Bringing an AI Coding Assistant to Life in the Terminal
The author created an animated companion, 'Oh My Kira', that lives in the terminal and reacts to the user's coding sessions with Claude, an AI coding assistant.
Why it matters
This project demonstrates a novel approach to humanizing the interaction with an AI coding assistant, making the experience more engaging and personalized for the user.
Key Points
- 1Oh My Kira is a terminal renderer that displays an animated companion next to the user's code
- 2The companion has animated sprites, live stat bars, XP and evolution, speech bubbles, and streak tracking
- 3The renderer watches a JSON state file updated by the Claude Buddy plugin and adapts the visuals accordingly
- 4The project is built with Node.js and uses the Kitty graphics protocol to render images directly in the terminal
Details
The author was dissatisfied with the 'clinical' interaction of using an AI coding assistant like Claude, which only provides text-based responses. To address this, they created Oh My Kira, a terminal-based companion that visually reacts to the user's coding sessions. Oh My Kira displays an animated sprite that changes based on the user's activity, such as working, being happy, or experiencing errors. It also includes live stat bars for hunger, happiness, energy, and hygiene, as well as XP tracking and speech bubbles with random thoughts. The renderer watches a JSON state file updated by the Claude Buddy plugin and adapts the visuals accordingly, working within a single terminal pane without the need for a browser or Electron. The project is built with Node.js and uses the Kitty graphics protocol to render images directly in the terminal. The companion's appearance can be customized through 'art packs' - directories of spritesheets with a configuration file.
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