Local AI coding agent workstation. One window, three surfaces: chat, the file tree for the workspace this session is actually using, and a real terminal.

The agent isn’t narrating what it did — you watch it cd, run tests, and write files on the right. Everything stays on your machine except requests to the model endpoint you configure.

Features

• Streaming chat with collapsible reasoning, tool-call cards, expandable command output, and a context-usage panel
• Five tools: terminal, fs_read, fs_write, fs_list, plus ask_user_question / request that actually pause for your answer
• Sticky shell: every agent command runs in one long-lived shell, so cd and export persist
• Real PTY tabs: node-pty + xterm.js — top and vim work; the agent opens its own bash session on first command
• File tree: on-demand expand, agent edits highlighted, spacebar Quick Look; tree or column view
• Per-session working directory, defaulting to a temporary workspace you can point at a real project; vav . / vav /path CLI open
• English / Chinese UI, following the OS or a setting
• Anthropic and OpenAI-compatible APIs, with a customizable endpoint
• API keys stored encrypted via safeStorage (Keychain) — never as plaintext

Website

The static site lives in site/ and is published to GitHub Pages by Actions:

https://vavapp.com
(also https://21stware.github.io/vav/)

Bilingual (toggle in the top-right; default follows the browser language). Marketing screenshots are captured with the English UI (chat / files / terminal / context):

node scripts/capture-marketing-screenshot.mjs

Writes docs/screenshot.png (README hero) and site/assets/screenshot-*.png (site gallery).

Custom domain: vavapp.com (see site/CNAME). Apex uses GitHub Pages A/AAAA records; www is a CNAME to 21stware.github.io. Keep Cloudflare proxy DNS only (grey cloud) so GitHub can issue HTTPS.

Install

Grab a build from Releases. Neither build is code-signed, so the OS will block the first open:

• macOS (Apple silicon) — after dragging into Applications, run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/vav.app, or Gatekeeper will claim the app is damaged.
• Windows (x64) — SmartScreen warns; choose “More info” → “Run anyway”.

Then in Settings → “vav command”, install the vav CLI (defaults to ~/.local/bin). Run vav -h for usage; vav . opens a new session in the current directory.

Develop

Requires Node 20+, macOS or Windows.

npm install
npm run dev

Package (native modules mean you only build for the platform you’re on):

npm run dist        # macOS → release/vav-1.2.2-macos-arm64.dmg
npm run dist:win    # Windows → release/vav-1.2.2-windows-x64-setup.exe

First launch asks for an API key (⌘, / Ctrl+,). File tree and terminal work before that; only agent turns need a key.

Shortcuts

⌘ on macOS, Ctrl on Windows; in-app hints switch automatically.

Action	Key
New session	⌘N
Send	⌘↩
Cancel current turn	Esc
Search in session	⌘F
New terminal tab	⌘T
Toggle sidebar / tools panel	⌘⇧H / ⌘⇧E
Settings	⌘,

A global hotkey can be recorded under Appearance; off by default.

Platform differences

Most things match; these are OS differences, not missing features:

	macOS	Windows
Agent & terminal shell	zsh / bash / fish	PowerShell
Closing the main window	Hides; turns and PTYs keep running; Dock restores	Quits for real (no Dock to restore from)
Space in the file tree	Quick Look	Opens with the system default app
Default global hotkey	⌃⌘Space	Ctrl+Alt+Space

Layout

src/
  shared/      domain types, IPC contracts, i18n
  main/
    store/     settings, secrets, conversation persistence
    agent/     LLM client, tool defs, turn loop
    terminal/  sticky shell, PTY management
    fs/        file listing and watchers
    cli.ts     `vav` command install and open-path parsing
  preload/     contextBridge `window.vav`
  renderer/    React UI, zustand stores, stream projection

Implementation notes: docs/TECH_DESIGN.md. Product behavior is specified in RPML via Origin and pulled by .agents/skills/origin-product-spec-management into .agents/specs/ (not checked in).

License

Dual-licensed — see NOTICE and LICENSE.

• Noncommercial (free): PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0. Download, study, personal customization, and noncommercial redistribution are allowed; keep the Required Notice and upstream repo https://github.com/21stware/vav.
• Commercial (paid): Selling, white-labeling, embedding in a paid product/service, or any commercial customization / commercial use requires a commercial license from the copyright holder. Contact: licensing@21stware.com.