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Globally installable as `toby`. v0.1.0(1mo ago)00[1 PRs](https://github.com/artisan-build/tobias/pulls)MITPHPPHP ^8.4 Since Jun 3Pushed 1mo agoCompare [ Source](https://github.com/artisan-build/tobias)[ Packagist](https://packagist.org/packages/artisan-build/tobias)[ Docs](https://github.com/artisan-build/tobias)[ RSS](/packages/artisan-build-tobias/feed)WikiDiscussions main Synced 1w ago READMEChangelog (1)Dependencies (12)Versions (3)Used By (0) [![Tobias — an Artisan Build experiment](art/toby_edit.png)](art/toby_edit.png) *An experimental agentic coding assistant for the terminal — built in the open, using pure PHP, unfinished on purpose.* [![Latest Version on Packagist](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/d115c5e1ad691661f3794de18441432773521121d0bcb1ff31235f8eedea1a81/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f7061636b61676973742f762f6172746973616e2d6275696c642f746f626961732e7376673f7374796c653d666c61742d737175617265)](https://packagist.org/packages/artisan-build/tobias) [![PHP Version](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/d73cbc202a957f93c50b259a28ce9038fdef3ff8c7724f1f93d217bd9009e6df/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f7061636b61676973742f7068702d762f6172746973616e2d6275696c642f746f626961732e7376673f7374796c653d666c61742d737175617265)](https://packagist.org/packages/artisan-build/tobias) [![License](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/d016d864b94bbea9e1c14ff0132f644673cc3d7a863fda91e9a30d7c55654a8f/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f7061636b61676973742f6c2f6172746973616e2d6275696c642f746f626961732e7376673f7374796c653d666c61742d737175617265)](LICENSE) --- > **Heads up — this is a learning exercise, not a product.**Tobias (Toby to friends) is an experiment in building an agent *platform* in PHP. It is early, it is rough, and that's the point: it exists so we can learn how far Laravel, [Prism](https://github.com/prism-php/prism), and an async terminal UI can be pushed toward a real coding agent. How good it gets depends on the models *and* the architecture — and figuring out which is which is half the fun. Use it to tinker, not to ship. What it is ---------- [](#what-it-is) Tobias is a full-screen terminal UI (TUI) coding agent. It's **modal, like vim** — you drive it from a NORMAL mode and drop into INSERT to type or a `:`COMMAND line to run commands. It runs **multiple chat sessions in parallel**, talks to **both hosted and locally-run models** through Prism, and can read, write, and edit files in your project. It installs globally as the `toby`binary. It's built as a *platform* — the providers, tools, slash-commands, and UI components are all pluggable pieces, with deliberate empty sockets where more will go. Most of the interesting work is still ahead of it (see [Roadmap](#roadmap)). [![The Tobias TUI — sessions, conversation, context, and the keyboard-shortcuts overlay](art/screengrab.png)](art/screengrab.png) How it's built -------------- [](#how-its-built) PieceWhat it does**laravel-zero**The application framework and `toby` binary.**Prism**Provider orchestration — one API across hosted and local models.**Parfait**[`artisan-build/parfait`](https://github.com/artisan-build/parfait) — the component-based TUI rendering library.**ReactPHP**A non-blocking event loop drives keystrokes through an `AsyncPrompt`, so the terminal never freezes while the agent thinks.**Resonance**Optional Pusher/WebSocket layer for real-time collaboration — dormant until a channel is connected.The agent itself lives under `app/Console/Prompts/Code` — provider adapters, file tools, slash-commands, and session management, each in its own small, swappable class. Requirements ------------ [](#requirements) - PHP **8.4+** (required by `artisan-build/resonance`) - `ext-mbstring`, `ext-intl` Installation ------------ [](#installation) ### Global [](#global) ``` composer global require artisan-build/tobias ``` Make sure your global Composer `bin` directory is on your `PATH`(`~/.composer/vendor/bin` or `~/.config/composer/vendor/bin`), then run `toby`. > To track the bleeding edge instead of tagged releases, install `dev-main`straight from the GitHub repo: > > ``` > composer global require artisan-build/tobias:dev-main > ``` ### Local (development) [](#local-development) ``` git clone https://github.com/artisan-build/tobias cd tobias composer install ./toby ``` Configuration ------------- [](#configuration) Tobias reads provider credentials from the environment. Set keys for the providers you use — in your shell profile for global use, or a `.env` for local development (copy `.env.example`). You can switch providers from inside the app. ``` export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-... export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... export GEMINI_API_KEY=... # Local models need no key — just point at the server: export LMSTUDIO_URL=http://127.0.0.1:1234/v1 export