Hmbown/CodeWhale v0.9.5

on GitHub

Codewhale is the public product from Shannon Labs. The codewhale
command, npm package, and release-asset names remain lowercase technical
identifiers. The legacy npm package deepseek-tui is deprecated and
receives no further releases. Users coming from v0.8.x legacy deepseek /
deepseek-tui names should migrate with docs/REBRAND.md.

Install

Recommended — npm (one command, both entrypoints)

npm install -g codewhale

The wrapper downloads the matched codewhale and codew command assets
from this Release. Both contain the same compiled runtime.

Docker / GHCR

docker run --rm -it \
  -e DEEPSEEK_API_KEY="$DEEPSEEK_API_KEY" \
  -v codewhale-home:/home/codewhale/.codewhale \
  ghcr.io/hmbown/codewhale:v0.9.5

The image exposes the same runtime as both codewhale and codew. The
latest tag is also updated on release.

Cargo (Linux / macOS)

cargo install codewhale-cli --locked

The Cargo package installs codewhale. Cargo cannot create a second command
alias from one binary target; users who want the shorter spelling can add a
codew symlink to that installed executable. The npm, Homebrew, archive,
shell-installer, and container channels install both command names directly.

Manual download — platform archives (recommended)

Each archive below contains the same runtime under the codewhale and
codew command names, plus an install script:

Unix (Linux / macOS):

tar xzf codewhale-<platform>.tar.gz
cd codewhale-<platform>
./install.sh

Windows:

• For the installer path, run CodeWhaleSetup.exe; it installs
  codewhale.exe and codew.exe under
  %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\CodeWhale\bin and adds that directory to the
  current-user PATH.
• Extract the archive for your machine: codewhale-windows-x64.zip or
  codewhale-windows-arm64.zip
• Run install.bat (copies to %USERPROFILE%\bin)
• Add %USERPROFILE%\bin to your PATH

The portable Windows archive skips the install script — extract and run from any directory. The NSIS installer is currently unsigned and may trigger Windows SmartScreen until a signing certificate is wired into the release pipeline.

Each platform also has bare, unarchived codewhale-<platform> and
codew-<platform> assets. The seven codewhale-tui-<platform> filenames
attached to v0.9.5 are byte-identical compatibility copies used only to let
already-installed v0.9.4 clients discover and cross this single-binary
transition; current installers do not expose a third runtime. The legacy npm
package deepseek-tui is deprecated and is not republished. For migration
from v0.8.x legacy binary names, see docs/REBRAND.md.

Verify (recommended)

Download the checksum manifests from this Release and verify:

# Linux — archive bundles
sha256sum -c codewhale-bundles-sha256.txt --ignore-missing

# Linux — individual binaries
sha256sum -c codewhale-artifacts-sha256.txt --ignore-missing

# macOS
shasum -a 256 -c codewhale-bundles-sha256.txt --ignore-missing
shasum -a 256 -c codewhale-artifacts-sha256.txt --ignore-missing

What's in v0.9.5

Codewhale v0.9.5 consolidates the terminal application into one compiled
runtime while preserving the familiar codewhale and codew commands. It
also expands the managed Runtime API, makes session and Fleet work easier to
inspect and resume, and removes the hidden local continuation backstop that
could end productive work without a final assistant response.

Added

• model = "auto" for prompt-based tier selection: When set, the
  dispatcher analyses the user's prompt before delegating to the TUI and
  selects deepseek-v4-pro for complex tasks or deepseek-v4-flash for simple
  tasks (PR #5257).
• Runtime API controls for persistent goals, bounded memory inspection, MCP
  server and skill lifecycle management, and durable Fleet receipt evidence.
• Append-only session-tree history with /tree, /branch, /fork, and
  /resume, plus /rc remote control and managed login.
• A unified Fleet roster for built-in dispatch postures and a pinned indicator
  that keeps active background work visible above the composer.
• Incremental MCP registry refreshes that return the local snapshot immediately
  and update it in the background.
• Scout and Reviewer agents can use a bounded direct-command evidence shell for
  read-only workspace, Git, and GitHub inspection, and can keep private working
  notes in their own To-do while the durable transcript retains their evidence.

Changed

• codewhale-cli now contains the terminal runtime directly. Release installers
  expose byte-identical codewhale and codew commands without a separate TUI
  executable. The v0.9.5 asset set alone retains deprecated
  codewhale-tui-* filenames as byte-identical compatibility copies so
  installed v0.9.4 clients can discover and complete this upgrade.
• Startup release checks cache successful lookups for one hour. The updater
  downloads and verifies the primary runtime once, then refreshes any existing
  codew or legacy codewhale-tui command paths from the same bytes.
• Headless codewhale exec runs and verifier benchmark rollouts no longer
  impose a 100-step default. --max-turns remains available as an explicit
  opt-in ceiling; Fleet workers retain their separately configured budget.
• Goal token and time budgets are telemetry rather than default stop
  conditions, and automatic goal continuation is unlimited unless the user
  explicitly configures a continuation ceiling.
• Command-palette and slash-completion shadowing now share one alias-aware
  discovery contract.
• The website install guidance, localized product copy, navigation controls,
  social metadata, and Cloudflare build pipeline now describe and deploy the
  same one-runtime release contract.

Fixed

• The hidden 20-step no-user-input backstop no longer ends productive turns.
  Tool results, queued steering, child completions, REPL feedback, and goal
  continuations can all reach the next provider step and a final assistant
  response; explicit user-configured limits and genuine stuck-loop guards remain.
• Complete error details are directly inspectable after a failure instead of
  leaving the terminal with a clipped, unrecoverable error fragment.
• A newly minted OAuth credential is adopted in the same provider-selection
  flow instead of requiring a second picker trip.
• Fresh session titles can replace a stale cached New Session placeholder,
  unknown model context limits fail loudly, and release/source-install fallbacks
  no longer request binaries removed by the single-runtime conversion.

Contributors

• Sh1Zuku (@SparkofSpike) fixed stale
  cached session titles that could pin the New Session placeholder.
• Paulo Aboim Pinto (@aboimpinto) built the
  shared alias-aware command discovery contract and acceptance coverage.
• Sun Zhenyuan (@bistack) contributed the
  background incremental MCP Registry refresh.
• SKY ZHAO (@skyzhao1223) contributed
  prompt-based model = "auto" routing in PR #5257.

See CHANGELOG.md for full notes and docs/CHANGELOG_ARCHIVE.md for older releases.