Overview

Complete guide to using NikCLI for AI-assisted development

What is NikCLI?

NikCLI is a revolutionary autonomous AI development assistant that transforms how you approach software development. It combines the power of advanced AI models with deep project understanding to provide intelligent, context-aware assistance for your development workflow.

Autonomous Development

AI agents that can work independently on complex development tasks

Context Awareness

Deep understanding of your project structure, patterns, and conventions

Multi-Agent System

Specialized agents working together for optimal results

Natural Language

Communicate with AI using natural language, just like with a human developer

Core Interaction Modes

NikCLI offers three primary modes of interaction, each optimized for different development scenarios:

1. Chat Mode (Default)

Interactive conversational development with real-time feedback.

> Create a responsive navigation component with mobile menu
🔍 Analyzing project structure...
📁 Found React TypeScript project
🎯 Creating navigation component...
✏️  Writing NavBar.tsx...
📱 Adding mobile responsive styles...
✅ Component created successfully

Best for:

• Learning and experimentation
• Step-by-step development
• Code review and debugging
• Quick modifications

2. Autonomous Mode

AI works independently on complex tasks with minimal supervision.

> /autonomous
> Build a complete user authentication system with JWT tokens

🤖 Autonomous mode activated
📋 Planning authentication system...
   ├── User model and database schema
   ├── JWT token generation and validation
   ├── Registration and login endpoints
   ├── Authentication middleware
   ├── Frontend login/register forms
   └── Integration tests

🚀 Executing plan...
[AI proceeds to implement the entire system]

Best for:

• Large feature implementations
• Repetitive tasks
• Boilerplate generation
• System-wide refactoring

3. Planning Mode

Collaborative planning and review before implementation.

> /plan
> Implement real-time chat functionality

📋 Creating implementation plan...

## Plan: Real-time Chat Implementation

### 1. Backend Infrastructure
- Set up WebSocket server with Socket.io
- Create message model and database schema
- Implement room-based chat logic

### 2. Frontend Components
- Create chat interface components
- Implement real-time message display
- Add typing indicators and online status

### 3. Integration & Testing
- Connect frontend to WebSocket server
- Add error handling and reconnection logic
- Write integration tests

Do you want to proceed with this plan? (y/n)

Best for:

• Complex feature planning
• Architecture decisions
• Team collaboration
• Learning AI’s approach

Key Features and Capabilities

Intelligent Project Understanding

NikCLI automatically analyzes your project to understand:

Technology Stack Detection

• Frameworks: React, Vue, Angular, Express, Fastify, etc.
• Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Go, etc.
• Tools: Webpack, Vite, ESLint, Prettier, etc.
• Databases: MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, etc.

Code Patterns and Conventions

• Component structure and naming conventions
• State management patterns (Redux, Zustand, Context)
• API design patterns (REST, GraphQL)
• Testing approaches and frameworks

Project Architecture

• Folder organization and structure
• Module boundaries and dependencies
• Configuration files and settings
• Build and deployment pipelines

Advanced Code Generation

NikCLI generates production-ready code that follows your project’s patterns:

React Components

// Generated based on your project's patterns
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';
import { Input } from '@/components/ui/input';
import { useAuthStore } from '@/stores/auth';

export interface LoginFormProps {
  onSuccess?: () => void;
  className?: string;
}

export const LoginForm: React.FC<LoginFormProps> = ({
  onSuccess,
  className = ''
}) => {
  // Implementation follows your existing patterns
};

Multi-Agent Orchestration

Different specialized agents work together on complex tasks:

Workflow Patterns

Feature Development Workflow

1. Requirements Analysis

   > Implement user profile management with avatar upload
   

   NikCLI analyzes the requirement and breaks it down into components.

2. Architecture Planning

   📋 Planning user profile system...
   ├── Frontend: Profile form and avatar upload
   ├── Backend: User profile API endpoints
   ├── Storage: File upload handling
   └── Database: Profile schema updates
   

3. Implementation

   NikCLI implements each component while maintaining consistency across the stack.

