hardbeat920/monocode

MonoCode – a desktop UI for AI coding agents

What it is

• MonoCode is a native desktop application (macOS, Linux, Windows) that lets you talk to a variety of coding‑agent services – Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, Grok Build, OpenCode, Antigravity, Pi, omp, fx, Hermes Agent, etc. It provides a graphical “composer” where you type a prompt, and the chosen agent runs in a tab‑like session.
• The app does not host the models itself; it simply forwards your request to the provider you have already logged into via their CLI tools. No token‑selling or API‑key handling is done by MonoCode.

How you use it

1. Install a provider CLI (e.g. claude auth login, codex login, grok login, …) and stay logged in.
2. Download MonoCode for your OS (DMG, AppImage/DEB/RPM, or NSIS installer) or build it from source with Node 20+ and Rust/Tauri.
3. Open the app, pick a provider/model, type a prompt in the composer, and the response appears in a pane. You can open multiple panes (tabs) and arrange them side‑by‑side.
4. Advanced: use the /operator slash‑command to give the agent temporary access to the local app CLI, enabling the agent to run commands like worktrees.create or notes.list directly from the conversation.

Key features

• Multi‑provider support – works with any installed coding‑agent CLI that follows the documented JSON‑based protocol.
• Session management – each tab is a session; you can start, list, read, draft, or send messages programmatically via the sessions.* commands.
• Project organization – folders, worktrees, and notes can be created and navigated from within the UI.
• Remote sessions – experimental ability to run agents on a separate always‑on machine and connect to them from the desktop client.
• Cross‑platform – built with Tauri (Rust + WebView), packaged for macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel), Linux (DEB, RPM, AppImage), and Windows.

Who it’s for

• Developers who already have a subscription to one or more AI coding agents and want a single, visual hub instead of juggling many terminal windows.
• Teams that like to keep a local record of prompts, notes, and generated code while still leveraging cloud‑hosted models.

Installation highlights

• macOS: drag‑and‑drop the DMG into Applications.
• Linux: install the appropriate package (.deb, .rpm) or run the AppImage; the README includes extra steps for Fedora/EL 10 due to WebKitGTK dependencies.
• Windows: run the NSIS installer.
• Building from source: npm install && npm run tauri dev (development) or the platform‑specific npm run build:* scripts for distributables.

Limitations

• Still very early – expect bugs and missing features.
• Remote sessions are experimental and have known limitations.
• Only works with providers that expose a compatible CLI and JSON protocol.

License

• MIT‑licensed, with provider names and logos retained as trademarks per the NOTICE file.

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MonoCode is essentially a thin, cross‑platform desktop front‑end that unifies many existing AI coding agents under one UI, letting you manage sessions, notes, and worktrees without leaving your desktop environment.