What does "Chanto" mean?
ちゃんと (chanto) is Japanese for "properly", as in a job done properly. That's the aim: an agent that does the job properly: fast, light on your machine, and dependable through long sessions.
Is it free?
Yes. Chanto is open source under the Apache License 2.0 and needs no account. You pay only your model provider, or nothing if you run a local model.
Which models does it work with?
Local models through Ollama, llama.cpp, vLLM or any OpenAI-compatible server;
hosted APIs such as Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, Gemini and DeepSeek; your
ChatGPT plan; and your company's Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI or Azure
account. Switch with /model. See Models.
Does my code leave my machine?
Only to the model provider you pick. With a local model, nothing about your
project leaves the machine. Apart from that, Chanto makes two small requests
to chanto.sh, at most once a day each: a check for new releases and a price
list. Neither sends prompts, keys or project data, and CHANTO_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1
turns both off. Feedback is sent only when you choose to, after you've seen
exactly what's in it, and automatic error reports are off unless you opt in.
I already use Claude Code or Codex. Do I have to set things up again?
No. Chanto reads your Claude Code and Codex settings as they are: permission
rules, hooks, MCP servers, skills, commands, subagents and instruction files
like CLAUDE.md. chanto doctor shows what it picked up and from where.
How is it different from Claude Code or Codex?
It runs any model, including small local ones; it's light on CPU and memory
(see the benchmarks);
and with --verify it runs your project's checks before it calls a task done.
Which platforms does it run on?
macOS, Linux and Windows, on arm64 and x86_64 (Windows on x64). See Install.
Is it safe to let it run commands?
Commands run in a sandbox that limits what they can write, and risky ones wait
for your approval. Known secrets are kept out of the model's context, and
/rewind undoes a turn. See Sandbox and
Permission modes.
How do I report a bug or ask for a feature?
Open an issue on GitHub, or use
/feedback from inside Chanto. Report security problems privately: see the
security policy.