Features and configuration - MiniMax Agent Docs

MiniMax Code CLI is the terminal entry point for repositories, scripts, CI, and editor integrations. The three entry points share sessions, models, providers, plugins, and permission controls, while exposing different interaction boundaries.

Three ways to use the CLI

Mode	Entry point	Main capability	Output or connection
Interactive TUI	`mcode [prompt]`	Explore code, hold conversations, review tools, and handle permissions	Terminal UI
Headless	`mcode exec [prompt]`	One-shot tasks, batch jobs, CI, and evaluations	`text`, `json`, or `stream-json`
ACP	`mcode acp`	Run MCode as an Agent server for editors and other hosts	stdin/stdout protocol stream

Interactive TUI

Understand and change a workspace

MCode uses the current workspace as context. It reads project rules, the directory structure, relevant implementation, and available scripts before acting.

Read the project rules and relevant tests first. Explain the failure, then fix it and run the smallest relevant test set.

The TUI can read and write code and documentation, run terminal commands, inspect diffs, execute tests, and request permission before sensitive tool actions. Use @ to reference workspace files or directories, and Ctrl+V to paste image or video files from the clipboard.

Plan Mode and permission modes

Plan Mode controls whether the agent plans before execution. Permission mode controls how tool actions are handled. They are independent settings.

Setting	Entry point	Purpose
Plan Mode	`/plan on`, `/plan off`, `/plan status`, `/plan view`; `Shift+Tab`	Plan before execution or inspect the current plan
Ask	`/permission ask`	Require interactive confirmation for tool actions
Auto	`/permission auto`	Classify routine actions automatically and ask when risk is high
Full access	`/permission full`	Skip normal permission checks; use only in a workspace whose risks you understand
Off	`permissionMode: off`, or Headless `--permission off`	Disable permission mode for a controlled automation environment

The TUI picker provides Ask, Auto, and Full access. Use /permission status to inspect the current mode. Headless does not support ask; use the TUI or ACP when a human must approve an action.

Sessions, goals, and long-running work

Sessions support creation, search, resume, fork, rewind, rename, compaction, export, and copy. While a response is running, press Enter or use /steer <message> to guide it, and press Alt+Enter to queue a follow-up.Goals keep one objective active across multiple turns:

/goal Complete the migration and run the relevant tests
/goal budget=50K
/goal pause
/goal resume

Use /goal edit to change the objective and /goal clear to remove it. Goal budgets accept positive integers with optional K or M suffixes; use budget=clear to remove the cap.

Ask a side question while the main task runs

Starting in 0.3.2, use /btw [question] or /side [question] to open a temporary side conversation. It inherits context from the main conversation’s most recent committed boundary while the main task keeps running.

/btw Why did you choose this implementation?

The side conversation retains the current tool permissions, but tools that can modify data always require your explicit confirmation, including in Full access mode. Its composer shows the main task’s status so you can see when that task finishes or needs approval.

Action	Result
`Ctrl+/`	Switch between the main and side views while both continue running
`/parent` in the side conversation	Return to the main view and retain the side conversation
`Ctrl+C` in an empty side composer	Close and discard the side conversation
Run `/btw` again from the main view	Discard the old side conversation and start from the current boundary

Temporary side conversations do not appear in /sessions or /resume. Switching to another Session automatically cleans them up. Shortcut availability depends on your terminal emulator and its configuration.

Slash command reference

Type / to open autocomplete. Contextual commands appear only when the relevant session or run state exists.

Category	Command	Purpose
Session	`/new` (alias `/clear`)	Create a new session
Session	`/sessions [query]` (alias `/resume`)	Search, resume, and manage sessions
Session	`/goal <objective-or-action>`	Start or manage the current goal
Session	`/plan [action]`	Switch or inspect Plan Mode; action is `on`, `off`, `status`, or `view`
Session	`/parent`	Return from a child agent session to its parent
Session	`/fork`	Fork the current session
Session	`/rewind`	Rewind the current session
Session	`/edit`	Edit the current session
Session	`/retry`	Retry the last message after a failed response
Session	`/rename [title]`	Rename the current session
Session	`/compact [instructions]`	Compact a long conversation
Session	`/btw [question]` (alias `/side`)	Open a temporary side conversation while the main task continues
Runtime	`/status`	Show version, account, model, runtime configuration, and quota summaries
Runtime	`/permission [action]`	Inspect or change permission mode; action is `status`, `ask`, `auto`, or `full`
Runtime	`/login`, `/logout`	Sign in or out of the MiniMax account
Runtime	`/doctor`	Inspect configuration and runtime environment
Runtime	`/context`	Show context budget and sources
Runtime	`/model [filter]`	Search and select a model
Runtime	`/provider`	View providers or edit MiniMax credentials
Capability	`/plugins [filter]`	Browse, install, enable, and remove plugins
Capability	`/skills [filter]`	Search available skills
Capability	`/mcp [filter]`	Search MCP configuration
Input	`/steer <message>`	Guide the current response
Input	`/add-dir <path>`	Add a readable and writable workspace directory
Input	`/queue`	Manage messages waiting for the current response
Transcript	`/usage`	Show token usage
Transcript	`/export [path.md]`	Export the current session
Transcript	`/transcript`	Browse, search, and inspect the full conversation
Transcript	`/copy`	Copy the last response as Markdown
Application	`/help`	Show supported commands and shortcuts
Application	`/settings`	Configure the terminal interface
Application	`/update`	Check for and install a CLI update
Application	`/feedback <message>`	Submit redacted product feedback
Application	`/quit` (alias `/exit`)	Exit MCode

