Dexter 🤖

Dexter is an autonomous financial research agent that thinks, plans, and learns as it works. It performs analysis using task planning, self-reflection, and real-time market data. Think Claude Code, but built specifically for financial research.

Overview

Dexter takes complex financial questions and turns them into clear, step-by-step research plans. It runs those tasks using live market data, checks its own work, and refines the results until it has a confident, data-backed answer.

Key Capabilities:

• Intelligent Task Planning: Automatically decomposes complex queries into structured research steps
• Autonomous Execution: Selects and executes the right tools to gather financial data
• Self-Validation: Checks its own work and iterates until tasks are complete
• Real-Time Financial Data: Access to income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements
• Safety Features: Built-in loop detection and step limits to prevent runaway execution

Prerequisites

• Bun runtime (v1.0 or higher)
• OpenAI API key (get here)
• Financial Datasets API key (get here)
• Tavily API key (get here) - optional, for web search

Installing Bun

If you don't have Bun installed, you can install it using curl:

macOS/Linux:

curl -fsSL https://bun.com/install | bash

Windows:

powershell -c "irm bun.sh/install.ps1|iex"

After installation, restart your terminal and verify Bun is installed:

bun --version

Installing Dexter

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/virattt/dexter.git
cd dexter

2. Install dependencies with Bun:

bun install

3. Set up your environment variables:

# Copy the example environment file (from parent directory)
cp env.example .env

# Edit .env and add your API keys (if using cloud providers)
# OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key
# ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-anthropic-api-key
# GOOGLE_API_KEY=your-google-api-key

# (Optional) If using Ollama locally
# OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:11434

# Other required keys
# FINANCIAL_DATASETS_API_KEY=your-financial-datasets-api-key
# TAVILY_API_KEY=your-tavily-api-key

Usage

Run Dexter in interactive mode:

bun start

Or with watch mode for development:

bun dev

Example Queries

Try asking Dexter questions like:

• "What was Apple's revenue growth over the last 4 quarters?"
• "Compare Microsoft and Google's operating margins for 2023"
• "Analyze Tesla's cash flow trends over the past year"
• "What is Amazon's debt-to-equity ratio based on recent financials?"

Dexter will automatically:

1. Break down your question into research tasks
2. Fetch the necessary financial data
3. Perform calculations and analysis
4. Provide a comprehensive, data-rich answer

Architecture

Dexter uses a multi-agent architecture with specialized components:

• Planning Agent: Analyzes queries and creates structured task lists
• Action Agent: Selects appropriate tools and executes research steps
• Validation Agent: Verifies task completion and data sufficiency
• Answer Agent: Synthesizes findings into comprehensive responses

Tech Stack

• Runtime: Bun
• UI Framework: React + Ink (terminal UI)
• LLM Integration: LangChain.js with multi-provider support (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google)
• Schema Validation: Zod
• Language: TypeScript

Changing Models

Type /model in the CLI to switch between:

• GPT 4.1 (OpenAI)
• Claude Sonnet 4.5 (Anthropic)
• Gemini 3 (Google)

How to Contribute

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Create a Pull Request

Important: Please keep your pull requests small and focused. This will make it easier to review and merge.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.