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DA Vibe Manager v0.1.0b1

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@DigitalArchon DigitalArchon released this 09 Oct 17:53
· 22 commits to main since this release
v0.1.0b1
a99abe7

The first public beta of DA Vibe Manager, a package manager for vibe-coded apps: tell it what
you wish an open-source app could do, and an AI builds you a version that does it. Then it keeps
that app up to date like any other software, carrying your changes over to each new release.

Warning

Beta. Expect rough edges, and use it at your own risk. Read every command it asks to run,
and every change it hands you, before you say yes.

What it does

  • Builds the change you want into an app you use. The AI (Claude Code, on a NanoGPT model)
    works in a sealed Podman sandbox: it reads the app's code, makes the change, builds and tests
    it there, and hands you an AppImage to try first and then install, next to your own copy.
  • Keeps it up to date. Every app is the project's official release with your changes on top.
    When a new version comes out, your changes are carried over and it's rebuilt by itself, at a
    quiet time you choose; the AI only steps in when a change no longer fits.
  • Asks before it touches your computer. The AI can't see your files or run anything here.
    When it needs to look at something, it shows you the exact command and why; nothing runs until
    you click, a second AI reads commands that change things, and you decide what it sees of the
    output, with passwords and keys blanked out.
  • What you read is what's built. Each delivery is checked and built from the app's own copy
    of the commit, in a clean container: What changed? is exactly the change in your build.
  • Gets apps working here: when an app won't start or misbehaves on your computer, it finds
    out why and fixes the build.
  • Shares: a .vibe file of your changes for someone with DA Vibe Manager (their computer
    builds it from the official source, after a reviewer reads the changes), or Export
    AppImage     for someone who just wants to run it.
  • Backups, locked with your password, to restore on this computer or a new one.

Install

Download DAVibeManager-0.1.0b1-x86_64.AppImage, make it executable and run it:

chmod +x DAVibeManager-0.1.0b1-x86_64.AppImage
./DAVibeManager-0.1.0b1-x86_64.AppImage

It needs x86-64 Linux: Ubuntu 24.04 / Mint 22, Debian 13, or a current Fedora, Arch or CachyOS,
with rootless Podman for the sandbox and WebKitGTK for its window:

Distribution
Ubuntu, Mint, Debian sudo apt install podman gir1.2-webkit2-4.1
Fedora sudo dnf install podman webkit2gtk4.1
Arch, CachyOS sudo pacman -S podman passt webkit2gtk-4.1

If Podman is missing, the first screen offers to install it. You need a
NanoGPT API key; it goes to your system keyring and never into the
sandbox. The first start prepares the sandbox, which takes a few minutes and a few GB of disk.

The README says what it is; the
manual covers the rest.

Verify

sha256sum -c DAVibeManager-0.1.0b1-x86_64.AppImage.sha256

SHA-256: 793d0998fc9b0f6d822694b2ee39703d81fff48411f3688106b79e1a07075bad

The AppImage is reproducible: check out the v0.1.0b1 tag and run
packaging/build-appimage.sh build (rootless Podman) to get the same bytes. See
packaging/README.md.

Known limitations

  • Building costs money, and nobody can tell how much until the AI has read the app's code:
    on a model paid per use, a few dollars for a simple fix, $50 or more for a big change. Ask it
    how big a change is first, and set a spending limit on your NanoGPT key.
  • What you send the assistant could leave your computer. Its sandbox reaches public websites
    (it needs to, to download code and tools), and what a program there sends over HTTPS can't be
    seen from outside. The app keeps your data out of its own web searches, but treat command
    output and attached files you send as shared.
  • Changes to the desktop itself (the file manager, the panel) work less well than changes
    to an ordinary app, and need a rebuild with every update. Below the desktop (drivers, system
    services) it doesn't build at all.
  • Built apps run on systems as new as Ubuntu 24.04 (the sandbox's base), and newer.
  • A shared app's claim to be a newer version can't be verified, so updating from one is
    never chosen for you: take it when you know who sent it.
  • The second opinions and the reviewer of shared apps are aids, not guarantees.
  • NanoGPT is the only provider set up on the first screen. Linux and x86-64 only, and apps are
    delivered as AppImages, add-ons or source code: no Flatpaks yet.

Feedback

Bugs and ideas: issues. Security
problems: please report privately as described in
SECURITY.md, not in
an issue.

Licensed AGPL-3.0-or-later.

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