Show HN: Sidekick, an open source Claude Code alternative
a year ago
- #open-source
- #CLI
- #AI-tool
- Sidekick is an agentic CLI-based AI tool, an open-source alternative to Claude Code, Copilot, Windsurf, and Cursor.
- Features include no vendor lock-in, MCP support, undo functionality, model switching, JIT-style system prompt injection, per-project guides, CLI-first design, cost and token tracking, and more.
- Installation is via pip: `pip install sidekick-cli`.
- Configuration file is saved at `~/.config/sidekick.json` after initial setup.
- Supports Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for extended capabilities.
- Includes commands like `/help`, `/clear`, `/compact`, `/model`, `/undo`, `/dump`, and `exit`.
- Project guides can be specified in a `SIDEKICK.md` file in the project root.
- Uses Sentry for error tracking and analytics, which can be disabled with `--no-telemetry` flag.
- Development setup includes cloning the repo, installing dependencies, and running tests with `make` commands.
- Licensed under MIT.