session.

Command	What it does
`/help`	Open the keyboard shortcuts help window
`/login`	Clear saved sign-in and start a fresh login
`/logout`	Sign out (clear saved credential)
`/model`	Pick a model for the current thread (with autocomplete)
`/reasoning-effort` (alias `/thinking`)	Pick a reasoning effort level
`/long-context`	Toggle long-context mode
`/theme`	Switch UI theme
`/clear` (alias `/reset`)	Start a clean conversation in the same workspace
`/exit` (alias `/quit`)	Exit Magic Coder

Any Skill configured for your account also appears as a /-command at runtime.

See Slash commands for the full reference.

Common keystrokes

Key	What it does
`Enter`	Send (or, while agent is working, queue as a follow-up)
`Shift+Enter` / `Alt+Enter` / `Ctrl+J` / `\`+`Enter`	Insert a newline
`Esc Esc` (within 500ms)	Clear the input draft
`Ctrl+C`	Stop the agent; press again within 2s when idle to quit
`Tab`	Accept the highlighted slash suggestion
`↑` / `↓` (input empty)	Recall input history
`PageUp` / `PageDown`	Scroll transcript
Right-click a message	Copy that block to clipboard

Reasoning effort values

none, minimal, low, medium, high, xhigh. max is accepted as an alias for xhigh. See Reasoning effort values for the table.

Files Magic Coder reads/writes

Path	Purpose
`~/.magic/config.toml`	User config: machine ID, generation defaults, UI prefs
`~/.magic/known.toml`	Workspace registry (which workspaces you’ve trusted)
`~/.magic/known/<key>/history.jsonl`	Per-workspace input history
`~/.magic/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`	User-level skills
`~/.magic/rules/<category>/<name>.md`	User-level Markdown rules
`~/.magic/cache/`, `~/.magic/locks/`	Cache and lock files (don’t edit)
`<workspace>/.magic/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`	Project-local skills (loaded only when trusted)
`<workspace>/.magic/rules/<category>/<name>.md`	Project-local rules (loaded only when trusted)
`<workspace>/AGENTS.md` (and nested)	Project-specific instructions for the agent

Full details in File locations.

Where to next

Plan mode — propose first, execute after approval
Automagic — fully non-interactive runs
Models — switching providers and defaults
CLI reference — every flag, with examples