Installation

Requirements

• Node.js >= 22

Quick install

Clone the repository and run the interactive installer:

git clone https://github.com/dungle-scrubs/tallow.git
cd tallow
npm install
npm run build
node dist/install.js

The installer walks you through:

1. Scope — install everything or pick individual extension groups and themes.
2. Extension groups — Core Tools, Agent & Delegation, Developer Tools, and UI & Experience. Each group can be enabled or disabled as a unit.
3. Themes — choose which of the 34 built-in themes to include and pick a default.
4. Global binary — optionally run npm link so the tallow command is available everywhere.

When finished the installer creates ~/.tallow/ with your settings.json, a sessions/ directory, and an extensions/ directory for any custom extensions you add later.

Non-interactive install

For CI, scripts, or quick rebuilds, pass --yes (or -y):

node dist/install.js --yes

This rebuilds from source, reinstalls the global binary, and keeps all existing settings untouched. It requires an existing ~/.tallow/ directory — run the interactive installer at least once first.

Upgrading

If tallow is already installed, the installer detects it automatically and offers three options:

Option	What it does
Upgrade in place	Rebuild and reinstall. All settings, sessions, auth, hooks, and packages are preserved.
Reconfigure	Re-run the extension/theme selection flow. Sessions, auth, hooks, and custom extensions are preserved.
Fresh install	Reset settings.json to defaults. Sessions, auth, hooks, and custom extensions are still preserved.

You can also upgrade non-interactively:

cd /path/to/tallow
git pull
node dist/install.js --yes

After installation

# Verify
tallow --version

# Run in any project directory
tallow

Configuration

User configuration lives in ~/.tallow/. Project-local configuration lives in .tallow/ within your project directory.

Path	Purpose
~/.tallow/settings.json	Global settings (theme, disabled extensions, packages)
~/.tallow/auth.json	API keys for model providers
~/.tallow/sessions/	Conversation history
~/.tallow/extensions/	Custom user extensions
~/.tallow/agents/	Custom user agents
~/.tallow/skills/	Custom user skills
~/.tallow/prompts/	Custom user prompts/commands
.tallow/settings.json	Project-local settings (deep-merged over global)
.tallow/extensions/	Project-local extensions
.tallow/agents/	Project-local agents
.tallow/skills/	Project-local skills
.tallow/prompts/	Project-local prompts/commands

CLI reference

tallow                            Interactive mode
tallow -p "Fix the tests"         Single-shot print mode
tallow --continue                 Continue most recent session
tallow --list                     List available sessions
tallow --model claude-sonnet      Use a specific model
tallow --thinking high            Set thinking level
tallow --no-session               In-memory only (no persistence)
tallow --no-extensions            Disable all extensions
tallow -e ./my-ext                Load additional extension
tallow --mode rpc                 RPC mode (for external integrations)
tallow --home                     Print the tallow home directory
tallow install                    Run the interactive installer