Installation

Jawcode (jwc) runs on Node.js 18+ and works best with Bun as the runtime. Choose any install method below.

Bun (recommended)

The fastest path. One command, globally available:

bun install -g jawcode

This installs the jwc binary globally. Verify:

jwc --version

npm (alternative)

npm install -g jawcode

From source

Clone and build from the repository for the latest development version:

git clone https://github.com/lidge-jun/jawcode.git
cd jawcode
bun run setup

bun run setup runs bun install, bootstraps ~/.cli-jaw/ (skills, settings, prompts), and installs bundled defaults (themes, keybindings, workflow skills). Override the home location with CLI_JAW_HOME.

Run directly from source:

bun packages/jwc/bin/jwc.js --version

Or link globally:

bun link
jwc --version

Updating a source build

git pull && bun run setup

This pulls the latest code, reinstalls dependencies, and propagates any updated defaults.

Requirements

Provider API keys

Jawcode needs at least one LLM provider key. Set it as an environment variable before running:

# Pick one (or more)
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."    # Anthropic Claude
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."           # OpenAI GPT
export GEMINI_API_KEY="..."              # Google Gemini
export XAI_API_KEY="..."                 # xAI Grok
export GROQ_API_KEY="..."               # Groq

See Environment Variables for the full list of 46 supported providers.

Verify the installation

# Check version
jwc --version

# Run smoke test (validates runtime, tools, provider connectivity)
jwc --smoke-test

# List available models for your configured providers
jwc --list-models

Uninstall

# npm global
npm uninstall -g jawcode

# Source build — just remove the cloned directory
rm -rf jawcode

Next steps

Installation done? Head to the Quick Start to run your first session.