Vobes

A developer command center.

Vobes unifies fragmented developer context — git status, recent commits, project health, package managers, frameworks, local notes, project metadata — into a single calm workspace.

A vobe is one software project managed by Vobes.

CLI: vbs
Desktop: Vobes
One core, two faces.

Status

Pre-alpha. Core, scanning, git, activity, SQLite store, config, CLI, desktop (with command palette, file watcher, deep links, notifications), and an MCP server for AI agents. See the CLI ↔ desktop parity table below for what each face supports.

Dev and release builds use separate data directories (vobes-dev vs vobes) so cargo tauri dev can't overwrite an installed copy. Set VOBES_APP_DIR to override.

Quick start (CLI)

cargo build -p vobes-cli
cargo run -p vobes-cli -- --help

Configure

vbs init                              # writes config.toml in your config dir
$EDITOR "$(vbs init 2>&1 | tail -1)" # edit scan roots (path is printed)

On macOS the config lives at ~/Library/Application Support/vobes/config.toml, on Linux ~/.config/vobes/config.toml, on Windows %APPDATA%\vobes\config.toml. Debug builds use a -dev suffix.

Use

vbs scan             # discover projects in configured roots
vbs list             # show tracked vobes (status table)
vbs show <name>      # detailed view of one vobe
vbs log              # recent activity across all vobes
vbs open <name>      # mark opened + launch $EDITOR
vbs sync             # re-scan roots, refresh git cache, record activity
vbs add <path>       # manually track a project
vbs rm <name>        # untrack a vobe
vbs export           # dump all data as JSON to the snapshots dir

For AI agents

Vobes exposes its data to agents in three ways:

vbs list --json        # machine-readable vobe list
vbs show <name> --json # machine-readable vobe detail
vbs log --json         # machine-readable activity
vbs context <name>     # full context pack (record + activity + dir entries)
vbs watch              # stream activity as NDJSON

Or run the MCP server (JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio):

cargo run -p vobes-mcp

Tools: vobes_list, vobes_show, vobes_search, vobes_recent_activity, vobes_context.

Desktop (Tauri)

The desktop app wraps the same core as the CLI — same config file, same SQLite store, same scanner — and adds a keyboard-first UI.

Highlights:

Command palette (⌘K / Ctrl+K) — fuzzy-find vobes and run any action
Global shortcut (Ctrl+Alt+V) — summon the palette from any app
Attention section — dirty repos, unpushed, behind upstream at a glance
Split-button openers — launch any vobe in the user's chosen terminal or editor; defaults stay sticky per-app
Set-as-default star in the terminal/editor dropdown — pin a favourite without leaving the menu; persisted across sessions
Persistent error toasts with a close × so failures don't flash past you
Reset and rescan from the dashboard when the cached project list drifts
Project detail — git state, last commit, notes, README preview, TODO scrape, context-pack copy
File watcher — incremental refresh when files change
Deep links — vobes://open/<name> and vobes://search?q=… (registered by the installed bundle; not active in cargo tauri dev)
Notifications — opt-in alert when a vobe falls behind upstream
Saved views — pin a search to the sidebar
In-app settings — edit roots, theme, git cache, snapshot history without touching TOML

First run

The desktop ships with an empty Dashboard. Configure scan roots in Settings → Roots, then click Reset and rescan (or hit ⌘K → "Rescan") to populate it. The same config.toml is shared with the CLI.

Search syntax

The command palette and Dashboard search accept predicates prefixed by a key (case-insensitive, whitespace-tolerant):

tag:rust — only vobes tagged rust
lang:rust / fw:react / pm:pnpm — language, framework, package manager
is:dirty / is:behind / is:pinned / is:attention — git/pin flags
name:foo — name substring; bare words are also fuzzy-matched

A saved filter is just a named query — pin it to the sidebar for a personal workspace scoped to a tag, language, or attention slice.

