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Daniil Volkov
Daniil Volkov

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I built an open-source developer forum you can use from your terminal

#showdev #cli #webdev #github

What would a developer forum look like inside your terminal?

I’m building Devdevian, an open-source forum with a browser app and an interactive CLI. You can ask questions, share code for review, reply to discussions, and follow conversations from either client.

Same account. Same conversations. Same community permissions.

Here’s a short demo:

A forum inside your editor

Run Devdevian in the VS Code integrated terminal or your usual terminal window. The CLI has a live interface with keyboard navigation, search, an inbox, writing forms, and publication previews.

Devdevian CLI showing a code review workspace with demonstration data

You can select a file from your current project, choose a line range or local Git diff, and ask other developers for feedback.

Only the content you select and confirm is published.

From a GitHub PR to a conversation

The latest CLI alpha adds a workflow I’m particularly excited about:

  1. Open a public GitHub pull request.
  2. Browse its changed files and inspect a diff.
  3. Select a complete hunk or a contiguous range of hunks.
  4. Add a question or explain what you want reviewed.
  5. Preview and publish a Devdevian code review.

Other developers can discuss the selected code, and you can continue the same conversation in the browser.

The review preserves the file and base/head commit context. Feedback comes from other developers.

GitHub integration currently reads public PRs only. It does not post comments or submit reviews back to GitHub.

Try it

You’ll need Node.js 24 or newer:

npm install -g @tenyokjs/devdevian-cli@alpha
devdevian tui
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Authorize the terminal through your browser when prompted.

You can also use devdevian open to launch a separate terminal window on supported systems, or devdevian --help to explore the commands.

CLI installation and documentation

What else is there?

The browser and terminal clients also support:

  • Questions, discussions, code reviews, and Show & tell.
  • Threaded replies and accepted answers.
  • Private communities with approved membership.
  • Projects and events.
  • Subscriptions and in-app notifications.

The terminal workspace includes themes, accent colors, layout preferences, and local drafts.

Early, open source, and looking for feedback

The CLI is currently 0.10.0-alpha.1. Rough edges are expected, and private GitHub repositories and offline synchronization are not supported yet.

Devdevian is licensed under GPL-3.0-only. I’m developing it with assistance from OpenAI Codex, and contributions through the repository’s guidelines are welcome.

I’m looking for the first developers willing to try a real question or a small code review.

What would make a terminal forum useful enough for you to keep installed?

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