{"slug": "codient-a-multi-model-ai-coding-assistant-for-your-terminal-and-vscode", "title": "Codient — A Multi-Model AI Coding Assistant for Your Terminal (and VSCode)", "summary": "Developer Hamid Samak released Codient, an open-source command-line tool that drives Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek through their web UIs via Selenium automation, allowing users to switch models per task without paid APIs. The tool supports file editing with automatic backups, diff reports, and a VSCode extension, and is available on GitHub.", "body_md": "Most AI coding assistants lock you into one model and one workflow. **Codient** takes a different approach: it's a command-line tool that drives Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek through their actual web sessions — so you use the accounts you already have, switch models per-task, and keep full control over what gets changed in your codebase.\n\nIt ships two parts:\n\nProject site: [codient.ir](https://codient.ir)\n\nInstead of routing your code through a paid API, Codient automates a real browser session (via Selenium) against the AI's web UI. That means:\n\n```\nCLI Command\n   ↓\nPython Engine\n   ↓\nSelenium Automation\n   ↓\nAI Web UI (Claude / ChatGPT / Gemini / DeepSeek)\n   ↓\nAI Response Parsing\n   ↓ (if AI requests more files → follow-up loop, max 5 rounds)\nFile System Update / Diff / Backup\n```\n\n**Requirements:** Python 3.8+, Google Chrome, and a matching ChromeDriver.\n\n```\ngit clone https://github.com/hamidsamak/codient.git\ncd codient\n\npython3 -m venv venv\nvenv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt\n```\n\nAdd it to your `PATH`\n\nso you can run `codient`\n\nfrom anywhere:\n\n``` bash\nmkdir -p ~/.local/bin\ncat > ~/.local/bin/codient << EOF\n#!/bin/bash\nexec \"$(pwd)/venv/bin/python\" \"$(pwd)/codient\" \"\\$@\"\nEOF\nchmod +x ~/.local/bin/codient\n\necho 'export PATH=\"$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH\"' >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc\n```\n\nUsing WSL Ubuntu? There's a dedicated\n\n[WSL setup guide]for getting Chrome/ChromeDriver working.\n\nBefore using a model, open a browser session and log in once — the session is saved for future runs:\n\n```\ncodient --browser --model claude\ncodient --browser --model gemini\ncodient --browser --model chatgpt\ncodient --browser --model deepseek\n```\n\nBasic usage (default model is DeepSeek):\n\n```\ncodient \"Fix this code\" file1.py file2.py\n```\n\nPick a specific model:\n\n```\ncodient --model claude \"Fix this code\" app.py\n```\n\nApply changes directly, with an automatic backup:\n\n```\ncodient --overwrite \"Refactor this code\" main.py\n```\n\nPass read-only reference files with `--context`\n\n; anything after `--`\n\nis an editable target:\n\n```\ncodient \"Improve architecture\" --context utils.py config.py -- main.py\n```\n\nIf you skip `--overwrite`\n\n, Codient generates a visual HTML diff report instead of touching any files, and opens it in your browser automatically.\n\nIf the AI needs to see more files to finish the task, Codient detects that request, looks for the files locally, and — if it can't find one — asks you for the path. This repeats for up to 5 rounds until the AI has everything it needs. In `--non-interactive`\n\nmode (useful for CI or the VSCode extension), missing files are skipped automatically and the AI is told to create them from scratch instead of prompting you.\n\nKeep separate logins for different accounts or purposes:\n\n```\ncodient --browser --profile work\ncodient --profile work \"Fix this code\" app.py\ncodient --list-profiles\n```\n\nEvery modified file is backed up before it's touched:\n\n```\ncodient --rollback main.py\ncodient --rollback main.py --timestamp 20250101123000\n```\n\nThe extension is a thin front-end over the same CLI engine. Once installed, open the Command Palette (`Ctrl+Shift+P`\n\n/ `Cmd+Shift+P`\n\n) and use:\n\nSettings you can configure:\n\n| Setting | Default | Description |\n|---|---|---|\n`codient.model` |\n`default` |\n`claude` , `chatgpt` , `gemini` , or `deepseek`\n|\n`codient.proxy` |\n(empty) |\ne.g. `http://127.0.0.1:8080`\n|\n`codient.profile` |\n`default` |\nChrome profile to use |\n\n```\nnpm install -g @vscode/vsce\nvsce package\ncode --install-extension codient-*.vsix\n```\n\nCodient is still an early, actively developed project — feedback, issues, and stars are very welcome. If you work with multiple AI coding assistants and want one consistent CLI/editor workflow across all of them, give it a try:\n\nThere's also a [video walkthrough](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rxg5bH-JLo) covering installation and usage end-to-end.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/codient-a-multi-model-ai-coding-assistant-for-your-terminal-and-vscode", "canonical_source": "https://dev.to/hamidsamak/codient-a-multi-model-ai-coding-assistant-for-your-terminal-and-vscode-22jc", "published_at": "2026-07-28 10:33:32+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-28 11:03:30.975541+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["developer-tools", "ai-tools", "large-language-models", "artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["Codient", "Hamid Samak", "Claude", "ChatGPT", "Gemini", "DeepSeek", "Selenium", "VSCode"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/codient-a-multi-model-ai-coding-assistant-for-your-terminal-and-vscode", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/codient-a-multi-model-ai-coding-assistant-for-your-terminal-and-vscode.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/codient-a-multi-model-ai-coding-assistant-for-your-terminal-and-vscode.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/codient-a-multi-model-ai-coding-assistant-for-your-terminal-and-vscode.jsonld"}}