Prerequisites

Rust stable
Node 22+ and pnpm 11+
macOS: Xcode CLI tools
Linux: libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libgtk-3-dev libayatana-app_indicator3-dev librsvg2-dev libsoup-3.0-dev libjavascriptcoregtk-4.1-dev
Windows: WebView2 runtime (preinstalled on Windows 11)

Build

cd desktop
pnpm install
cargo tauri dev        # hot-reload dev loop (frontend + rust)
cargo tauri build      # produce installable bundle (in desktop/src-tauri/target/release/bundle)

Local sccache (optional)

CI doesn't use sccache (the GitHub Actions cache backend needs ACTIONS_CACHE_URL

ACTIONS_RUNTIME_TOKEN which aren't always set, and Swatinem/rust-cache covers the practical wins for a single runner). For local rebuilds, sccache helps a lot:

# install
brew install sccache          # macOS
sudo apt install sccache      # Debian/Ubuntu
cargo install sccache --locked # anywhere Rust is

# enable per shell session
export RUSTC_WRAPPER=sccache
export SCCACHE_DIR=$HOME/.cache/sccache    # optional, defaults here

Or drop a .cargo/config.toml at the repo root to enable it project-wide for anyone with sccache installed:

[build]
rustc-wrapper = "sccache"

(No such file is committed — adding it would break devs without sccache. The env-var approach above is the safer default.)

Auto-update

The updater is wired (tauri-plugin-updater + createUpdaterArtifacts: true, endpoint pointing at GitHub latest.json) but inert until a signing key is configured. Without it, every release fails signature verification and the running app silently skips the update.

One-time setup:

Generate a keypair (private key stays local; public key goes in the repo):
```
pnpm tauri signer generate -w ~/.tauri/vobes.key
```
Paste the contents of vobes.key.pub into plugins.updater.pubkey in desktop/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json (replaces the REPLACE_WITH_TAURI_SIGNER_GENERATE_OUTPUT placeholder).

Add the private key as a GitHub Actions secret:

gh secret set TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY < ~/.tauri/vobes.key
# optional, only if you set a password during generate:
gh secret set TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD <password>

The release workflow already reads secrets.TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY; uncomment the env lines in .github/workflows/release.yml when ready.

Until then, builds still work, releases still publish as drafts, but users on older versions get no update prompt.

Crash reporting

Panics and unhandled errors flow to a Sentry-compatible endpoint (sentry Rust crate + @sentry/svelte frontend). Both sides read their DSN from an env var and no-op when unset, so dev builds stay local.

The Tauri side doesn't care which Sentry-compatible server you point at — the only requirement is a reachable DSN URL. Self-hosting options:

GlitchTip (Sentry-API-compatible) pointed at any Postgres. The Vobes stack assumes GlitchTip + Postgres, but you can also point at Sentry SaaS, Sentry self-hosted, Highlight, or any other compatible endpoint.

For the Postgres behind GlitchTip, any provider works — the DATABASE_URL env var accepts any libpq-compatible connection string:

Provider	Notes
Neon	Free tier 0.5 GB, AWS-backed. Variable reachability from mainland China.
Aliyun RDS for PostgreSQL / PolarDB	China-hosted, ICP-friendly. Recommended for China users.
Tencent Cloud TDSQL-C / PostgreSQL	Same — China-hosted, low latency from CN.
Supabase	Hosted Postgres + dashboard. Good if you also want auth later.
Local Docker	`docker run -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=... postgres:16`. Fine for self-hosting.

If your users are in mainland China and Neon/Sentry SaaS feel slow, host GlitchTip on an Aliyun ECS or Tencent CVM instance in the same region as the Postgres.

