MicroCode

The Native AI-Powered IDE for macOS
Built from scratch. No Electron. No compromises.

⬇️ Download Latest Release · Features · Architecture · Getting Started

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Why MicroCode?

Every modern IDE is built on Electron — a web browser pretending to be a native app. MicroCode is different.

We built a fully native macOS IDE from scratch using SwiftUI, Rust, and Metal. The result is an editor that launches in under a second, uses a fraction of the memory, and feels like it belongs on your Mac.

	MicroCode	Electron IDEs
Startup time	< 1s	3-8s
Memory (idle)	~80 MB	400-800 MB
GPU rendering	Metal (native)	WebGL (emulated)
AI integration	7 providers, native	Plugin-dependent
File indexing	Tree-sitter + Rust	JS-based

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Features

🧠 AI Agent — Production Grade

Multi-provider AI agent with tool-use capabilities, not just autocomplete.

• 7 providers — Gemini, OpenAI, Claude, DeepSeek, Grok, Qwen, GLM
• Agentic tools — Read, write, edit, search code, run commands, git operations
• Streaming responses — Real-time token streaming with diff preview
• Workspace-aware — Full project context via RAG semantic search (Candle ML)
• Sandboxed execution — Timeout, output limits, path-restricted operations

⚡ Editor — Zero-Latency

• 30+ languages — Tree-sitter powered syntax highlighting
• Debounced highlighting — Only processes visible range, not the entire file
• Hex color preview — Inline color swatches in CSS/Swift/Rust
• Native text engine — NSTextView + custom layout, not a web canvas

🖥️ Integrated Terminal

• Full PTY terminal with ANSI color support
• Multiple sessions with tab management
• Direct workspace integration

🔧 Developer Workflow

• Git integration — Status, diff, commit, branch switching
• Project scaffolding — Create Rust, Swift, Node.js, Python, Web projects
• WASM extensions — Sandboxed extension system (Wasmtime)
• Build system — Integrated build & run for multiple languages

🎨 Design Language

• Dark-first UI — Precision-crafted dark theme with glassmorphism
• Metal-powered effects — GPU-rendered backgrounds and animations
• Native macOS — Respects system appearance, keyboard shortcuts, trackpad gestures

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Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    MicroCode.app                             │
│                                                             │
│  ┌──────────────────┐  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ │
│  │   SwiftUI + AppKit │  │   Objective-C++ Core              │ │
│  │                    │  │   • Syntax Engine                 │ │
│  │   • Editor View    │  │   • Text Pipeline                 │ │
│  │   • AI Agent Panel │  │   • Performance Primitives        │ │
│  │   • File Browser   │  │                                   │ │
│  │   • Terminal       │  └──────────────────────────────────┘ │
│  │   • Settings       │                                      │
│  └────────┬───────────┘                                      │
│           │ HTTP + SSE                                        │
│  ┌────────▼───────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │              Rust Backend (Axum + Tokio)                │  │
│  │                                                         │  │
│  │   ┌─────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │  │
│  │   │ AI      │ │ Agent    │ │ Git      │ │ Extension │ │  │
│  │   │ Engine  │ │ Runtime  │ │ Manager  │ │ Host      │ │  │
│  │   └─────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └───────────┘ │  │
│  │   ┌─────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │  │
│  │   │ RAG     │ │ Terminal │ │ Indexer  │ │ Kernel    │ │  │
│  │   │ Search  │ │ Manager  │ │ (T-S)   │ │ Safety    │ │  │
│  │   └─────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └───────────┘ │  │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology	Purpose
Frontend	SwiftUI + AppKit	Native macOS UI
Rendering	Metal	GPU-accelerated effects
Core	Objective-C++	Performance-critical text ops
Backend	Rust (Axum/Tokio)	Async services, AI, Git
Parsing	Tree-sitter	Multi-language syntax
ML	Candle	On-device embeddings for RAG
Extensions	Wasmtime	Sandboxed WASM plugins

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Getting Started

Requirements

Requirement	Version
macOS	13.0 (Ventura) or later
Xcode	15.0+
Rust	1.75+
Node.js	18+ (optional, for extension development)

Install from Release

Download the latest .dmg or .pkg from Releases.

