Crush Development Guide
Project Overview
Crush is a terminal-based AI coding assistant built in Go by Charm. It connects to LLMs and gives them tools to read, write, and execute code. It supports multiple providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Bedrock, Copilot, Hyper, MiniMax, Vercel, and more), integrates with LSPs for code intelligence, and supports extensibility via MCP servers and agent skills.
The module path is github.com/charmbracelet/crush.
Architecture
main.go CLI entry point (cobra via internal/cmd)
internal/
app/app.go Top-level wiring: DB, config, agents, LSP, MCP, events
cmd/ CLI commands (root, run, login, models, stats, sessions)
config/
config.go Config struct, context file paths, agent definitions
load.go crush.json loading and validation
provider.go Provider configuration and model resolution
agent/
agent.go SessionAgent: runs LLM conversations per session
coordinator.go Coordinator: manages named agents ("coder", "task")
prompts.go Loads Go-template system prompts
templates/ System prompt templates (coder.md.tpl, task.md.tpl, etc.)
tools/ All built-in tools (bash, edit, view, grep, glob, etc.)
mcp/ MCP client integration
session/session.go Session CRUD backed by SQLite
message/ Message model and content types
db/ SQLite via sqlc, with migrations
sql/ Raw SQL queries (consumed by sqlc)
migrations/ Schema migrations
lsp/ LSP client manager, auto-discovery, on-demand startup
ui/ Bubble Tea v2 TUI (see internal/ui/AGENTS.md)
permission/ Tool permission checking and allow-lists
skills/ Skill file discovery and loading
shell/ Bash command execution with background job support
event/ Telemetry (PostHog)
pubsub/ Internal pub/sub for cross-component messaging
filetracker/ Tracks files touched per session
history/ Prompt history
Key Dependency Roles
charm.land/fantasy: LLM provider abstraction layer. Handles protocol differences between Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, etc. Used ininternal/appandinternal/agent.charm.land/bubbletea/v2: TUI framework powering the interactive UI.charm.land/lipgloss/v2: Terminal styling.charm.land/glamour/v2: Markdown rendering in the terminal.charm.land/catwalk: Snapshot/golden-file testing for TUI components.sqlc: Generates Go code from SQL queries ininternal/db/sql/.
Key Patterns
- Config is a Service: accessed via
config.Service, not global state. - Tools are self-documenting: each tool has a
.goimplementation and a.mddescription file ininternal/agent/tools/. - System prompts are Go templates:
internal/agent/templates/*.md.tplwith runtime data injected. - Context files: Crush reads AGENTS.md, CRUSH.md, CLAUDE.md, GEMINI.md
(and
.localvariants) from the working directory for project-specific instructions. - Persistence: SQLite + sqlc. All queries live in
internal/db/sql/, generated code ininternal/db/. Migrations ininternal/db/migrations/. - Pub/sub:
internal/pubsubfor decoupled communication between agent, UI, and services. - CGO disabled: builds with
CGO_ENABLED=0andGOEXPERIMENT=greenteagc.
Build/Test/Lint Commands
- Build:
go build .orgo run . - Test:
task testorgo test ./...(run single test:go test ./internal/llm/prompt -run TestGetContextFromPaths) - Update Golden Files:
go test ./... -update(regenerates.goldenfiles when test output changes)- Update specific package:
go test ./internal/tui/components/core -update(in this case, we're updating "core")
- Update specific package:
- Lint:
task lint:fix - Format:
task fmt(gofumpt -w .) - Modernize:
task modernize(runsmodernizewhich makes code simplifications) - Dev:
task dev(runs with profiling enabled)
Code Style Guidelines
- Imports: Use
goimportsformatting, group stdlib, external, internal packages. - Formatting: Use gofumpt (stricter than gofmt), enabled in golangci-lint.
- Naming: Standard Go conventions — PascalCase for exported, camelCase for unexported.
- Types: Prefer explicit types, use type aliases for clarity (e.g.,
type AgentName string). - Error handling: Return errors explicitly, use
fmt.Errorffor wrapping. - Context: Always pass
context.Contextas first parameter for operations. - Interfaces: Define interfaces in consuming packages, keep them small and focused.
- Structs: Use struct embedding for composition, group related fields.
- Constants: Use typed constants with iota for enums, group in const blocks.
- Testing: Use testify's
requirepackage, parallel tests witht.Parallel(),t.SetEnv()to set environment variables. Always uset.Tempdir()when in need of a temporary directory. This directory does not need to be removed. - JSON tags: Use snake_case for JSON field names.
- File permissions: Use octal notation (0o755, 0o644) for file permissions.
- Log messages: Log messages must start with a capital letter (e.g.,
"Failed to save session" not "failed to save session").
- This is enforced by
task lint:logwhich runs as part oftask lint.
- This is enforced by
- Comments: End comments in periods unless comments are at the end of the line.
Testing with Mock Providers
When writing tests that involve provider configurations, use the mock providers to avoid API calls:
func TestYourFunction(t *testing.T) {
// Enable mock providers for testing
originalUseMock := config.UseMockProviders
config.UseMockProviders = true
defer func() {
config.UseMockProviders = originalUseMock
config.ResetProviders()
}()
// Reset providers to ensure fresh mock data
config.ResetProviders()
// Your test code here - providers will now return mock data
providers := config.Providers()
// ... test logic
}
Formatting
- ALWAYS format any Go code you write.
- First, try
gofumpt -w .. - If
gofumptis not available, usegoimports. - If
goimportsis not available, usegofmt. - You can also use
task fmtto rungofumpt -w .on the entire project, as long asgofumptis on thePATH.
- First, try
Comments
- Comments that live on their own lines should start with capital letters and end with periods. Wrap comments at 78 columns.
Committing
- ALWAYS use semantic commits (
fix:,feat:,chore:,refactor:,docs:,sec:, etc). - Try to keep commits to one line, not including your attribution. Only use multi-line commits when additional context is truly necessary.
Working on the TUI (UI)
Anytime you need to work on the TUI, read internal/ui/AGENTS.md before
starting work.