aIDE

A desktop IDE built for running multiple AI coding agents in parallel — one per project — while switching freely between them without losing context, browser sessions, or agent state.

Getting Started

Installation

aIDE requires macOS (Linux and Windows support coming later). To build from source:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Cheezeiii365/aIDE.git
cd aIDE

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Run in development mode
pnpm dev

Opening a Project

Open a folder to create a workspace. On first open, aIDE will:

Create a .aide/ folder in your project root for settings
Detect your project type (Node.js, Python, Rust, Go, etc.) and set sensible defaults
Audit your .gitignore for common security patterns (missing .env, *.pem, etc.) and offer to fix them
Offer to generate a tasks.json from detected project files (package.json scripts, Makefile targets, etc.)

The .aide/ folder splits into shared (committed to git) and local (git-ignored) config:

Shared (`.aide/`)	Local (`.aide/local/`)
`settings.json` — editor preferences	`state.json` — layout, open tabs, scroll positions
`extensions.json` — recommended language packs	`terminals.json` — terminal session restore
`tasks.json` — project run/build/test commands	`workspace.json` — machine-local workspace metadata

Core Concepts

Workspaces

Each workspace represents a single project with its own pane layout, open files, terminal sessions, and agent state. Workspaces appear as tabs in the ribbon at the top of the window.

Switch workspaces with Cmd+1 through Cmd+9, or Cmd+Shift+[ / Cmd+Shift+] to cycle
Create a workspace with the + button in the ribbon
Right-click a workspace tab to rename, duplicate, close, or reveal in Finder
Drag tabs to reorder

When you switch workspaces, aIDE saves and restores the full pane layout, open files, scroll positions, and terminal state.

Panes

The main editing area uses a tiling pane system. Any pane can be an editor, terminal, browser, or preview.

Split panes — Cmd+\ (vertical) or Cmd+Shift+\ (horizontal), or right-click a pane header
Drag tabs between panes or to pane edges to create new splits
Each pane supports multiple tabs — editors have file tabs, terminals have shell tabs

Sidebar

A fixed sidebar on the left provides navigation:

Icon	Panel	Description
Explorer	File tree + git worktree list	Browse and manage project files
Source Control	Staging, commit, git graph	Stage/unstage files, commit, view history
Testing	Test runner + debugger	Discover and run tests

Toggle the sidebar with Cmd+B. Sidebar icons can be reordered, added, or removed in settings.

Editor

aIDE uses CodeMirror 6 as its editor engine.

Features

Syntax highlighting for JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Markdown, and more
Multi-cursor editing — Cmd+D to select next occurrence, Cmd+Click to add cursors
Code folding — collapse function bodies, classes, and blocks via gutter arrows
Indent guides — vertical lines showing block structure
Bracket auto-close — including JSX tags
Word wrap toggle
Find/replace — Cmd+F to find, Cmd+H to replace (supports regex)

Language Server Support

Language intelligence (completions, diagnostics, hover, go-to-definition, rename) is provided by LSP servers. Language packs are installed individually — nothing ships by default.

Language	Server	Install
Python	Pyright	`npm install pyright`
JavaScript/TypeScript	typescript-language-server	`npm install typescript-language-server typescript`
CSS/Tailwind	tailwindcss-language-server	`npm install @tailwindcss/language-server`

Once installed, LSP servers start automatically when you open matching files. They suspend when you switch away from a workspace and resume when you return.

Markdown Preview

Open any .md file and press Cmd+Shift+V to toggle a live preview pane alongside the editor. The preview updates as you type and uses theme-matched styling.

Terminal

Terminals are powered by xterm.js with real PTY support — full compatibility with interactive programs like vim, htop, and Claude Code.

Each terminal pane supports multiple tabs — run your shell, Claude Code, and a dev server all in one pane
Terminals restore their working directory and state on workspace switch

Browser Panes

aIDE embeds a real Chromium browser with persistent sessions. Log into Google, GitHub, or any service once and stay logged in across app restarts.