Build from Source

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/Dotmini/microcode.git
cd microcode

# Quick dev build (current arch, debug)
./build_distribution.sh --dev

# Full release build (universal binary + DMG + PKG)
./build_distribution.sh

Build Options

./build_distribution.sh --dev          # Fast debug build, current arch only
./build_distribution.sh --version 1.1  # Set version
./build_distribution.sh --sign         # Sign & notarize after build

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Project Structure

microcode/
├── CodeTunner/              # Swift sources (SwiftUI + AppKit)
│   ├── Views/               # UI components
│   ├── Services/            # AI client, agent service
│   ├── SyntaxEngine/        # Highlighting engine
│   └── Models/              # Data models, app state
├── CodeTunnerSupport/       # Objective-C++ core modules
├── backend/                 # Rust backend server
│   └── src/
│       ├── ai.rs            # Multi-provider AI engine
│       ├── agent.rs         # AI agent with tool-use
│       ├── indexer.rs       # Tree-sitter file indexer
│       └── main.rs          # Axum HTTP server
├── microcode_core/          # Rust shared core library
├── extension-host/          # WASM extension runtime
├── vscode-compat-host/      # VS Code extension compatibility
└── .github/workflows/       # CI/CD (build, sign, release)

Note: The CodeTunner folder name is historical. The product name is MicroCode.

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Security

MicroCode takes security seriously:

• Source integrity — SHA256 checksums verified on every push via CI
• Sandboxed commands — AI agent commands run with 30s timeout, 1MB output limit, restricted PATH
• Path traversal protection — All file operations validated against workspace boundary
• No telemetry — Zero data collection, fully offline capable

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AI Provider Setup

MicroCode supports 7 AI providers out of the box. Configure via Settings → AI Providers:

Provider	Models	API Key Env
Gemini	3.1 Pro, 2.5 Pro, 2.5 Flash	GEMINI_API_KEY
OpenAI	GPT-5, GPT-4o, o3, o4-mini	OPENAI_API_KEY
Claude	4.7 Opus, Sonnet 4, 3.5 Haiku	ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
DeepSeek	V4, Chat, Coder	DEEPSEEK_API_KEY
Grok	grok-3, grok-3-mini	GROK_API_KEY
Qwen	qwen-max, qwen-turbo	QWEN_API_KEY
GLM	glm-4-plus	GLM_API_KEY

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Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing)
3. Run checksums before committing (./generate_checksums.sh)
4. Submit a pull request

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Credits

Tirawat Nantamas Founder & Lead Architect Dotmini Software

Academic Partnership: SPU AI Club — Sripatum University (มหาวิทยาลัยศรีปทุม)

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License

MicroCode Public License (MPL) v1.0 — See LICENSE for full terms.

This is a source-available license designed to protect the creator's rights while fostering open-source collaboration:

Use Case	Allowed?	Cost
🏠 Personal / Hobby	✅ Free	$0
🎓 Education / Research	✅ Free	$0
🤝 Open Source Contributions	✅ Free	$0
🔍 Evaluation (≤ 90 days)	✅ Free	$0
🏢 Commercial (Small Biz ≤ ฿10M)	⚠️ Requires CLA	10% Revenue Share
🏬 Commercial (Medium ≤ ฿100M)	⚠️ Requires CLA	15% Revenue Share
🏛️ Commercial (Enterprise > ฿100M)	⚠️ Requires CLA	20% Revenue Share

Commercial License Agreement (CLA)

If you intend to use MicroCode or any derivative work for commercial purposes (SaaS, product integration, consulting, etc.), you must sign a Commercial License Agreement with the Licensor before deployment:

1. Contact → Dotmini Software via GitHub
2. Negotiate → Revenue tier + specific terms
3. Sign CLA → Bilateral agreement with quarterly reporting
4. Deploy → Use commercially with full legal protection

⚠️ Using MicroCode commercially without a CLA is a violation of copyright law under the Copyright Act B.E. 2537 (Thailand) and applicable international treaties.

Jurisdiction

This license is governed by Thai law (กฎหมายไทย), including:

• Copyright Act B.E. 2537 (พ.ร.บ. ลิขสิทธิ์)
• Civil and Commercial Code (ประมวลกฎหมายแพ่งและพาณิชย์)
• Trade Secrets Act B.E. 2545 (พ.ร.บ. ความลับทางการค้า)

Disputes are resolved in the courts of Bangkok, Thailand.

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Credits

Tirawat Nantamas (ถิรวัฒน์ นันตมาศ) Founder & Lead Architect Dotmini Software

Academic Partnership: SPU AI Club — Sripatum University (มหาวิทยาลัยศรีปทุม)

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_{Built with ❤️ in Thailand 🇹🇭
Copyright © 2024-2026 Tirawat Nantamas — Dotmini Software}