Getting started

Install the CLI

The public npm launcher requires Node.js 20 or newer. It downloads the matching verified Rust engine automatically; users do not need Bun, Cargo, or Rust.

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

For a one-off invocation:

npx --yes @sayanmohsin/nice-code --changed --project .

Direct macOS, Linux, and Windows binaries are available from the latest GitHub Release.

Run from a local checkout

git clone https://github.com/sayanmohsin/nice-code.git
cd nice-code
npm install --global .
nice-code --changed --project /path/to/project

For a local checkout of the repository itself:

npm install --global /path/to/nice-code
nice-code --changed --project .

The launcher uses a local release/debug engine when available and can download the matching verified GitHub Release binary when a published release exists. Rust is not required for normal users.

First useful commands

nice-code --changed --project .
nice-code --all --project .
nice-code --changed --format agent --project .
nice-code --changed --ci --format sarif --project . > nice-code.sarif

# Set up a new project with detected guidance
nice-code advise --project .
nice-code init --project .
nice-code init --project . --apply

# Inspect managed agent skills
nice-code skills list
nice-code skills outdated --project .

Start with changed files. Treat full-scan findings as a review queue until the project has classified its baseline. Add .nice-code.json when the project needs profiles, ignored paths, severity overrides, or narrow exceptions.

For Java projects, Nice Code discovers .java files and identifies Maven, Gradle, and Spring Boot projects. In --ci mode it runs declared Maven or Gradle tests when available; the Java compiler, formatter, Checkstyle, SpotBugs, and Spring tests remain authoritative.