Inspect status and quotas

Run /status in the TUI to inspect the running version, current directory, model, permissions, account and plan, instruction file sources, and Default/Plan mode, including pending transitions. Signed-in accounts also show available 5-hour and weekly quota summaries with remaining percentages and reset countdowns. Use /usage for detailed usage.The status panel wraps long paths and keeps local configuration visible while account details load or when the account request fails.

Providers and models

The CLI supports MiniMax Token Plan, MiniMax API Key, and custom providers using compatible Anthropic or OpenAI API shapes.

MiniMax credential source

mcode provider list
mcode provider use token-plan
mcode provider use api-key

For a MiniMax API key, set an environment variable and then save and select it. The default variable is MCODE_PROVIDER_API_KEY:

export MCODE_PROVIDER_API_KEY="your MiniMax API key"
mcode provider set-minimax-key

Use --api-key-env <name> to select another variable. The CLI reads the variable but does not print the key.

Add a custom provider

export MCODE_PROVIDER_API_KEY="your compatible-provider key"

mcode provider add \
  --name "My OpenAI-compatible service" \
  --base-url "https://api.example.com/v1" \
  --api-format openai-completions \
  --model "model-id" \
  --use

Supported API formats are anthropic-messages, openai-completions, and openai-responses. Pass --model more than once to add multiple models; --use selects the first model as the default.Other operations:

mcode provider list --json
mcode provider test <provider-id> --model <model-id>
mcode provider test <provider-id> --json
mcode provider remove <provider-id> --yes

The MiniMax OAuth provider is managed with mcode login or /login, rather than provider test.

Model references

Model references use provider/model and can include a variant:

provider/model#variant

Use /model [filter] in the TUI. In Headless mode, --model overrides only the current run and does not change global configuration.

Plugins

Plugins come from an official marketplace or a local marketplace. List sources, installed plugins, and available plugins:

mcode plugin marketplace list
mcode plugin list
mcode plugin list --available

Install, enable, disable, or uninstall a plugin:

mcode plugin add <plugin>@official
mcode plugin enable <plugin>@official
mcode plugin disable <plugin>@official
mcode plugin remove <plugin>@official

When names collide, specify @official or @local, or pass -m, --marketplace official|local. Add --json for scripts. mcode plugin marketplace upgrade refreshes all marketplace snapshots; the local source is the plugins directory under the data directory.

ACP

Start the ACP stdio server:

mcode acp

ACP stdin/stdout is reserved for protocol messages; logs and diagnostics go to stderr. Do not write natural language directly to the ACP process, and do not let a wrapper mix logs into stdout. The ACP host can handle permission prompts, questions, cancellation, model controls, and Plan capabilities.A generic editor Agent configuration looks like this:

{
  "agent_servers": {
    "minimax-code": {
      "type": "custom",
      "command": "mcode",
      "args": ["acp"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

If the editor cannot find mcode, use the absolute path to the executable and restart the editor to refresh PATH.

CLI and desktop boundaries

The CLI does not depend on Electron or desktop IPC. Its focus is the terminal, repository, scripts, CI, and ACP. Browser, Computer Use, desktop panels, and desktop shortcuts appear only when the current host explicitly provides them; see the desktop documentation for graphical host behavior.

​Three ways to use the CLI

​Interactive TUI

​Understand and change a workspace

​Plan Mode and permission modes

​Sessions, goals, and long-running work

​Ask a side question while the main task runs

​Slash command reference

​Inspect status and quotas

​Providers and models

​MiniMax credential source

​Add a custom provider

​Model references

​Plugins

​ACP

​CLI and desktop boundaries