# Autohand Code CLI Integration

AVELIN API is compatible with [Autohand Code CLI](https://autohand.dev) — billed as the world's fastest open code CLI.

Autohand is built around a single obsession: minimizing the time between your prompt and the first token hitting your terminal. Every architectural decision — connection pooling, streaming pipeline, context selection — is optimized for raw speed. Where other agents spend seconds on initialization and context gathering before you see anything, Autohand starts streaming almost immediately. This makes it ideal for rapid-fire iteration loops where you're making dozens of small edits per session. If you've ever felt like your coding agent is "thinking too long" before responding, Autohand was built to eliminate that wait.

> **Why AVELIN + Autohand Code CLI?** Access AVELIN's frontier coding models with 1M-token context windows, automatic failover, and ~100 tps throughput through a single OpenAI-compatible endpoint.

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## Quick Setup

### Step 1: Get your AVELIN API key

Sign up at [avelin.ai](https://avelin.ai) and generate an API key. It will look like `sk-ave...xxxx`.

### Step 2: Install Autohand Code CLI

Refer to [Autohand Code CLI documentation](https://autohand.dev) for installation instructions.

### Step 3: Configure AVELIN

Set AVELIN as your LLM provider. Most tools support OpenAI-compatible endpoints via environment variables or config files:

```bash
export OPENAI_API_BASE=https://api.avelin.ai/v1
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-avelin-YOUR_KEY
```

Common config file pattern:

```yaml
provider: openai
api_base: https://api.avelin.ai/v1
api_key: sk-ave...xxxx
model: avelin-coding-pro
```

### Step 4: Select your model

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## Recommended Models

### Primary: `avelin-coding-pro`

| Feature | avelin-coding-pro | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| **Context window** | **1M tokens** | Full codebase awareness without truncation |
| **Max output** | **65K tokens** | Large multi-file diffs and refactors |
| **Throughput** | **~100 tokens/sec** | 2x faster — tighter edit loops |
| **Reasoning** | Deep step-by-step | Understands cross-file dependencies |
| **Tool calling** | First-class | Reliable structured edits |

### Alternatives

| Model | When to use |
|---|---|
| `avelin-coding-fast` | Lighter tasks, quick questions — lower cost |
| `avelin-coding-ultra` | System design, architecture reviews |
| `avelin-fast` | Quick lookups, simple fixes — lowest cost, fastest response |
| `avelin-agentic-ultra` | Complex multi-step agent workflows |

---

## Why AVELIN for Autohand Code CLI?

- **1M context windows**: Large codebases fit without aggressive exclusions
- **Prompt caching**: ~80% reduction on repeated system prompts and repo-maps
- **Automatic failover**: Coding sessions keep running if a provider is down
- **Model diversity**: Multiple frontier models through one API

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## Troubleshooting

| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| **"Model not found"** | Prefix model with `openai/` if required |
| **"API key invalid"** | Check key starts with `sk-ave` and base URL is `https://api.avelin.ai/v1` |
| **Slow responses** | Try `avelin-fast` for simpler tasks |
| **Context overflow** | Reduce context or switch to `avelin-coding-pro` (1M) |

---

## Related

- [API Quickstart](../../api/quickstart.md) — First API call in 5 minutes
- [Aider Guide](aider.md) — Popular terminal coding tool
- [Claude Code Guide](claude-code.md) — Anthropic's CLI coding tool
- [Model Catalog](../../models/README.md) — Full comparison
- [Autohand Code CLI Documentation](https://autohand.dev) — Official docs