- TUI Mode
- Headless Mode
TUI Mode (
cn command) is for large development tasks that require
agentic workflows with human oversight. Perfect for complex refactors,
feature implementation, or one-off automation tasks that need monitoring and
iteration.TUI Mode: Large Development Tasks
Make sure you have Continue CLI installed and are in a project directory.Example: Implementing a New Feature
Example: Complex Refactoring
When to Use TUI Mode
β Large development tasks that need oversightβ Complex refactors requiring multiple steps
β New feature implementation with unknowns
β One-off automation tasks you havenβt done before
β Debugging complex issues that need exploration
Headless Mode: Automated Workflows
Once youβve refined a workflow in TUI Mode, convert it to Continuous AI for automation.Example: From REPL β Continuous AI
Step 1: Develop in TUI ModeCommon Continuous AI Workflows
When to Use Headless Mode
β Proven workflows youβve tested in TUI Modeβ Repetitive tasks that no longer need oversight
β CI/CD automation in pipelines
β Git hooks for automated checks
β Scheduled tasks that run unattended
Tool Permission Differences Between ModesTools requiring user confirmation (βaskβ permission) like
writeFile and runTerminalCommand are:- Available in TUI mode - AI can use them with your approval
- Excluded in headless mode - AI cannot see or call them
Available Slash Commands
Common slash commands available in CLI:/clear- Clear the chat history/compact- Summarize chat history into a compact form/config- Switch configuration or organization/exit- Exit the chat/fork- Start a forked chat session from the current history/help- Show help message/info- Show session information/init- Create an AGENTS.md file/login- Authenticate with your account/logout- Sign out of your current session/mcp- Manage MCP server connections/model- Switch between available chat models/resume- Resume a previous chat session/whoami- Check who youβre currently logged in as
Use
/help to see all available commands.The Development Workflow
Recommended Approach: Start complex tasks in TUI Mode to iterate and
refine your approach. Once you have a reliable workflow, convert it to
Headless Mode for automation.
Workflow Pattern
-
π¬ Experiment in TUI Mode
- Try complex development tasks with human oversight
- Iterate on prompts and approaches until they work reliably
- Test edge cases and refine the agentβs behavior
-
β‘ Automate with Continuous AI
- Convert proven REPL workflows to single commands
- Deploy in CI/CD, git hooks, or scheduled tasks
- Run with confidence knowing the approach is tested