OpenCove is a spatial development workspace for people who work with AI coding agents every day.
Instead of burying work inside tabs, sidebars, and long chat threads, OpenCove puts your AI agents, terminals, tasks, and notes on the same infinite 2D canvas, so the full state of your work stays visible.
It is built for workflows like:
Running multiple Claude Code or Codex sessions side by side
Keeping task plans, notes, and terminal output in one shared workspace
Switching projects without losing layout, context, or execution history
โจ Highlights
๐ Infinite spatial canvas: Arrange terminals, notes, tasks, and agent sessions the way you actually think.
๐ค Built for CLI agents: Optimized for Claude Code, Codex, and similar terminal-native agent workflows.
๐ง Context stays visible: Planning, execution, and results live together instead of getting buried in linear chat history.
๐พ Persistent workspaces: Restore your viewport, layout, terminal output, and agent state after restarts.
๐๏ธ Space archives: Snapshot and revisit previous workspace states when you need to jump back into old contexts.
๐ผ๏ธ Rich media and smart layouts: Paste images, multi-select nodes, use label colors, and tidy messy boards quickly.
๐ Global search and control center: Search across the canvas and terminal output, then manage active sessions from one place.
๐๏ธ Workspace isolation: Separate projects cleanly with directories and git worktrees.
๐ก Why OpenCove?
OpenCove is designed around a simple idea: agent workflows are easier to reason about when context is spatial, not hidden.
| Pain Point (Traditional) | The OpenCove Workspace |
| :--- | :--- |
| Linear amnesia: context disappears into long chat histories. | Spatial context: important tasks, notes, and execution stay visible on the canvas. |
| Single-pane bottlenecks: tabs and split panes force constant context switching. | Parallel execution: compare and monitor multiple agents without losing your place. |
| Opaque automation: background agent work feels like a black box. | Transparent actions: terminals and side effects stay visible while work is happening. |
๐ Getting Started
OpenCove is currently in Alpha. We recommend it for early adopters and power users who want to explore spatial AI workflows.
Download
Prebuilt binaries are available on the GitHub Releases page.
At the moment, most public builds are nightly / prerelease builds, which means:
You get the newest features first
You should expect rough edges
Feedback and bug reports are especially valuable
Downloads are available for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
โ ๏ธ macOS note
Current macOS builds are not signed or notarized with an Apple Developer ID. If Gatekeeper blocks the app, run this in your terminal:
You now have two supported ways to install the opencove CLI:
From the Desktop app: open Settings โ Worker โ CLI and click Install CLI.
Without Desktop: use a GitHub Release that includes standalone runtime bundles
(opencove-server-*) plus release-specific installer assets such as
opencove-install-v<tag>.sh / opencove-install-v<tag>.ps1. Stable releases also
publish the generic opencove-install.sh / opencove-install.ps1 aliases, which
always target the latest stable release.
If releases/latest/download/opencove-install.sh returns 404, the latest stable release
has not published the standalone installer yet. In that case, use the Desktop installer for
now or wait for a release that includes those assets.
For the latest stable release, install on macOS / Linux with:
curl -fsSL https://github.com/DeadWaveWave/opencove/releases/latest/download/opencove-install.sh | sh
This prints the Web UI URL and enables password login for browser access. Keep the password set whenever you expose the Web UI beyond localhost.
Building from Source
Prerequisites
Node.js >= 22.12.0
pnpm 9.6.0
(Recommended) Globally install Claude Code or Codex to experience full agent workflows.
Build Instructions
# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/DeadWaveWave/opencove.git
cd opencove
# 2. Install dependencies
pnpm install
# 3. Start the dev environment
pnpm dev
See RELEASING.md for more packager and build documentation.
Web UI (Experimental)
OpenCove includes an experimental Worker-hosted Web UI so you can open the canvas from a browser (including other devices on your LAN).
In Settings โ Experimental โ Worker Web UI, turn on Enable Web UI (optionally set a fixed port), then start the Local Worker.
By default it is loopback-only (127.0.0.1). For LAN access, enable LAN Access and set a Web UI password.
Dev note: LAN access uses the built out/renderer bundle (no HMR). Run pnpm build after UI changes.
More details:
docs/architecture/CONTROL_SURFACE.md
docs/runtime/WEB_UI_TROUBLESHOOTING.md
๐๏ธ Technical Architecture
OpenCove is built with modern, high-performance web standards:
Framework: Electron + React + TypeScript (via electron-vite)
Canvas Engine: @xyflow/react for buttery smooth infinite canvas interactions.
Underlying Terminal: xterm.js and node-pty powering full-fledged PTY runtimes.
Testing: Vitest and Playwright for robust unit and E2E regression testing.
๐ค Contributing
OpenCove is open source. We need your help to define what the IDE of the AI intelligence era should look like.
Read our guidelines below:
The agent harness performance optimization system. Skills, instincts, memory, security, and research-first development for Claude Code, Codex, Opencode, Cursor and beyond.