4. Testing & Validation

   🧪 Running tests...
   ✅ Frontend tests passed
   ✅ API tests passed
   ✅ Integration tests passed
   

5. Documentation & Cleanup

   NikCLI updates documentation and ensures code quality.

Bug Fix Workflow

1. Issue Analysis

   > The user search is not working properly when filtering by role
   

   NikCLI analyzes the codebase to understand the search implementation.

2. Root Cause Identification

   🔍 Found issue in user.service.ts:42
   Role filter is not being applied to the database query
   

3. Fix Implementation

   NikCLI implements the fix while ensuring no regression.

4. Testing

   NikCLI runs tests and may add new test cases to prevent regression.

Refactoring Workflow

1. Code Analysis

   > Refactor the authentication system to use a more secure approach
   

2. Impact Assessment

   NikCLI analyzes all files that would be affected by the refactoring.

3. Gradual Migration

   NikCLI implements changes incrementally to maintain functionality.

4. Validation

   All tests pass and functionality is preserved.

Best Practices

Effective Communication

Be Specific

Good: “Create a React hook for managing form state with validation for email and password fields”

Better: “Create a useForm hook that validates email format and password strength, with real-time feedback”

Provide Context

Good: “Add authentication”

Better: “Add JWT-based authentication to our Express API, compatible with our existing user model”

Reference Existing Code

Example: “Create a component similar to UserCard.tsx but for displaying product information”

Specify Constraints

Example: “Implement this feature without adding new dependencies to package.json”

Code Quality Guidelines

Follow Project Conventions

NikCLI automatically adapts to your project’s patterns, but you can explicitly request adherence:

> Create a new API endpoint following our existing error handling patterns
> Use the same styling approach as our other components
> Follow the repository pattern used in UserRepository.ts

Request Code Reviews

> Show me the changes before implementing
> Create a plan first, then implement after I approve
> Explain the approach you'll take for this refactoring

Ensure Test Coverage

> Implement this feature with comprehensive unit tests
> Add integration tests for this API endpoint
> Include edge case testing for the validation logic

Security Considerations

NikCLI includes built-in security policies and best practices:

Safe Command Execution

• Restricted command allowlist
• Path-based access controls
• Approval required for sensitive operations

Code Security

• Input validation and sanitization
• SQL injection prevention
• XSS protection in generated code

API Security

• Secure API key storage
• Token-based authentication
• Rate limiting implementation

File System Safety

• Restricted file access
• Backup creation for critical files
• Version control integration

Common Use Cases

Development Scenarios

New Feature

> Add a blog system to our website with CRUD operations, 
  categories, and search functionality

What NikCLI does:

• Creates database models
• Implements API endpoints
• Builds frontend components
• Adds routing and navigation
• Includes comprehensive testing

Performance and Efficiency

Token Management

NikCLI automatically manages AI model token usage:

• Context Compression: Intelligently summarizes conversation history
• Relevant Context: Only includes pertinent project information
• Caching: Reuses analysis results for similar requests
• Streaming: Real-time response generation for faster interaction

Parallel Processing

For complex tasks, NikCLI can work on multiple components simultaneously:

🔄 Working on user authentication system...
├── 🔄 Creating user model (Backend Agent)
├── 🔄 Building login form (Frontend Agent)  
├── 🔄 Setting up JWT middleware (Backend Agent)
└── 🔄 Adding auth routing (Frontend Agent)

Next Steps

Chat Interface

Learn the ins and outs of NikCLI’s conversational interface

Autonomous Mode

Master autonomous development for complex tasks

Workflow Patterns

Discover proven patterns for different development scenarios

CLI Commands

Complete reference for all available commands

NikCLI becomes more effective as it learns your project patterns and preferences. The more you use it within a project, the better it understands your coding style and conventions.