Agentic CLI Tools: Coding Without an Editor

For some developers, the IDE is a distraction. The terminal is home. In 2025, the terminal got a major upgrade with Agentic CLI Tools. These aren't just command runners; they are autonomous coding partners that can edit files, run tests, and manage git.

1. Aider

The Open Source Leader

Aider is the gold standard for CLI agents. It's open-source, fast, and incredibly powerful. It works with almost any LLM (Claude, GPT-4, Gemini) and integrates seamlessly with git.

Why it Vibes: It treats git commits as "save points." If it messes up, it can undo. It writes sensible commit messages for you.
Power Move: aider --architect mode lets it plan complex changes before touching a single line of code.

2. Claude Code (Anthropic)

The Direct Line to Claude

Claude Code is Anthropic's official CLI. It brings the reasoning power of Claude 3.5/3.7 directly to your file system. It's designed to be "Unix-y," meaning it pipes well with other tools.

Why it Vibes: It has a "memory" of your project structure. It feels like talking to a senior engineer who knows the codebase.
Power Move: It can run tests, read the error output, and fix the code in a loop until the tests pass.

3. Jules (Google)

The Async Teammate

Jules is different. It's designed to be asynchronous. You assign it a task (like "update dependencies" or "refactor this module"), and it goes away to a cloud VM to do the work. It comes back with a Pull Request.

Why it Vibes: It doesn't block your terminal. It works in the background while you do deep work.
Power Move: Assign it a task on Friday, come back to a finished PR on Monday.

4. Codex (OpenAI)

The Unified Platform

Codex is OpenAI's unified agentic platform. It blurs the line between CLI and web, offering a seamless experience across terminal, web, and even mobile. It's built for real-time collaboration and deep repo understanding.

Why it Vibes: It follows you everywhere. Start a task in the terminal, check it on your phone, finish it on the web.
Power Move: Real-time collaboration with the agent and other humans in the same session.

5. Goose

The Extensible Agent

Goose is built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This means it's highly extensible. You can plug it into almost anything—databases, browser automation, or custom internal tools.

Why it Vibes: It's a hacker's tool. You can script it and mold it to your specific workflow.
Power Move: Use it to automate not just coding, but dev-ops and deployment tasks.

Conclusion

CLI agents are perfect for:

Refactoring: "Rename this variable everywhere and update the tests."
Maintenance: "Upgrade packages and fix breaking changes."
Features: "Add a new API endpoint for user login."

If you haven't tried coding from the terminal with an agent, give Aider a spin. It might just change your workflow forever.