Full Built-in Shell Context with Native TTY Integration and Cross-Platform (Windows/Unix) Support

[255doesnotexist]

What feature would you like to see?

Currently, kimi-cli provides a basic shell mode that executes commands via asyncio.create_subprocess_shell().
However, this approach has several limitations:

• No persistent shell session context — each command runs independently, losing environment variables, working directory, and shell state. (Though zsh integration works but kimi CLI itself should also got this i hope)

• Built-in commands like cd are not supported

• Disconnected workflow — the shell mode and Kimi CLI’s agent mode are not integrated.

As a result, users must constantly switch between kimi-cli and their native terminal, which breaks workflow continuity and reduces productivity.

Additional information

For Unix/Linux Platforms

• Implement pseudo-terminal (pty) allocation to spawn the user’s default shell ($SHELL, e.g., bash, zsh, fish).
• Maintain a persistent shell session across commands (preserving env, cwd, job control, etc.).
• Support shell-native features like signals, terminal resizing, and history.
• Integrate seamlessly with Kimi’s agent mode, maintaining context between AI and shell

For Windows Platforms

• Add native support for PowerShell Core (pwsh.exe) and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).
• (cmd.exe is never a modern choice, especially this year is 2025...)
• Integrate via the ConPTY API to maintain session persistence.

Provide unified UX across all OSes.

After refining this proposal together with the community, I am ready to work on an another branch and then open a pull request.

[sunheyi6]

There is currently no support for Windows, is that right?

[xiaoju111a]

There is currently no support for Windows, is that right?

Kimi CLI does support Windows!