https://github.com/rpodgorny/agentcat
Universal stream formatter for AI coding agent output. Pipes NDJSON from Claude Code, pi.dev, Gemini CLI, and Codex CLI into rich, human-friendly terminal output.
https://github.com/rpodgorny/agentcat
ai ai-agents claude-code cli codex developer-tools formatter gemini ndjson rust terminal
Last synced: 3 days ago
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Universal stream formatter for AI coding agent output. Pipes NDJSON from Claude Code, pi.dev, Gemini CLI, and Codex CLI into rich, human-friendly terminal output.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/rpodgorny/agentcat
- Owner: rpodgorny
- License: gpl-3.0
- Created: 2026-03-12T08:09:25.000Z (4 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-04-10T08:24:35.000Z (3 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-06-30T17:05:08.097Z (7 days ago)
- Topics: ai, ai-agents, claude-code, cli, codex, developer-tools, formatter, gemini, ndjson, rust, terminal
- Language: Rust
- Homepage: https://crates.io/crates/agentcat
- Size: 115 KB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 1
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
# agentcat
A universal stream formatter for AI coding agent output. Pipe NDJSON streams from multiple AI agent CLIs through agentcat to get rich, human-friendly terminal output with colors, emojis, spinners, and structured formatting.
## Supported agents
- **Claude Code** — `claude -p ... --output-format stream-json --verbose --include-partial-messages`
- **pi.dev** — `pi --mode json ...`
- **Gemini CLI** — `gemini -o stream-json -p ...`
- **Codex CLI** — `codex exec --json ...`
- **OpenCode** — `opencode run --format json ...`
The input format is auto-detected from the first JSON line, or can be forced with `--format`.
## Usage
```bash
# Claude Code
claude -p "analyze src/main.rs" --output-format stream-json --verbose --include-partial-messages | agentcat
# pi.dev
pi --mode json "refactor the code" | agentcat
# Gemini CLI
gemini -o stream-json -p "explain this function" | agentcat
# Codex CLI
codex exec --json "write tests" | agentcat
# OpenCode
opencode run --format json "say hello" | agentcat
# Show extended thinking blocks
claude -p "complex task" --output-format stream-json --verbose --include-partial-messages | agentcat --show-thinking
```
## Options
```
agentcat [OPTIONS]
--show-thinking Show extended thinking blocks
--no-emoji Disable emoji output
--no-color Disable ANSI color output
--format Force input format (claude|pi|gemini|codex|opencode)
--version Print version
--help Print help
```
The `NO_COLOR` environment variable is also respected.
## What it shows
- Session info (agent type, model, session ID)
- Streaming text responses with live updates
- Tool execution with animated per-tool spinners and elapsed time
- Extended thinking blocks (with `--show-thinking`)
- Token usage, cost, and timing statistics
- Error context and warnings
## Installation
### From crates.io
```bash
cargo install agentcat
```
### From source
```bash
git clone https://github.com/rpodgorny/agentcat.git
cd agentcat
cargo build --release
# binary is at target/release/agentcat
```
### Arch Linux (AUR)
```bash
yay -S agentcat-git
```
## Exit codes
| Code | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| 0 | Success |
| 1 | Agent reported failure |
| 2 | Parse error, empty stdin, or unrecognized format |
## Similar projects
All known similar tools are Claude Code specific:
- [claude-stream-format](https://github.com/jemmyw/claude-stream-format) — Rust CLI for formatting Claude Code JSON streams
- [claude-clean](https://github.com/ariel-frischer/claude-clean) — Go CLI with multiple output styles (boxed, compact, minimal, plain)
- [format-claude-stream](https://github.com/Khan/format-claude-stream) — TypeScript CLI by Khan Academy, also usable as a library
- [claude-stream-json-parser](https://github.com/shibuido/claude-stream-json-parser) — Rust library and CLI for parsing Claude Code stream-json output
agentcat is the only tool we know of that supports multiple agent formats (Claude Code, pi.dev, Gemini CLI, Codex, OpenCode) under a single unified interface.