Interactive CLI

Type kodelythecc alone in a real terminal → an arrow-key menu opens.

⚙ Kodelyth ECC  v2.4.1  ·  Elite Code Crew   up to date
 
 ▸ Open Dashboard                     localhost — RTK, Terse, Codebase, Memory
   Install ECC for another IDE        13-target picker
   RTK status                         Version + wired IDEs + savings
   Terse status                       Skill install state, ledger totals
   Codebase graph status              158 languages, structural queries
   Memory stats                       BM25 recall — captures, projects, tags
   Run in background                  Detached dashboard daemon
   Uninstall ECC completely           Full cleanup with 4-choice picker
   Exit
 
↑/↓ navigate  ·  ⏎ select  ·  q / esc / Ctrl+C to quit

Both kodelyth-ecc (canonical) and kodelythecc (short alias) trigger the menu. Zero dependencies — raw-mode stdin + ANSI escape sequences.

When the menu opens (and when it doesn't)

The menu opens only when interactive — both stdin and stdout are TTYs, no CI env var, no KODELYTH_NO_MENU=1 env var.

Situation	Menu opens?
`kodelythecc` in Terminal / iTerm / any TTY	✓
`kodelythecc rtk status` (any subcommand)	✗ — runs subcommand
`echo hi \| kodelythecc` (piped stdin)	✗ — runs installer
Inside a CI job (`$CI` set)	✗
`KODELYTH_NO_MENU=1 kodelythecc`	✗

This preserves scripting behaviour: piped input still runs the installer, CI still runs cleanly, subcommands still work headless.

Navigation

Key	Action
`↑` / `k`	Move selection up
`↓` / `j`	Move selection down
`⏎` / `Enter`	Select current row
`q` / `Esc` / `Ctrl+C`	Exit clean, cursor restored

Vim-style j/k also works.

Menu options

Update to vX.Y.Z (only shown when update is available)

The menu polls https://registry.npmjs.org/kodelyth-ecc/latest on open. Results cached 24h in ~/.kodelythecc/update-check.json so npm isn't hit on every menu open. When a newer version exists, an extra row appears at the top:

 ▸ Update to v2.4.2 [NEW]              npm i -g kodelyth-ecc

Selecting it runs npm install -g kodelyth-ecc in the same terminal.

Open Dashboard

Boots kodelythecc dashboard inline (foreground, port 5747, browser opens). See Dashboard.

Install ECC for another IDE

Nested picker for 13 install targets:

claude-code
cursor-project
windsurf-home / windsurf-project
antigravity
codex-home
opencode
cline
roocode
gemini-home / gemini-project
kimi
aider

Select one → runs kodelythecc --target <choice> non-interactively (with KODELYTH_NONINTERACTIVE=1). Returns to the main menu on Enter.

RTK status / Terse status / Codebase status

Inline runs the corresponding kodelythecc <sub> status command. Press Enter to return to the menu.

Memory stats

Runs kodelythecc dashboard in the foreground so you can browse the Memory tab (full BM25 stats + search).

Run in background

Forks kodelythecc dashboard --port 5747 --no-open as a detached process. Survives shell exit:

✓ Dashboard daemon started (pid 12345)
  URL:    http://127.0.0.1:5747
  Log:    /Users/you/.kodelythecc/dashboard-daemon.log
  Pid:    /Users/you/.kodelythecc/dashboard-daemon.pid
  Stop:   kill $(cat ~/.kodelythecc/dashboard-daemon.pid)

Real daemon. child.unref() releases the reference so Node exits.

Uninstall ECC completely

Opens a 4-choice picker:

Uninstall — remove EVERYTHING including memory
Uninstall — keep ~/.kodelythecc/ memory + ledgers
Dry run — show what would be removed, change nothing
Cancel

See Uninstall for the full removal reference.

Exit

Cleanup + process.exit(0). ANSI cursor restored, raw mode disabled.

Update check

The check hits npm registry directly:

https://registry.npmjs.org/kodelyth-ecc/latest

2.5-second network timeout — never blocks the menu
1-second render deadline — menu shows in <1s even if npm is slow
Result cached to ~/.kodelythecc/update-check.json for 24 hours
Version comparison uses semver-friendly numeric split

Status line at the top shows one of:

State	Display
No update	`up to date` (grey)
Update available	`update available: v2.4.2` (yellow)
Different but not newer	`latest: v2.3.9` (grey)
Still checking	`checking npm registry…` (dim)

Programmatic use

The menu module is exported:

const { main } = require('kodelyth-ecc/scripts/cli/menu.js');
main().catch(console.error);

The update checker is separately available:

const { check } = require('kodelyth-ecc/scripts/cli/update-check.js');
const r = await check({ current: '2.4.1' });
// → { current, latest, updateAvailable, cached }

Environment variables

Var	Effect
`KODELYTH_NO_MENU=1`	Skip menu even in a TTY
`CI=1`	Auto-skips menu (standard CI convention)
`KODELYTH_NONINTERACTIVE=1`	Passed to `install.sh` when the menu triggers an install

Source

bin/kodelyth-ecc.js — TTY-detection entry (lines ~40-50)
scripts/cli/menu.js — raw-mode UI + option dispatch
scripts/cli/update-check.js — npm registry polling with cache
scripts/cli/uninstall.js — full cleanup (called from menu option)

All zero-dependency. Nothing external is required to run the menu.

Interactive CLI — Arrow-Key Menu, Update Check, Background Daemon