Shared auth session — Google, GitHub, Microsoft logins persist across all workspaces
Per-workspace sessions — dev server cookies and localhost state are isolated per workspace
Navigation bar — back, forward, URL bar, and refresh
Fullscreen toggle — expand a browser pane to fill the entire window and back

Search

Find in Files

Cmd+Shift+F opens project-wide search powered by ripgrep. Results are grouped by file with line previews. Click a result to jump to that line in the editor. Supports regex and glob filters. Respects .gitignore automatically.

Quick Open

Cmd+P opens a fuzzy file finder to quickly open any file in your project.

Command Palette

Cmd+Shift+P opens the command palette — search for and run any command, including tasks, settings, and editor actions.

Symbol Search

Cmd+T searches for functions, classes, and types across your codebase via LSP.

Tasks

The task system lets you define reusable shell commands in .aide/tasks.json. Tasks are committed to git so every collaborator gets the same dev/build/test commands.

Defining Tasks

Create .aide/tasks.json in your project root (or let aIDE generate one from your package.json, Makefile, etc.):

{
  "version": 1,
  "tasks": [
    {
      "id": "dev",
      "label": "Dev Server",
      "command": "pnpm dev",
      "group": "dev",
      "isBackground": true,
      "autoRestart": true
    },
    {
      "id": "build",
      "label": "Build",
      "command": "pnpm build",
      "group": "build",
      "keybinding": "Cmd+Shift+B"
    },
    {
      "id": "test",
      "label": "Run Tests",
      "command": "pnpm test",
      "group": "test"
    }
  ]
}

Running Tasks

Command palette — Cmd+Shift+P, type "task" to see all available tasks
Keyboard shortcuts — Cmd+Shift+B for build, Cmd+Shift+T for test (configurable)
Re-run last task — Cmd+Shift+R
Terminate a running task — Cmd+Shift+X

Task Options

Option	Description
`command`	Shell command to run
`cwd`	Working directory (relative to project root)
`env`	Additional environment variables
`envFile`	Path to a `.env` file to load
`group`	Category: `build`, `test`, `dev`, `deploy`, `lint`, `clean`, `custom`
`keybinding`	Keyboard shortcut (e.g., `"Cmd+Shift+B"`)
`dependsOn`	Task IDs that must complete before this one starts
`isBackground`	Mark as long-running (dev servers, watchers)
`autoRestart`	Restart if the process exits unexpectedly
`promptBefore`	Show a confirmation dialog before running
`timeout`	Kill after N milliseconds
`problemMatcher`	Parse output for errors (see below)

Auto-Run Triggers

Tasks can run automatically on workspace events:

{
  "id": "dev",
  "label": "Dev Server",
  "command": "pnpm dev",
  "isBackground": true,
  "runOn": { "event": "workspaceOpen" }
}

Trigger	When it fires
`workspaceOpen`	Workspace is activated or app launches
`fileSave`	A matching file is saved (supports `filePattern` glob and `delay` debounce)
`preCommit`	Before a git commit from aIDE's git UI

Compound Tasks

Run multiple tasks together with a single command:

{
  "compounds": [
    {
      "id": "fullstack",
      "label": "Full Stack Dev",
      "tasks": ["dev:frontend", "dev:backend"],
      "mode": "parallel"
    }
  ]
}

Problem Matchers

Problem matchers parse task output and surface errors as editor diagnostics (underlines, gutter markers) — without needing LSP.

Built-in matchers: "tsc", "eslint-compact", "python", "gcc", "go", "pytest", "generic".

{
  "id": "tsc:watch",
  "label": "TypeScript Watch",
  "command": "pnpm tsc --watch --noEmit",
  "isBackground": true,
  "problemMatcher": "tsc"
}

Built-in Variables

Use these in command, args, cwd, and env fields:

Variable	Value
`${workspaceRoot}`	Absolute path to project root
`${file}`	Path of the active editor file
`${fileRelative}`	Relative path from workspace root
`${fileBasename}`	Filename only (e.g., `index.ts`)
`${selectedText}`	Currently selected text
`${branch}`	Current git branch
`${input:id}`	Prompted user input
`${env:NAME}`	System environment variable

User Inputs

Define reusable prompts that tasks can reference:

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "deployTarget",
      "type": "pick",
      "description": "Deploy to which environment?",
      "options": ["staging", "production"],
      "default": "staging"
    }
  ],
  "tasks": [
    {
      "id": "deploy",
      "label": "Deploy",
      "command": "./scripts/deploy.sh ${input:deployTarget}",
      "promptBefore": "Deploy to ${input:deployTarget}?"
    }
  ]
}

Input types: text (free-form), pick (dropdown), confirm (yes/no).

