What is bashagt?

Bashagt is an AI coding agent written entirely in bash, meant to run anywhere bash itself can run. Most AI coding assistants need Node.js or Python installed, which works fine on a developer's own laptop but breaks down on machines that do not have those runtimes, such as locked down production servers or a phone. Bashagt's pitch is that bash, along with the small utilities jq and curl, is already present on nearly every Linux, macOS, WSL, Termux, and iSH system, so an agent built purely on top of those three pieces can run almost anywhere. The project itself is one very large bash script, made up of many functions, that acts as a full conversational coding agent. It can read, write, edit, and delete files, run shell commands, search the web, delegate work to sub agents for tasks like planning or reviewing code, track a to do list, and load extra skills. It keeps a long running memory across sessions, can be exposed as an HTTP service with streaming replies, and supports the Model Context Protocol for connecting to external tools. It also includes a hook system so specific events during a session can trigger custom actions, and a compression system for keeping long conversations from growing out of control. Because it is plain bash, it can also read and edit its own source code, so a user can ask it to add a small feature and it will attempt to implement, verify, and apply the change itself. To get started you only need bash 4.0 or newer, jq, and curl, on Android through Termux you also need the coreutils package. The author describes this as an early preview release, so bugs and missing pieces should be expected, and the project is licensed under Apache 2.0.