WorkerMill CLI

AI coding agent with multi-expert orchestration. Works with any LLM provider.

The lightweight, zero-setup version of WorkerMill — the open-source orchestration platform for AI coding agents. Same multi-expert engine, directly in your terminal. No server, no Docker, no account.

Works with Ollama (fully local), Anthropic, OpenAI, Google.

Quick Start

npx workermill

First run launches a setup wizard — pick providers for workers, planner, and reviewer independently. Ollama is auto-detected (including WSL). Config saved to ~/.workermill/cli.json.

Install

# Run without installing
npx workermill

# Or install globally
npm install -g workermill
workermill

# Check your setup
wm doctor

Usage

# Interactive chat
workermill

# Skip permission prompts
workermill --trust

# Read-only research mode
workermill --plan

# Resume last conversation
workermill --resume

# Override provider/model
workermill --provider anthropic --model claude-sonnet-4-6

# Cap output tokens
workermill --max-tokens 4096

# Then use /build inside the CLI for multi-expert orchestration
# /build spec.md
# /build REST API with auth, React dashboard, Docker

Features

• Multi-expert orchestration — /build decomposes tasks into stories, each assigned to a specialist persona
• Role-based model routing — Different models for workers, planner, and reviewer (e.g., Ollama for workers, Gemini for planning, Claude for review)
• 13 built-in tools — bash, read_file, write_file, edit_file, patch, glob, grep, ls, fetch, git, web_search, todo, sub_agent
• WORKERMILL.md — Project instructions file read by all agents. Also supports CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules
• MCP servers — Connect external tools via Model Context Protocol
• Hooks — Pre/post tool execution hooks for linting, formatting, etc.
• Custom commands — Drop .md files in .workermill/commands/ for custom slash commands
• Persistent learnings — ::learning:: markers saved across sessions
• @mentions — @file.ts inlines code, @dir/ inlines tree, @https://url fetches content, @image.png sends multimodal
• Code review — Tech lead reads actual code diffs, with configurable revision cycles
• Bash guardrails — Blocks destructive commands and writes outside the project directory
• Permissions — Tab to cycle: Allow → Deny → Always allow → Trust all
• Session management — Persistent conversations with resume
• Cost tracking — Live in status bar with per-model pricing
• Auto-update — Notifies when a newer version is available

Commands

Shortcuts: !command runs shell directly, ESC cancels, ESC ESC rolls back last exchange, Shift+Tab cycles permission mode, Ctrl+C Ctrl+C exits.

Multi-Expert Orchestration

/build triggers multi-expert mode:

1. Plans — Explores the codebase, designs stories as scope labels with dependencies and persona assignments. Workers receive the full original spec — the planner scopes, not rewrites.
2. Executes — Each story assigned to a specialist persona. Workers see ## Ticket Requirements — THIS IS YOUR SPEC with your full task, plus their file scope.
3. Reviews — Tech lead reviews actual code with a 3-tier decision: approved, revision_needed, or rejected. Bias toward approval — cosmetic issues don't block. Quality score (1-10) is informational.
4. Revises — If revision needed, only affected stories re-run with per-story feedback from the reviewer.
5. Commits — Stages changes and commits (with your approval).

For single-expert tasks, use /as <persona> <task> — runs one expert with the full tool set and their specialized prompt.

Use /retry to re-plan the same task — the planner sees existing code and fills gaps.

Configuration

Files

Example Config

{
  "providers": {
    "ollama": {
      "model": "qwen3-coder:30b",
      "host": "http://localhost:11434",
      "contextLength": 65536
    },
    "anthropic": {
      "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
      "apiKey": "{env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}"
    },
    "google": {
      "model": "gemini-3.1-pro-preview",
      "apiKey": "{env:GOOGLE_API_KEY}"
    }
  },
  "default": "ollama",
  "routing": {
    "planner": "google",
    "tech_lead": "anthropic"
  },
  "review": {
    "enabled": true,
    "maxRevisions": 3
  },
  "hooks": {
    "post": [
      { "command": "npx eslint --fix", "tools": ["write_file", "edit_file"] }
    ]
  },
  "mcp": {
    "my-server": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "my-mcp-server"] }
  }
}

Settings

Change settings at runtime with /settings:

12 Expert Personas

Use /personas to list all available personas. Use /as <persona> <task> to run a task with a specific expert.

Custom personas: add .workermill/personas/my_persona.md to your project or ~/.workermill/personas/ globally. Project personas override built-ins with the same name.

Requirements

• Node.js 20+
• An LLM provider (Ollama for local, or an API key for cloud providers)

License

MIT