CLI

Nice Code is a lightweight Rust CLI exposed directly or through the Node-compatible launcher. Bun is only needed for repository development utilities, not for normal users. Human output is compact and styled only in an interactive terminal; agent and CI output remains deterministic and machine-friendly.

Install

Install the public launcher with Node.js 20 or newer:

npm install --global @sayanmohsin/nice-code
nice-code --help

The launcher downloads the verified Rust engine for the current platform. Bun, Cargo, and Rust are not required for normal users. Direct binaries are available from the latest GitHub Release.

Common commands

# Review changed and untracked files
nice-code --changed --project .

# Run a deliberate full scan
nice-code --all --project .

# Produce compact output for a coding agent
nice-code --changed --format agent --project .

# Run native project tools and emit SARIF for CI
nice-code --changed --ci --format sarif --project . > nice-code.sarif

# Inspect one check and write a baseline
nice-code --explain AP-LOG-001
nice-code --all --format json --write-baseline .nice-code-baseline.json
nice-code --changed --new-only --baseline .nice-code-baseline.json --format agent

For the complete option list and examples, run nice-code --help. Use nice-code --version to confirm the installed launcher version.

Output modes

• text is the compact human terminal view.
• json is the complete machine-readable report.
• agent is compact, stable, line-oriented output for coding agents.
• sarif is designed for GitHub code-scanning and CI integrations.

The default human view uses a small ◆ nice-code mark and status summary. Use --color or --no-color to override terminal detection. Styling is never added to JSON or SARIF output. Useful controls include --status FAIL,WARN, --include-review, --max-findings 20, --timings, and baseline filtering.

The CLI returns a non-zero exit code only when the report's exit decision is blocked. Unknown or invalid flags fail with a usage error.