Documentation

Everything you need to know to master PorkiCoder — from Agent Mode with Claude Agent SDK to keyboard shortcuts and model support

Agent Mode — Powered by Claude Agent SDK

Agent Mode is PorkiCoder's flagship feature — built on the official @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk. It gives Claude autonomous access to your project filesystem, shell, and the web, while keeping you in control of every file write through human-in-the-loop diff review.

How It Works
Agent Mode uses the Claude Agent SDK to run multi-step tool-use loops:

1. You describe the task — "Refactor the auth module", "Add dark mode", "Fix the failing test". Plain English.

2. The agent plans and acts — Claude autonomously calls tools: Read to understand files, Glob and Grep to search your codebase, Bash to run commands, WebSearch and WebFetch for documentation, and sub-Agent to delegate subtasks.

3. Diff review on every write — When the agent wants to edit or create a file, the change routes through a DiffReviewBridge into a Monaco Diff Editor modal. You see side-by-side diffs and accept or reject each change. Only approved writes are applied.

4. Adaptive thinking — Extended thinking is enabled with thinking deltas streamed live, so you can follow the agent's reasoning as it works through complex tasks.

5. Progress tracking — Toast-style progress cards show planning, tool calls, thinking, and completion events in real time.
Agent Tools
Read — Read any file in your project for context.

Glob — Find files by pattern (e.g., src/**/*.ts).

Grep — Search file contents with regex across your codebase.

Bash — Run shell commands: install packages, run tests, git operations, build steps.

WebSearch — Search the web for documentation, APIs, or error solutions.

WebFetch — Fetch content from URLs for context.

Sub-Agent — Spawn child agents to handle subtasks in parallel.

Edit / Write — File modifications routed through human-in-the-loop diff review.
Human-in-the-Loop Guarantees
Every file write from Agent Mode goes through a blocking async bridge. Only one diff review is shown at a time (serialized queue), with a 5-minute timeout to prevent stalls. The agent pauses until you approve — your codebase is never modified without your explicit consent.
Autopilot Mode NEW in v1.5.6
Trust the agent on routine work? Toggle the shield-check button in the chat header to enable Autopilot Mode. File writes and edits apply automatically without the diff preview modal — but every change still surfaces in the activity toast (with a ⚡ icon to distinguish autopilot writes from reviewed ones), so you stay informed without being interrupted. Your toggle persists across restarts. Works for both Claude Agent SDK and Gemini Agent.
Resumable Sessions
Agent sessions are persisted per thread ID. You can close PorkiCoder, reopen it, and resume a multi-step agent task exactly where you left off — no lost context, no repeated work.
Project Instructions (porki.md)
Drop a porki.md file in your project root and the agent will load it as persistent project-level instructions. Use it to describe your codebase conventions, architecture, key files, and preferences — the agent reads it before every task so it always has the right context.
Preview Error Auto-Send
When your Live Preview hits a runtime error, PorkiCoder automatically sends the error to the AI so it can diagnose and fix the issue — no more copy-pasting stack traces.
Pro Tip
Agent Mode works best when you give it clear, scoped tasks. For broad refactors, the agent will use sub-agents to parallelize work. You can also attach elements (images, files) directly into the chat for richer context alongside whatever the agent discovers on its own.

Publish-to-Web

Premium users can publish any project as a live site at <name>.porkicoder.com — directly from the IDE with one click.

How It Works
1. Choose a subdomain — Pick a name and your site goes live at <name>.porkicoder.com.

2. One-click deploy — PorkiCoder uploads your project's public files to the server automatically.

3. Instant updates — Re-publish anytime to push changes live.
Details
Premium feature — Available to all paid subscribers at no extra cost.

Static sites — Supports HTML, CSS, JS, and static assets. Perfect for portfolios, demos, and prototypes.

Automatic provisioning — Subdomain routing and HTTPS are handled for you.
Pro Tip
Combine Publish-to-Web with Agent Mode — ask the agent to build a landing page, then publish it live without leaving PorkiCoder.

Live Preview

Live Preview lets you see your project running directly inside PorkiCoder without leaving the editor. Click the preview button to launch your project on a local port (19100–19110) and start working visually.

Smart Project Detection
PorkiCoder automatically detects your project type and picks the best preview strategy:

Vite projects — Uses Vite's native dev server with full HMR support.

Dev command projects — Next.js, Nuxt, CRA, and others run via npm run dev with auto port detection.

Static sites — Served with a built-in HTTP server and WebSocket-based live reload.
Key Features
Auto-reload — File changes trigger instant browser refresh, debounced for rapid multi-file saves from the AI agent.

Framework-aware — Detects package managers (npm, yarn, pnpm, bun) and respects each framework's conventions.

Graceful fallback — If Vite or a dev command fails, PorkiCoder falls back to static serving automatically.

Zero config — No setup required. Open a project, hit preview, and it works.
Pro Tip
Live Preview works seamlessly with Agent Mode. When the agent modifies files, the preview auto-reloads so you can see changes in real time without switching windows.

Terminal

PorkiCoder's built-in terminal supports up to 6 concurrent sessions — perfect for running multiple Claude Code instances, dev servers, and build tools side by side.

