Quick Start

1. Configure a provider

mew needs at least one LLM provider. The easiest way is to set an API key as an environment variable:

export MEW_CRED_OPENCODE_ZEN="sk-..."

Or create a ~/.config/mew/config.toml. See Configuration for the full reference.

2. Start a chat

mew

This opens the TUI. The layout has three areas:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  status bar: model · provider · context      │
├──────────────────────────────────┬───────────┤
│                                  │  sidebar  │
│  chat                            │           │
│                                  │  session  │
│  > your messages                 │  todos    │
│  assistant responses             │  changes  │
│  tool call cards                 │           │
│                                  │           │
├──────────────────────────────────┴───────────┤
│  input bar (type your prompt here)           │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

• Status bar (top): shows the current model, provider, and context window usage.
• Sidebar (right): the current session at the top, then live activity (todos, subagents, background jobs, file changes) as it happens. Press Ctrl+1 to expand the Environment section (loaded context files, MCP servers).
• Chat (center): messages stream in as the model responds. Tool calls appear as cards with their input and output.
• Input bar (bottom): type your prompt and press Enter.

Type a prompt and press Enter. The response streams in as it’s generated.

3. One-shot mode

For quick prompts without the TUI:

mew run "explain what this project does"

This runs a single turn, prints the response, and exits. Useful for scripting and quick questions.

4. Switch models

Inside the TUI, press Ctrl+Space to open the command palette, then select “Switch Model”. Or use the slash command:

/model deepseek-v4-flash

The model picker shows available models from your configured providers and the built-in catalog. See Providers for the full list.

5. Set thinking variant

For models that support configurable reasoning:

/thinking high

Or use Ctrl+Space and select “Thinking Variant”. Press Ctrl+Alt+P repeatedly to cycle through available options. See Providers for which models support which variants.

6. Cancel a stream

Press Esc twice to cancel the current response. The first Esc shows a hint in the status bar (“esc again to stop agent”). The second cancels immediately.

7. Review costs

/cost

Shows accumulated token counts and estimated cost for the session.

Where to go next

• Slash Commands: full command reference
• Keyboard Shortcuts: all TUI keybindings
• Tips & Tricks: power-user features and workflows
• Permissions: how tool approval works