frond

about

frond 🌿 -- TUI LLM chat client with branching and complete context control, built in Rust.

idea

1. full context control

   • you choose what the LLM sees. edit, hide, reorder messages. switch roles (user/assistant), split or merge messages.

2. flexible, branchable conversations

   • fork from anywhere. explore side paths without losing the main thread. flow data in and out easily. remix and reuse.

3. structured thinking space

   • you see the full picture: folders → dialogues → trees → branches → messages. context for the llm stays tight, but you don’t lose the broader map.

why?

interacting with LLMs is powerful — to learn, code, brainstorm, write — but most clients limit how you manage the conversation.

usual web apps:

• let you edit only user messages (not agent)
• always auto-branch on edit
• don't show token count
• silently drop old messages
• hard to navigate or search past chats

frond gives you:

• full context control (edit anything, reorder, hide, split/merge, switch roles)
• clear token usage
• branching, folders, tags
• full edit history and checkpoints
• proper search (by folder/dialogue/branch/message, filtered by tag etc.)

it’s also fast, and TUI makes it easy to pass folder structures, files, or other context to the LLM.

heavily inspired by zed’s text threads — but zed has no branching or extensive history organization features, and web UIs don’t give you this level of control.

features

• core
  • fully editable context (user and assistant messages)
    • switch roles, split/merge messages, reorder
  • branching conversations
    • fork from any message, navigate trees and branches
  • token count per branch
    • know how much context you’re sending
• editing & history
  • ctrl+z / ctrl+shift+z for undo/redo
  • per-message edit history (if not last)
  • full tree history (snapshots / checkpoints)
  • clone, detach, attach branches
  • save trees or branches to new dialogue
  • import or mention other dialogues/trees/branches/messages
• commands & input
  • special commands: /file, /tree, /prompt, /now, /fetch
  • support for images/files (not just text)
  • paste folding (large blocks, syntax-aware)
  • syntax highlighting (markdown and code)
  • copy sections between ``` and ```
• organization
  • saved trees and branches
    • pins, tags + folder-based organization
  • create a dialogue from folder/tag
    • shows as multiple orphaned trees
  • trash system (per tree, branch, or full dialogue)
  • my prompts (reusable prompt library)
• navigation & ui
  • search by folder, dialogue, branch, message
    • filter by tag, search contents or titles
  • live updates across sessions
    • editing one view updates others (sqlite-based)
  • gui tabs & windows (planned)
    • tui is split-friendly already, gui will support tabbed workflows
• context visibility
  • hide messages from llm (for notes or pruning)
    • keeps them in tree, out of prompt
  • optional links/mentions (reference other trees/branches, not sent to llm)
• later ideas
  • RAG (chat with documents)
  • mcps and agentic capabilities (multi-chain or planner support)