Multi-Session Management
Each terminal session gets its own tab with a cyberpunk color palette (6 auto-assigned colors) and a colored left border strip for quick visual identification.

Activity indicators — Background tabs show a pulsing green dot when receiving output; turns amber 2 seconds after output stops; clears when the tab is focused.

Tab renaming — Double-click any tab title to inline-edit the name. Names persist across sessions via electron-store.

Quick Claude Code launch — The robot button (Cmd+Shift+C) creates a new named "claude" tab and starts the CLI automatically.
Split View & Chat Bridge
Multi-Panel Split View — Toggle the split view button to show all terminals in a CSS grid (up to 3 columns). The active terminal is highlighted with its tab color. Click any panel to focus it.

Send to Chat — Captures the active terminal's recent output (or current selection) and pre-fills it as a code block in the chat input.

@terminal mention — Type @terminal in the chat input for autocomplete that injects the terminal buffer as inline context to the LLM.

Detach / Reattach — Pop any terminal into a separate window and bring it back. All features (split view, activity dots) work in detached windows too.
Terminal Keyboard Shortcuts
Cmd+1-9 — Switch to terminal tab 1–9 (when terminal is focused; switches models when chat is focused).

Cmd+Shift+[ / Cmd+Shift+] — Cycle to previous / next terminal tab.

Cmd+Shift+C — Quick-launch a new Claude Code session.

Understanding Hog Mode vs Normie Mode

PorkiCoder offers two powerful modes for applying AI-generated changes to your codebase. Choose the right mode for your task to maximize efficiency and accuracy.

Normie Mode
Best for: Your daily driver, now excels at multi-file edits.

Normie Mode uses highly precise blocks with and tags to seamlessly apply diff-based edits across multiple files in a single pass. Compatible with Claude, Gemini, and Codex models.
Hog Mode
Best for: Really complex files that require full rewrites or special attention.

Hog Mode provides complete file replacements by returning the entire file content with an absolute path header. It handles all the files you can feed it, making it perfect for major refactoring or generating entirely new files.
Pro Tip
Use Normie Mode as your daily driver for targeted edits and multi-file changes. Switch to Hog Mode for complex files that need complete rewrites or special attention where diffs might struggle.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Master these shortcuts to navigate PorkiCoder like a pro:

  • CMD + M Toggle between Hog Mode and Normie Mode
  • CMD + 1 Switch to Model 1 (cycle through available models)
  • CMD + 2 Switch to Model 2 (cycle through available models)
  • CMD + N Switch to Model N (cycle through available models)
  • CMD + W Toggle web search (available on all models)
  • CMD + ↑ Increase effort level (Low → Medium → High → Max)
  • CMD + ↓ Decrease effort level (Max → High → Medium → Low)
  • CMD + SHIFT + C Quick-launch a new Claude Code terminal session
  • CMD + SHIFT + [ Previous terminal tab
  • CMD + SHIFT + ] Next terminal tab
Web Search & Effort Controls
Web search is now available across all models from OpenAI, Gemini, and Anthropic. Use CMD + W to toggle it on or off.

All models also support Low, Medium, High, and Max effort settings. The current level is displayed as green bars in chatview. Use CMD + ↑ and CMD + ↓ to adjust effort from the keyboard.

AI Model Support

PorkiCoder supports multiple AI providers and models, giving you the flexibility to choose the best tool for each task.

  • Hog Mode: Works with a wider selection of models across multiple providers.
  • Normie Mode: Fully supports Claude, Gemini, and Codex families for precise multi-file edits.
  • Web Search: Available on all models — OpenAI, Gemini, Anthropic, and more.
  • Effort Controls: All models support Low, Medium, High, and Max effort settings, shown as green bars in chatview.
  • Quick Switching: Use CMD + 1, CMD + 2, etc. to cycle through your configured models instantly.
Model Compatibility
Different models excel at different tasks. Experiment with various models to find what works best for your specific use case. Some models are faster, others are more accurate, and some handle specific programming languages better.

Getting Started

Before you can start coding with AI, you'll need to configure your API keys. PorkiCoder is a Bring Your Own API Key solution.

  • Open the Settings Modal (usually accessible from the menu or toolbar)
  • Add your API keys for the providers you want to use (Anthropic, Google, etc.)
  • You only pay a flat $20/month for the IDE
  • All API usage costs are directly between you and your provider - no markups!
Transparent Pricing
We charge a simple $20/month flat fee for the IDE. Your API usage is your own cost. This means you save 15-20% compared to other AI coding tools that markup your API costs. What you see on your provider's bill is what you pay - no hidden fees, ever.

Tips & Best Practices

  • Use Normie Mode as your daily driver for most edits, including precise multi-file changes.
  • Use Hog Mode for complex files that require full rewrites or special attention.
  • Switch models frequently - different models have different strengths.
  • Enable web search (CMD + W) on any model when working with recent frameworks or documentation.
  • Use CMD + ↑ / ↓ to quickly adjust effort level — higher effort = more thorough (and more costly) responses.
  • Always provide full context in your prompts for better results.
  • Review AI-generated changes before applying them to your codebase.
  • Keep your API keys secure and never share them.