TUI Commands

The TUI supports vim-style : commands for runtime configuration and control. Type : at the beginning of a line to enter command mode.

Quick Reference

Command	Description
:set option=value	Set configuration option
:set option?	Query current value
:set option??	Show modification history
:set option!	Toggle boolean option
:set option&	Reset to default
:set	Show modified options
:set all	Show all options
:model	Open model picker
:model <name>	Switch to model
:session list	List sessions
:session load <id>	Load session
:quit / :q	Exit chat
:help	Show help

The :set Command

Crucible’s :set command follows Vim conventions for runtime configuration.

Setting Values

:set option=value       # Set string/number option
:set option:value       # Alternative syntax
:set option value       # Space-separated (if unambiguous)

Examples:

:set model=claude-3-5-sonnet
:set thinkingbudget=8000
:set temperature=0.7

Boolean Options

:set option             # Enable boolean option
:set nooption           # Disable boolean option (prefix with 'no')
:set option!            # Toggle option
:set invoption          # Toggle option (alternative)

Examples:

:set thinking           # Enable thinking display
:set nothinking         # Disable thinking display
:set verbose!           # Toggle verbose mode

Querying Values

:set option?            # Show current value
:set option??           # Show modification history
:set                    # Show all modified options
:set all                # Show all options with values

Resetting Values

:set option&            # Reset to default value
:set option^            # Pop one modification (undo last change)

Available Options

Model & Provider

Option	Type	Description
model	string	Current LLM model (e.g., claude-3-5-sonnet, gpt-4o)
provider	string	LLM provider (ollama, openai, anthropic)

Thinking / Reasoning

Option	Type	Description
thinking	bool	Show thinking/reasoning tokens in UI
thinkingbudget	number/preset	Token budget for extended thinking

Thinking Budget Presets:

Preset	Tokens	Description
off	0	Disable extended thinking
minimal	512	Brief reasoning
low	1024	Light reasoning
medium	4096	Moderate reasoning
high	8192	Thorough reasoning
max	unlimited	Maximum reasoning

Examples:

:set thinkingbudget=4096        # Set exact token count
:set thinkingbudget=high        # Use preset
:set thinkingbudget=off         # Disable thinking

Display

Option	Type	Description
theme	string	Syntax highlighting theme
verbose	bool	Verbose output mode

Generation

Option	Type	Description
temperature	float	Response randomness (0.0 - 2.0)
maxtokens	number	Maximum response tokens

The :model Command

Switch models at runtime:

:model                  # Open model picker popup
:model <name>           # Switch directly to model

The model picker shows available models from your configured provider. Navigate with arrow keys, select with Enter.

Examples:

:model claude-3-5-sonnet
:model gpt-4o
:model llama3.2

Model changes persist for the session and sync to the daemon (if using daemon mode).

Session Commands

Manage chat sessions:

:session list           # Show available sessions
:session load <id>      # Resume existing session
:session new            # Start new session

Sessions auto-save and can be resumed across TUI restarts.

Other Commands

:quit                   # Exit chat (alias: :q)
:help                   # Show help
:clear                  # Clear conversation (start fresh)
:palette                # Open command palette

Configuration Layers

The :set command modifies a runtime overlay on top of your base configuration:

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│  :set commands (runtime)    │ ← Highest priority
├─────────────────────────────┤
│  Environment variables      │
├─────────────────────────────┤
│  ~/.config/crucible/        │
│  config.toml (user)         │
├─────────────────────────────┤
│  Built-in defaults          │ ← Lowest priority
└─────────────────────────────┘

Runtime changes do not persist to config files. They last for the current session only.

Modification Tracking

Use :set option?? to see where a value came from:

:set thinkingbudget??
# Output:
# thinkingbudget = 8192
#   [Command] 8192 (2025-01-20 14:30:00)
#   [File] 4096 (base config)

Option Shortcuts

Some options have short aliases:

Shortcut	Full Path
model	llm.providers.{provider}.default_model
thinking	(virtual, TUI-only)
thinkingbudget	llm.thinking_budget
theme	cli.highlighting.theme
verbose	cli.verbose

Examples

Quick Model Switch

:model gpt-4o

Enable Extended Thinking

:set thinking
:set thinkingbudget=high

Check Current Config

:set model?
:set thinkingbudget?

Reset to Defaults

:set thinkingbudget&
:set temperature&

Debug Configuration

:set all                # See everything
:set                    # See what you changed
:set model??            # See modification history

See Also

• Index — TUI overview
• Keybindings — Keyboard shortcuts
• Sessions — Session management
• Configuration — Config file reference
• llm — LLM provider configuration