OLLAMA_URL=http://localhost:11434 ``` Prism is configured in `config/prism.php` and recognizes a wide range of providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Mistral, Groq, xAI, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, Ollama, LM Studio, and more). The in-app provider switcher currently wires up **Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, and LM Studio** — adding the rest is a matter of dropping a small adapter into `app/Console/Prompts/Code/Providers`. Usage ----- [](#usage) ``` toby # launch the assistant (default command) toby code # the same thing, explicitly toby list # show all commands ``` ### Modal editing (like vim) [](#modal-editing-like-vim) Tobias has three modes. The current one shows in the status bar (`NORMAL` / `INSERT` / `COMMAND`). - **NORMAL** — the default. Navigate and act with single keys: - `i` enter INSERT · `:` enter COMMAND · `?` help · `q` quit - `Tab` / `Shift-Tab` move between panels · `Ctrl-P` command palette - `j` / `k` move the cursor, `l` select, `G` jump to bottom (panel-aware, vim-style) · `~` / `@` attach a file reference - `Enter` sends the current message - **INSERT** — type your message. `Esc` returns to NORMAL (then `Enter` sends). - **COMMAND** — a `:` command line. For example, `:model ` switches the active model. `Esc` cancels. ### Slash-commands [](#slash-commands) From the message line: `/help`, `/new`, `/sessions`, `/resume`, `/save`, `/clear`, `/context`, `/quit`. ### Tools [](#tools) The agent has file tools — `list_files`, `read_file`, `write_file`, `update_file` — and a guarded `run_bash` that asks for approval before it runs anything. Roadmap ------- [](#roadmap) Tobias is a sketch of an agent platform, not a finished one. The empty sockets we most want to fill: - **Migrate onto the core Laravel AI package** (still orchestrated through Prism). - **Persist sessions in SQLite** instead of holding them only in memory. - **Embeddings for smart auto-compaction & RAG** over long sessions and the codebase. - **Fully async I/O** via the ReactPHP PSR-18 browser, so *nothing* — model calls, tools, network — ever blocks the terminal loop. - **Stronger tools** (richer editing, search, project-aware actions). - **A real test suite** — boot/command-registration, provider, and tool coverage. - Maybe **session branching**. Undecided — opinions welcome. If any of that sounds fun to hack on, that's exactly what this repo is for. A note on the persona --------------------- [](#a-note-on-the-persona) Toby thinks of itself as a PHP programmer in the Laravel ecosystem — terse, honest about tradeoffs, and quick to say "it depends." It's built and maintained by [Artisan Build](https://artisan.build) ([Len Woodward / ProjektGopher](https://github.com/ProjektGopher)and Ed Grosvenor / MaybeEdward). License ------- [](#license) MIT ### Health Score 35 — LowBetter than 77% of packages Maintenance90 Actively maintained with recent releases Popularity0 Limited adoption so far Community2 Small or concentrated contributor base Maturity42 Maturing project, gaining track record How is this calculated?**Maintenance (25%)** — Last commit recency, latest release date, and issue-to-star ratio. Uses a 2-year decay window. **Popularity (30%)** — Total and monthly downloads, GitHub stars, and forks. Logarithmic scaling prevents top-heavy scores. **Community (15%)** — Contributors, dependents, forks, watchers, and maintainers. Measures real ecosystem engagement. **Maturity (30%)** — Project age, version count, PHP version support, and release stability. ### Release Activity Cadence Unknown Total 1 Last Release 51d ago ### Community Maintainers ![](https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/63312522f1920cf5b3c34ea474511a484162b36166a33ae4b9fde6c65ab2c2fc?d=identicon)[ProjektGopher](/maintainers/ProjektGopher) --- Tags cliconsoleailaravel-zeroAgentcodingtui ### Code Quality TestsPest Code StyleLaravel Pint ### Embed Badge ![Health badge](/badges/artisan-build-tobias/health.svg) ``` [![Health](https://phpackages.com/badges/artisan-build-tobias/health.svg)](https://phpackages.com/packages/artisan-build-tobias) ``` ### Alternatives [ccxt/ccxt A cryptocurrency trading API with more than 100 exchanges in JavaScript / TypeScript / Python / C# / PHP / Go 43.2k341.0k1](/packages/ccxt-ccxt)[nunomaduro/collision Cli error handling for console/command-line PHP applications. 4.7k357.7M11.5k](/packages/nunomaduro-collision)[laravel/ai The official AI SDK for Laravel. 1.0k3.2M246](/packages/laravel-ai)[mehrancodes/laravel-harbor A CLI tool to Quickly create On-Demand preview environment for your apps. 10097.5k](/packages/mehrancodes-laravel-harbor)[rector/rector-src Instant Upgrade and Automated Refactoring of any PHP code 136406.3k14](/packages/rector-rector-src)[whatsdiff/whatsdiff See what's changed in your project's dependencies 771.2k](/packages/whatsdiff-whatsdiff) PHPackages © 2026 [Directory](/)[Categories](/categories)[Trending](/trending)[Changelog](/changelog)[Analyze](/analyze)