Git Worktrees

aIDE has built-in support for git worktrees — work on multiple branches simultaneously without stashing.

Sidebar panel lists all worktrees for the repository
Create/remove/switch worktrees from the sidebar
The file tree re-roots when you switch worktrees
Terminals can switch their working directory to a different worktree via right-click
Externally created worktrees are auto-detected

AI Agent Integration

aIDE is designed around AI-assisted development. Run Claude Code (or other agents) in terminal panes, and aIDE will monitor their status.

Agent Status

Each workspace tab in the ribbon shows a live status dot for its agent:

Status	Indicator
Idle	Green dot
Working	Amber pulsing dot
Waiting for input	Blue dot
Error	Red dot

This lets you monitor agent progress across all workspaces at a glance — see which agents are done, which need input, and which hit errors, without switching to each workspace.

Theming

aIDE ships with two themes: Atom One Dark (default) and Atom One Light. Toggle between them with the theme button in the ribbon's global zone.

All colors use CSS custom properties, so custom themes can be added in future versions.

Settings

Open settings with Cmd+,. Settings cascade in this order (highest priority first):

Project settings — .aide/settings.json (committed, shared with collaborators)
User settings — global app preferences
Built-in defaults

Common Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`tabSize`	`2`	Spaces per tab
`insertSpaces`	`true`	Use spaces instead of tabs
`wordWrap`	`off`	`off`, `on`, or `bounded`
`fontSize`	`13`	Editor font size in pixels
`formatOnSave`	`false`	Auto-format on save
`rulers`	`[]`	Vertical ruler positions (e.g., `[80, 120]`)
`filesExclude`	`{}`	Glob patterns to hide in the file tree
`searchExclude`	`{}`	Additional globs to skip in find-in-files

Language-specific overrides are supported:

{
  "tabSize": 2,
  "languageOverrides": {
    "[python]": { "tabSize": 4 },
    "[go]": { "tabSize": 4, "insertSpaces": false }
  }
}

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Cmd+1`–`Cmd+9`	Switch to workspace by position
`Cmd+Shift+[` / `]`	Cycle workspaces
`Cmd+P`	Quick open file
`Cmd+Shift+P`	Command palette
`Cmd+Shift+F`	Find in files
`Cmd+F`	Find in current file
`Cmd+H`	Find and replace in current file
`Cmd+T`	Symbol search (LSP)
`Cmd+\`	Split pane vertically
`Cmd+Shift+\`	Split pane horizontally
`Cmd+B`	Toggle sidebar
`Cmd+,`	Open settings
`Cmd+Shift+V`	Toggle markdown preview
`Cmd+D`	Select next occurrence
`Cmd+Shift+B`	Run build task
`Cmd+Shift+T`	Run test task
`Cmd+Shift+R`	Re-run last task
`Cmd+Shift+X`	Terminate running task

License

MIT

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 158 Commits
.aide		.aide
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
docs		docs
packages		packages
tests		tests
.gitignore		.gitignore
.prettierrc		.prettierrc
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
README.md		README.md
electron-builder.yml		electron-builder.yml
electron.vite.config.ts		electron.vite.config.ts
eslint.config.mjs		eslint.config.mjs
package.json		package.json
playwright.config.ts		playwright.config.ts
pnpm-lock.yaml		pnpm-lock.yaml
pnpm-workspace.yaml		pnpm-workspace.yaml
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json
vitest.config.ts		vitest.config.ts

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aIDE

Getting Started

Installation

Opening a Project

Core Concepts

Workspaces

Panes

Sidebar

Editor

Features

Language Server Support

Markdown Preview

Terminal

Browser Panes

Search

Find in Files

Quick Open

Command Palette

Symbol Search

Tasks

Defining Tasks

Running Tasks

Task Options

Auto-Run Triggers

Compound Tasks

Problem Matchers

Built-in Variables

User Inputs

Git Worktrees

AI Agent Integration

Agent Status

Theming

Settings

Common Settings

Keyboard Shortcuts

License

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