The harness
meant to be
deleted.

Bash, curl, and the usual base utilities, including tar and a SHA-256 utility. No Git, GitHub CLI, Node, Python, local model, or configured agent. It supports Apple Silicon macOS and x64 or ARM64 Linux. You’ll need an internet connection.

The v0.7.3 native binaries are 638,592 bytes on Apple Silicon, 844,576 bytes on Linux x64, and 790,784 bytes on Linux ARM64. That’s the full uncompressed executable. The Mac download is just 318,119 bytes. See every release size.

Yes. Each launch checks for a newer stable release, verifies the download, and restarts into it. If the check fails, your existing version still runs. Set BAILOUT_NO_UPDATE=1 to opt out.

Yes. Bash can read, create, and edit files using the utilities on your machine. Bailout can repair a config, write a script, and run checks through the same tool. No separate editor or coding agent needs to be installed first.

Bailout itself needs neither. For the tools you’re setting up, you use your own accounts. Login and key entry can happen directly in your terminal, outside the model conversation. Don’t paste credentials into chat.

Bailout selects models automatically. A temporary rate limit gets a short retry; a failing route gives way to another available free model. Completed commands stay completed. Recovery stops after four attempts or two minutes, with a clear error if free capacity is exhausted. Shared quotas and the hosting cutoff still apply. How recovery works.

The hosted service uses free models and shares a limited quota. Availability and model quality vary. Rate limits or the shared hosting cutoff pause requests with a clear message. It never falls back to paid models. Read the limits. You can host your own router for a separate quota.

Bailout runs Bash with your user’s permissions. Commands execute automatically, so it can read and edit files, run programs, and access the network. It is not a sandbox. Use a container or disposable checkout when you want isolation.

Your conversation and captured tool output go through the API to a configured model provider. The guide lists provider routing and data handling. Their data policies apply. Bailout does not save conversations on the server or record prompts in application logs. Keep secrets out of prompts and files the model reads.

Just aggregate totals: binary downloads from GitHub and model requests accepted by the hosted backend. No analytics cookies, installation IDs, location tracking, or extra telemetry calls from the CLI. Downloads include updates and repeat downloads; they aren’t unique users. Requests have been counted since September 17, 2026, including client retries and streams that may fail after starting. The green dots mean the totals are fresh, not that a model is available. Our separate abuse limits use short-lived daily IP hashes. How the counters work.

Because you sometimes need an agent before you can set up your agent—or a working one to repair the one that broke. Bailout is a small, independent way to bridge that gap. Success is getting you back to your normal tools.