One-time setup:

Provision GlitchTip + Postgres. GlitchTip needs DATABASE_URL pointing at the Postgres, SITE_URL, SECRET_KEY (any random string), and a public hostname. Docker example:

docker run -d --name glitchtip \
  -e DATABASE_URL=postgres://glitchtip:secret@postgres:5432/glitchtip \
  -e SITE_URL=https://glitchtip.your-domain.com \
  -e SECRET_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32) \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  glitchtip/glitchtip

Create a project in GlitchTip, copy the DSN (format https://<key>@<host>/<project-id>).

Set the DSN at build time:

# Rust side (panic hook)
export VOBES_SENTRY_DSN='https://...@.../...'
# Frontend (init in main.ts)
export VITE_SENTRY_DSN='https://...@.../...'

For production builds, add both env vars to the release workflow env block (.github/workflows/release.yml).

Until the DSN is set, crashes still print to stderr + show in the "fatal" overlay — nothing leaves the machine.

CLI ↔ desktop parity

Both faces talk to the same core. Capabilities should match; gaps are bugs.

Capability	CLI (`vbs`)	Desktop	Notes
Scan roots, discover projects	`scan`, `sync`	`scan`, `sync` commands	identical detector pipeline
List vobes	`list`, `list --json`	dashboard grid	desktop adds fuzzy search + sort UI
Show one vobe	`show <name>`, `show --json`	Projects view	desktop adds README/TODO/notes
Recent activity	`log`, `log --json`	Activity view	both filter by actor
Activity per vobe	`show` (embedded)	Projects activity card	—
Add vobe	`add <path>`	"Add vobe…"	—
Remove vobe	`rm <name>`	"Remove" in Projects view	—
Open in editor	`open <name>`	"Open in editor"	desktop uses shell plugin
Export JSON snapshot	`export`	Settings → Snapshots → Export now	both write `snapshots_dir/vobes-<ts>.json`
Restore snapshot	`import` (planned)	Settings → Snapshots → Restore	CLI import pending — see `Store::import_json`
Pin vobe	— (set via store)	pin button, `set_pinned`	desktop-only surface for now
Tags	— (set via store)	Projects view tag editor	desktop-only surface for now
Notes	— (set via store)	Projects notes editor	desktop-only surface for now
Saved filters	—	sidebar + `save_saved_filter`	desktop-only surface for now
Workspaces (tag scope)	—	sidebar tag click, `tag:X` query	desktop-only surface for now
Agent attribution	`VOBES_ACTOR=agent vbs …`	inherits env	`ActivityEvent::now_env`
MCP tools	`vobes-mcp` binary	—	`vobes_list/show/search/recent_activity/context` over stdio
Reset + rescan	`reset --yes`	"Reset and rescan"	both call `Store::purge_all`
Pick terminal app	—	split-button selector	`list_terminals` + `open_terminal_with`
Pick editor app	—	split-button selector	`list_editors` + `open_in_editor`
Persistent defaults	—	star in terminal/editor dropdown	localStorage (`vobes:default-terminal/editor`)
Snapshot history UI	—	Settings → Snapshots list + Restore	desktop-only surface; CLI `import` pending

Where the CLI is missing a surface that exists in the desktop (saved filters, workspaces, pin/tags/notes CLI commands), it's tracked as follow-up work, not a permanent split.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
crates		crates
desktop		desktop
scripts		scripts
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.gitignore		.gitignore
.node-version		.node-version
.nvmrc		.nvmrc
AGENTS.md		AGENTS.md
Cargo.lock		Cargo.lock
Cargo.toml		Cargo.toml
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
vobes.example.toml		vobes.example.toml

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Vobes

Status

Quick start (CLI)

Configure

Use

For AI agents

Desktop (Tauri)

First run

Search syntax

Prerequisites

Build

Local sccache (optional)

Auto-update

Crash reporting

CLI ↔ desktop parity

License

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Vobes

Status

Quick start (CLI)

Configure

Use

For AI agents

Desktop (Tauri)

First run

Search syntax

Prerequisites

Build

Local sccache (optional)

Auto-update

Crash reporting

CLI ↔ desktop parity

License

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