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Starting Devin CLI

By default, sessions happen in a REPL, a graphical terminal interface where you can chat back and forth and observe Devin’s actions.
Use -- before your prompt so it is interpreted as a prompt and not a subcommand.
Single-turn mode (-p) is great for scripts and automations.
Type @ in the prompt input to open autocomplete for local files/directories. Selecting one adds it as context for your message.
You can paste images from your clipboard with Ctrl+V. Attached images appear in the input area and can be managed with Left/Right to navigate and Backspace to remove.

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Running shell commands

Devin may run shell commands while working. If a command is still running after the default wait period, Devin moves it to the background and shows how long it waited along with the background shell ID. Devin can then continue working and check the command’s output later.

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Modes

Devin CLI has 4 built-in permission modes: Normal, Accept Edits, Bypass, and Autonomous, and 3 agent-modes: Normal, Plan, and Ask. For plan and ask, use /plan and /ask.

Normal

Auto-approves read-only tools within the current directory, and asks for permission for write/execute operations.
This is the default mode.
Auto-approves file edits within the workspace while still prompting for shell commands and other actions. We expect people to spend most of their time here.
Auto-approves all tool calls, including writes and shell commands.
You can also start in bypass mode:
Aliases: /yolo, /dangerous
Bypass mode never overrides organization-level permissions configured by your admin via Team Settings. Admin-enforced deny and ask rules always take priority.
Roughly equivalent to Accept Edits in the current workspace, with the additional ability to run any shell command within an OS-level sandbox (to contain what those commands can actually touch).
Autonomous is the only permission mode available when running with --sandbox, and it is selected automatically — Normal, Accept Edits, and Bypass are hidden in sandbox sessions.In Autonomous mode…
  • You are prompted for capabilities rather than commands.
    • Commands respect the Write and Read scopes via a filesystem sandbox.
    • Commands prompt you when they try to connect to network resources.
  • Read-only operations within the current directory auto-approve.
Autonomous relies on the sandbox for safety. Without --sandbox, the mode is unavailable — use Bypass if you want unattended execution without OS-level isolation. See Bypass vs Autonomous below for a direct comparison.

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Bypass vs Autonomous

Bypass and Autonomous both reduce approval prompts, but they rely on different safety mechanisms: Pick Bypass when you trust the agent with your whole machine. Pick --sandbox (which selects Autonomous) when you want unattended execution with OS-enforced limits on what files and domains the agent can touch. If you like the feel of bypass but want the agent to have its own computer, try cloud Devin!

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Session History

Your conversation history is saved so you can resume a session later.

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Slash Commands

You can use these commands while in an active session.
You can also type exit or quit as plain text (without the / prefix) to exit.

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Mode Switching

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Model Switching

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Session Management

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Workspace

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Automation

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Extensibility

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Account & System

If you installed Devin for Terminal via Homebrew, /update will direct you to use brew upgrade devin instead of performing a self-update.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Here are the most important keyboard shortcuts. See Keyboard Shortcuts for more shortcuts.