mnemosyne-systems/orangu

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 11RustAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((orangu))
    Inputs
      Local llama.cpp server
      Workspace directory
      Slash commands
    Outputs
      Streamed chat replies
      File edits
      Shell command runs
    Use Cases
      Offline coding chat
      Git-like workflow in TUI
      Local model dev loop
    Tech Stack
      Rust
      cargo
      llama.cpp

mindmap root((orangu)) Inputs Local llama.cpp server Workspace directory Slash commands Outputs Streamed chat replies File edits Shell command runs Use Cases Offline coding chat Git-like workflow in TUI Local model dev loop Tech Stack Rust cargo llama.cpp

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Run a coding chat assistant fully offline against a local llama.cpp model

USE CASE 2

Use slash commands like /commit and /diff to do git work without leaving the chat

USE CASE 3

Point orangu at a project tree and let it read, edit, and run shell commands

USE CASE 4

Try a Rust-built TUI client with any OpenAI-compatible server endpoint

What is it built with?

Rustcargollama.cpp

How does it compare?

	mnemosyne-systems/orangu	2arons/agent-git	aursen-labs/spume
Stars	11	11	11
Language	Rust	Rust	Rust
Setup difficulty	moderate	easy	moderate
Complexity	3/5	3/5	3/5
Audience	developer	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 1h+

Need to clone, cargo build, install llama.cpp, and download a model before orangu can do anything.

GPL v3 means you can use and modify it, but if you distribute a changed version you must share the source under the same license.

In plain English

orangu is a coding assistant that lives in your terminal and talks to a language model running on your own machine. It is built in Rust and is designed to work with OpenAI-compatible servers, with special attention paid to llama.cpp, which is a popular project for running open-weight models locally. The name is a nod to the orangutan, described in the README as the smartest ape. Once llama.cpp and a model have been downloaded, orangu does not need an internet connection. The program is workspace-aware, meaning it has tools for reading files, editing them, listing them, fetching content, and running shell commands inside a project directory you choose. By default it works on the current directory, but you can point it at another tree with a --workspace flag. The terminal interface has a persistent header showing the workspace, server, and model status, with a streaming footer that displays tokens per second when the model is producing output. You can scroll through history, use Tab completion, queue commands while a response is still arriving, and cancel a request with a double Escape. A long list of slash commands is provided for git-like and file operations, including /commit, /push, /pull, /rebase, /merge, /checkout, /squash, /diff, /log, /show_file, and /open_file. Natural-language aliases like commit "my message", push, or open README.md are also recognised. Installation involves cloning the repo and building with cargo. A sample configuration file is shipped in doc/etc/orangu.conf. The project has been tested on Fedora 44 and is released under the GPL v3.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Walk me through building orangu from source with cargo on Fedora

Prompt 2

Show me how to configure orangu in doc/etc/orangu.conf to point at a llama.cpp server

Prompt 3

List orangu slash commands grouped by git, file, and shell categories with one-line summaries

Prompt 4

Compare orangu to aider for a fully-offline coding workflow with a local model

Prompt 5

Suggest a model that runs well in llama.cpp for use with orangu on a 16GB laptop

Frequently asked questions

What is orangu?

Terminal coding assistant written in Rust that talks to a local OpenAI-compatible server like llama.cpp, with workspace tools, slash commands, and a streaming TUI.

What language is orangu written in?

Mainly Rust. The stack also includes Rust, cargo, llama.cpp.

What license does orangu use?

GPL v3 means you can use and modify it, but if you distribute a changed version you must share the source under the same license.

How hard is orangu to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 1h+ to a first successful run.

Who is orangu for?

Mainly developer.

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