Streaming

Clawdius supports real-time streaming of LLM responses for immediate feedback.

Overview

Instead of waiting for the full response, streaming delivers tokens as they are generated. This provides a responsive experience, especially for long-running responses.

Stream JSON Mode

Use the stream-json output format for real-time processing:

clawdius chat -f stream-json

Each line in the output is a self-contained JSON object containing a token or status update. This is suitable for piping to other tools or processing in real time.

Output Formats

Usage Examples

Standard Streaming

clawdius chat "explain this code"
# Response streams token by token in the TUI

JSON Output

clawdius chat "explain this code" -f json
# Complete response as JSON after generation finishes

Stream JSON for Scripts

clawdius chat "analyze code" -f stream-json | jq '.content'
# Process tokens in real time

Programmatic Consumption

# Pipe to a file
clawdius chat "generate docs" -f json -o response.json

# Watch mode for continuous output
clawdius chat "monitor" -f stream-json

Performance

Streaming uses zero-copy patterns for efficient data transfer:

• Tokens are emitted as soon as they arrive from the LLM
• No buffering delay between the provider and the terminal
• The TUI renders at 60 FPS using ratatui

Headless Streaming

In headless mode (no TUI), streaming output goes to stdout:

clawdius --no-tui
# Type a message, see tokens stream to stdout

Metrics Output

Metrics also support streaming/watch mode:

clawdius metrics --watch
clawdius metrics -f json --watch